I get asked sometimes if I’m paleo, keto, count macros, or count calories. Today I wanted to talk a little about why I don’t follow a specific diet. And just to reiterate that I am NOT a nutritionist and this is my personal experience!

In no way am I trying to say following a specific diet is bad or make you feel like I’m judging you if you do- I know a lot of people find a ton of success with it! This again is just me personally. I naturally enjoy/feel my best eating a pretty typical paleo diet but I don’t label myself that way.

Just a friendly reminder that just because someone else follows a certain diet doesn’t mean that you have to! What works for someone doesn’t have to work for you. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong, it doesn’t mean you’re right: everyone is so different, has different bodies, and such different lifestyles!

I love eating healthy, I love exercising, and I just genuinely love being outside/being active. But for me- it was at first something that stressed me out big time. I talked a little about my health journey here but I’ll probably talk more about it one day.

Growing up, I didn’t eat healthy at all.

I was not one of those people who ate healthy or liked healthy food. I grew up eating chicken fingers and grilled cheese for most meals. That was just how things went in my house. So when I started to try to eat healthy I had NO clue where to begin. Should I be plant based, eat a ton of protein, eat low carb, eat high fat, eat only real foods, count calories, and never any treats? I was instantly overwhelmed.

Those feelings of being overwhelmed quickly turned into anxiety about trying to be healthy. It’s funny- I was trying to do good things for myself by eating healthier but in reality I was probably harming my health more by stressing out about it so much.

It is easy to get confused between being ‘healthy’ and being ‘thin’ or ‘skinny’ or whatever. I am not saying it’s wrong to want to eat well to lose weight or look a certain way by any means. But when it becomes obsessive and overwhelming- I feel like that’s the point when you have to take a step back and wonder if you’re truly being ‘healthy’.

Starting out trying to eat better,

I tried to mainly eat clean with only fruits, veggies, lean proteins. Then I’d go crazy on the weekends on meals because I’d ‘earned’ it for eating so clean all week long. It just did not work for me- I felt guilty about what I was eating on the weekend and would feel so sluggish and weighed down when Monday came around. Guilty about what I’d eaten the past weekend and overwhelmed with trying to get back into eating clean again.

I’d count calories, avoid going out in situations where I didn’t know if there would be healthy food, and it just felt like I was fighting an uphill battle on the road to being healthy. It was not fun, I was not happy, and maybe I looked healthier but I certainly didn’t feel better. It left me tired and exhausted from constantly being stressed about what I was eating.

I tried being strictly this diet or that diet but I found personally it puts too much pressure on me. Putting a ton of expectations or pressure on myself has never been the way I thrive. Maybe it’s a character flaw but that’s just how I am. I am not the type of person who thrives in those type of situations.

It’s easiest for me to eat healthy when I am able to eat foods that I actually love. Pancakes, waffles, loaded toasts, fun dinners, etc. It’s funny, but I’ve found that when I let go of all this stress and anxiety from forcing myself to eat this or only eat that- I actually enjoy eating healthy.

I know how confusing this whole eating and living healthy world can be. I know how easy it is to get down on yourself for not being ‘perfect’ or for not eating ‘perfect’ or not being ‘perfectly fit’. Life is so hard, so confusing, and being hard on yourself about your body just adds to that mess.

If you get one thing from this post- be kind to yourself and your body. You do SO many amazing things every single day. You have an amazing body, an amazing opportunity to get up every day and LIVE. I am sending you all the love and all the encouragement to go out there and love yourself and love others.

You are worthy. Tell yourself that every day- whether it’s when you feel down about what you ate, the number on the scale, the reflection in the mirror, whatever gets you down.

Love you all so incredibly much!

Pey