When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair (Geneen Roth)

Have you ever found yourself looking through your cabinets for crunchy carbs like salty crackers or chips or something sweet?
Then you tell yourself that you are going to have just 10 crackers and end up eating 5 times more!!! I hate myself when I do it. After that, you promise yourself that it will never happen again–because we all want to stay in shape, feel vibrant and look sexy! 

Does it sound familiar?
Today, I want to share something about myself. When people see me in person in a picture of me, they automatically tend to think that I am thin by nature or genetics or that I have incredible willpower to stay away from food that makes me gain weight. 

Let me reveal the sad truth. I am a woman over 45 years old, going through a hormonal decline, struggling to keep my weight and my cravings inside of a normal range until finally, I figured it out. 

Awareness is so powerful
While working on a hormonal course at the university, we studied how perimenopause affects our biochemistry and cravings. Along with that, studying different types of diets helped me understand why these temptations take place in my body.

Did it help me stop binging on carbs?

Yes, to a certain degree. It also helped me get rid of feeling guilty and to cut down the number of cravings for my favorite crunchy carbohydrates. The most important thing that I learned is that I need to love my body the way it is and embrace self-acceptance! Yes, one day I can be two or three pounds heavier, but if I follow my secret formula, I can easily lose those extra pounds.

Here is the secret formula!
I use a combination of:
– a ketogenic diet
– smoothie detox days
– skipping one or two meals a day or Intermittent Fasting
– drinking lots of water throughout the day

AND, most importantly, I let my body mindfully enjoy healthy carbohydrates at least once a week to help me stay motivated and prevent me from bingeing in the future.

Here is the plan that I started to follow:
Monday: I enjoy two meals of healthy high fat Ketogenic delicious recipes.
Tuesday: I make two different types of smoothies for the whole day and enjoy them.
Wednesday: I skip breakfast but enjoy two tasty ketogenic meals.
Thursday: I fast until 5 pm and then have one big high fat meal for dinner
Friday: I go completely vegan for religious reasons and drink green smoothies or eat lots of leafy greens with some quinoa or cruciferous vegetables.
Saturday: This is the day I enjoy eating with family and friends and indulge my favorite crunchy carbs.
Sunday: I go to brunch with my family, make lots of prep meals for the next week and skip my dinner.

Don’t forget to drink lots of water–at least 8 glasses a day. This will curb your appetite.