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The diet culture in America has so many myths and lies, it’s nearly impossible to navigate.  The one I believe is the most damaging — the idea that if we just diet and exercise, we can all look like Kate Beckinsdale. Or for the guys, if you lift enough, you can be ripped like Gerard Butler in the movie 300.  And if you don’t look like that, then you are not trying hard enough.

Surprise, these not so great expectations are often make your diet efforts stall. Or reverse. We need to understand that our bodies are all different. Not just metabolism and whatnot. But our healthy and ideal selves. Some body types will always be hippy. Some will be sticks with no curves no matter what.  And that’s okay. Be healthy. Get your body into a place where it functions well. Where you burn fuel efficiently and have good fitness.

So stop expecting what will never be and look forward to what you have ahead as a healthier person. And then love whatever that looks like. Even if you’ve can’t get that 6 pack. Or that flat tummy after the 2 kids.

I challenge you to have the courage to start. Even if you’ve failed a hundred times before. Approach it differently, with no goal of supermodeldom. You can succeed and finish being fat, find a healthier lifestyle, and still not be a barbie clone. I promise.

Anyone who has ever tried to go without sugar or treats can probably tell you… it doesn’t last very long. And if you fall off the dessert wagon, it can be a rough landing. Here’s an idea to try.

Within your daily budget (caloric budget) allot 100-200 calories at the end of the day for your favorite treat. (chocolate!!) but there’s a catch. If you blow your budget by the end of the day, and don’t have enough calories left in your bank… no treat for you. Reward yourself for sticking to your goals and calorie count. And you are having just the right sized portion too.

Sometimes, this is what helps me resist the chips or the extra big lunch — knowing that at the end of the day, I have a favorite goodie waiting for me.

Now that I’m a fitness instructor, (sport yoga), I’ve come to really appreciate the importance of modifications.

A lot of people are afraid to go to fitness classes because they feel they might not be up to snuff physically. It might be too hard. A good teacher will be able to tell you low impact modifications or how to lighten up on weights.

I have people in my yoga classes that can put their feet behind their ears. In the same class I have a man that can’t touch his toes. So I make sure to give a few versions of the same pose so that everyone gets just the right workout for them.

So don’t be afraid to speak up if something is a little too tough for you to do right now. If you have a quality instructor, they’ll give you a few options to tone it down a notch or two.

Today I have a word of advice, a cautionary tale really. If you have been on a restrictive diet, or recently cut foods out – go slow when you re-introduce them.

For the last month, I have been eating really well as result of the No Crap challenge. Then a few days ago it was my father in law’s birthday. We had a birthday dinner in his honor. His girlfriend made yummy chicken enchiladas, but they were extremely rich and creamy. I haven’t really had anything rich for a long while, so while it tasted good at the time, I have been paying for it every since. My system just isn’t used to processing fatty foods like that, so my poor tummy has just been in agony for days.

The moral of this story is, when you haven’t had a food in a long time, don’t have a big amount of it. Just a dab will do ya. Give your body a chance to get used to it again. This can be especially true if you are going from a low or no carb diet, than all of the sudden start eating carbs.

It’s good to switch things up and confuse your body, like in muscle confusion strategies or calorie varying techniques. But be careful and don’t surprise your tummies too much or you’ll be moaning and groaning like me.

I don’t care what so called experts say, fruit makes a great snack. You’ve probably heard its bad since its high in fructose. Yes, that’s true. But not high fructose corn syrup, natural god made sugars. And the creator is pretty smart. Fruits have a build in mechanism to help break down and transform those enzymes.

The peal

The fiber of the peal has a chemical effect on how we digest the fructose. So it drives me crazy when people go to all the trouble of pealing an apple. Don’t! It’s not a PB&J sandwich you take the crust off of. Teach your kids to like it with the peel.

Obviously you are not going to eat a banana peel, or an orange rind. But things like apples, pears, peaches, plums… Leave em be.

Here’s a little lesson for ya. I was in Costco today, buying protein powder. The muscle milk mix had in bold face on the front 32 grams protein per serving. The cytosport mix said 27 grams per serving.

Duh, I grabbed the muscle milk. While pushing around the cart, I took a closer look. Apparently, muscle milk’s had two serving possibilities listed. One scoop was 155 calories. 2 scoops was 310 calories. Guess which one they were touting on the front. That’s right 32 grams equals 310 calories.

I went back to check on the cytosport They were only one scoop equaling 140 calories with 27 g protein. Why the huge discrepancy? Because muscle milk puts more ‘stuff’ in their mix to improve the taste. But it doubles the calories. If they had put the single scoop count on the front, they wouldn’t compare and they would lose the advertising game.

Make no mistake, the food industry is playing a big game for your dollars. Pay attention and read the labels. Don’t let yourself be fooled by a tricky marketing ploy.