4 tips to quit overeating on the weekend

"Deanna I want to stop dieting and start eating moderately, but every weekend when I go out to restaurants I can’t stop myself from eating until I am stuffed. I feel sick to my stomach too. I also can't say no to desserts at parties either! HELP! How do I stop? "

- DM from a woman called Naomi.

We all can relate to Naomi. If any of you have been on a diet, you usually are counting down the days until you can let loose around food again. Here are some tips to stop the restrict- binge cycle.

Tip # 1 - Don’t diet.

You need to stop following rules and start creating frameworks around how you eat.

The old rules of dieting keep us stuck. On or off the "diet" wagon. Cutting sugar, alcohol, and carbs leads to a deprivation mindset.

Dieting during the week sets you up for bingeing on weekends. It increases the intensity with food by putting you into a scarcity mindset.

Refrain from setting foods as off limits, from labeling any foods as good or bad.

Commit to focusing on eating foods that make you feel good physically (no being stuffed, bloated, overfed) and emotionally (no guilt, regret).

Prioritize nutrition but always be in a state of permission with food, especially the foods you enjoy

Tip # 2 - Feed yourself!

When dieters/former dieters know there will be extra food around, they tend to think in terms of math and calories - skipping meals, eating less, “saving room”.

The best thing you can do to ward off cravings and overeating is to feed yourself nutritious food at regular intervals.

Being near extra sweets while you’re hungry will of course lead you to eating with abandon. If you are making sure to eat enough during breakfast, lunch and dinner, this will help you stay mindful with your hunger cues. There is a difference between fighting hunger and feeling hunger. . I like to try and eat protein and veggies at each meal, and then stay mindful around any "trigger" food.

Tip # 3 - Permission

Allow yourself to have what you want with full permission. If you can’t stop eating it, it’s time to question what’s actually going on - are there emotions to deal with? Are you eating enough? Do you know you can have more tomorrow, and the next day, without guilt? No need to eat it all right now, as cookies, chips and chocolate are available all year round. Most of us only register 2 levels of hunger: starving or stuffed. Mindfulness cuts to the middle of that spectrum and helps you tune into the nuances in how your body’s feeling and what it wants. I have a Instagram post that digs into the difference between hunger and cravings: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIv0C9EA8D8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Tip # 4 - Healthy Boundaries

Ask yourself, if this weren’t here, would I feel like I was missing out or restricted without it? In the Moderation365 curriculum we call this situational eating.

Even in a state of permission, it’s ok to have boundaries. If you don’t feel restricted and like you’re missing out, it’s ok to throw the cookies and squares away or give them away. It’s ok to put the Christmas baking in containers and freeze them where they are not in sight for you to grab every time you walk by the kitchen.

Let me know if you need to reach out for more information on how to eat #Moderation365. I am here to help.

Coach Deanna

When Weight Gain Is Necessary To Restore Health

Gaining weight is difficult emotionally and physically, but sometimes it’s necessary for us to bring back our health.

I used to compete in a sport which only scored you on how you looked. So, learning to detach my sense of self-worth from my body and re-attach it to who I am as a person was an extremely hard process. I had to remind myself that even if I started to look different, it doesn’t mean I looked worse I had body dysmorphia.

This is really hard for most people to believe while it’s happening, because it usually doesn’t become apparent until far later on. For me, I had to constantly remind myself that I couldn’t trust my perception of myself in the mirror. It took years for me to look back and realize that at times when I felt “chubby,” I was still very lean. I can see that now, but at the time I had a totally different perspective.

To fully heal I had to do the following:

1. STOP WEIGHING MYSELF.

The number on it means nothing. A scale can’t tell you how you feel or when you’ve reached true health. Scales are all different, and most of them are inaccurate anyways. Don’t let a piece of metal define your self-worth. Scales really do nothing but increase anxiety and cortisol levels.

2. Throw /give away clothes that no longer fit me.

Trying to squeeze into clothes that aren’t your size is uncomfortable and looks much worse than wearing clothes that fit you. Wearing clothes that are too tight and uncomfortable just make you constantly aware of your body throughout the day. There is nothing wrong with wearing a bigger size than you used to. If anything, it’s a good sign that you’re making progress. Guess what? No one else knows or cares about the number on the tag. What they might notice, though, is if you’re acting self-conscious and uncomfortable in whatever you’re wearing.

3. Stop measuring and counting.

All numbers – just stop. No calories, macros, ounces, sizes, pounds, etc. Numbers should not control you. #moderation365 allowed me to relearn hunger and fullness cues, and I will never go back.

4. Stop looking in the mirror so often.

I realized that I used to look in the mirror a lot. Every time I passed a mirror, I analyzed myself. I body checked constantly.

This is a very important habit to break.

5. Stop looking at old photos of myself at my leanest.

It’s easy to look at old pictures and romanticize the past. Guess what, though? We can’t move backward, and you probably weren’t as happy in that photo as you’re imagining you were. Doing whatever you were doing then is what got you to the place you’re in now.

6. Stop looking at so many photos of other people! This means spending less time on social media and unfollowing people who post a lot of photos of themselves and trigger you to compare yourself to them.

Photos are highlight reels, taken when people look and feel their best. It is ridiculous to compare yourself to another person’s body, because no matter what, it is physically impossible for you to look exactly like that person.

7. I focused on loving how I wanted to FEEL!

Think about how lucky you are that your “prescription” for health is to CHILL OUT. Eat more food. Relax. Lay off the workouts. Walk more. There are a lot of people out there who are told they have to RESTRICT more to get healthier, but my path to health was the OPPOSITE!

You have permission to free yourself – don’t fight that! Embrace it! Eat the food! Ditch the workouts you dread! Relax!

I am happy to have added 15lb to my body frame in exchange for NEVER having to go back to the food obsession I used to have in addition to the extreme anxiety around gaining weight. Healthy mind AND body > weighing 15lb less.

I hope this was helpful to even one person out there.

If you need help to quit dieting, I am here to support you.

The #Moderation365 Method

You KNOW you need to do something different. You're finding yourself being ‘good’ all day or all week only to give in at night or on the weekend?

You're spending hours and hours in the gym and you feel like you're doing everything right, but still aren’t seeing the progress you want to find a way to achieve a healthy body composition without the obsession...

You have (now or in the past) turned to templated diet programs, fads, MLMs, meal plans, macro calculators, food trackers, etc to try to figure out how much and what to eat...

You're tired of diet plans that feel restrictive, complicated, and/or unsustainable...You're frustrated with all the conflicting and/or wrong information out there in “internetland”...

You're dealing with other issues like menstrual cycle irregularities, frequent injuries, plateau with strength gains, poor sleep, low energy, poor focus, loss of sex drive, or obsessing about your next meal...That voice in your head is saying “there has to be a better way…”

Maybe you feel like just giving up, because this whole nutrition thing is too damn complicated and overwhelming! But you know you can't keep spinning your wheels, and I don’t blame you! Not seeing results sucks. And seeing other women having success and looking so good can be frustrating, especially when you’re working your ass off!

We can’t rely on sheer willpower and a life of white knuckling every nutrition decision. Because at some point it won’t be enough.

What if I told you there was a way to honour your cravings, enjoy your meals and feel totally at ease and in control of any food situation?

#Moderation365 is the way. And I can show you how.

The #Moderation365 Method (@moderation365) • Instagram photos and videos

The Moderation365 method philosophy is intended to put an end to food obsession and the roller coaster of dieting. My fitness & nutrition philosophy has always been nothing extreme and “everything in moderation”.

There is so much to experience & enjoy in life, that we do not want to spend HOURS training in the gym or miss out on the wine and chocolate. I decided to take the Moderation365 course because it fits with my philosophy. There is NO elimination of food groups, or foods. It is all about learning how to listen to your body, enjoying moderate amounts of food & discovering what feeling satisfied is. Sometimes, easier said than done, I know. This is a process and if you trust in the process the results will be sustainable for life. This is what you can expect from Moderation365.

Upon enrollment, you'll complete a quickie assessment and within a couple days, I will be reaching out to welcome you and get you connected to begin the coaching process.

Communication will be via WhatsApp and email.

Your coaching will include:

6 weeks of weekly 1:1 phone calls with me, scheduled for a time that is convenient for you, to work through the week's lesson and help you troubleshoot on the fly what's working for you

Ongoing communication with me between calls to make sure things are going well, and if they aren't, not to be hard on you (lol) but instead to troubleshoot something that will work better. <--THIS is why I'm a huge fan of 1:1 coaching because honestly, if something isn't working, we change it in real time!

Access to the #Moderation365 coaching materials, which include an initial assessment, worksheets to complete, trackers and templates for implementing the exercises and practices I am going to teach you -- each week, I will be introducing a new nutrition concept and helping lower the barrier of entry for you so that you can actually do it.

Regular check-ins on how you're doing with the new behaviors and troubleshooting if needed. This program is the OPPOSITE of a rigid meal plan or strict food lists. I will be providing ideas, inspiration and most importantly, the tactical tools to make sure you can actually do this, and are successful.

I am not only certified in the #Moderation365 nutrition methodology, but know from experience I am a action oriented coach, which as you know is a specific skill set on it's own.

Being that I have gone through this whole process I hold empathy, understanding, validate your feelings, will motivate and most importantly, I have undergone my own nutrition transformation so I promise you, I know how you feel.

We will work together to tease out your specific nutrition formula, what will work for you long-term and based on your goal: fat loss, muscle gain, moderation and mindfulness, balance and more.

Let's do this!

Copyright The #Moderation365 Method

Do you need to workout SMARTER not HARDER?

You may think with the last name {Harder}- I would be the first one to preach “GO HARD OR GO HOME”
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Although, yes, I do pride myself on being a hard worker, and “easy is earned “, there are times when working harder is actually what was keeping me stuck.
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It’s true that most women have multiple competing priorities including: managing a home, work life, raising children, social media, confusion around female training (lack of or TOO MUCH education/misinformation, physical barriers (eg Pre-Post Natal, peri menopause /menopause), time constraints, unrealistic expectations and don’t forget training myths like “weightlifting makes you look like a man etc)...
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Now enter that "not good enough” self talk when we are also being told we just need to “work harder” if we aren’t getting the results we are chase.
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Not losing fat? Work harder.
Not getting stronger? Work harder.
Not gaining muscle? Work harder.
Not sweating? Work harder.
Not sore? Work harder.
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We KNOW how to work hard. It’s all we have ever been taught to do.

Work hard.
Be strong.
Hold it down.
Stay resilient.
Be grateful.
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The problem with this, is that when we add hard intense training into an already stressful lifestyle (poor sleep, poor nutrition mental health issues), often we see problems escalate.
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When it comes to getting results with our training goals, we DON’T need to work harder- we need to work SMARTER and start to work WITH our bodies, rather than against them.
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We need to look at the entire lifestyle. We need to address stress management, thoughts/beliefs around training and nutrition, environment (support systems/stressors), sleep routines, hormones, nutritional foundations, daily movement and THEN training (stop asking about things like supplements, fasted cardio, meal timing etc. these things are a huge waste of your time and energy if you haven’t mastered the basics first).
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Often this comes down to us taking RADICAL Responsibility for our health.
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Making sure you manage your stress levels by prioritizing sleep, nutrition, setting boundaries etc.
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Checking the above list off BEFORE you even start to add more workouts.

Are you doing hours of cardio and still look exactly the same? You need to lift weights!

I have nothing against cardio, but in regards to body composition, when you start to do cardio, including those cardio classes like peloton...the more you do, the more efficient your body becomes at burning calories.

Lifting weights, on the other hand, will always require more energy AFTER wards, and the more you progressively overload, the more calories you are burning.

Building muscle leverages! You will have a faster more efficient metabolism. You will decrease your chances for injuries, an increase in stamina, and overall quality of life. When we build muscle, we burn more calories at rest, and thus can eat more food...so that alone is a HUGE bonus.

A solid lifting program is what gives you that toned, shapely look.

Cardio cannot provide the physique that a proper resistance training program can.

Ultimately, exercise is meant to enhance our lives and health. Lifting weights helps me manage my stress and anxiety which aids in relaxing my mind. I have a passion for coaching busy women in the areas of nutrition, exercise and mindset. I want to help my clients move their body in ways that make them feel strong and how to live a life in which diet and exercise are a part of NOT consumed by them.

You can still gain muscle, gain strength, and improve your body composition while working out from HOME. I can show you how!

Body Neutrality

Being it’s #eatingdisordersawarenessweek just around the corner, I wanted to post about my difficult journey with my own mental health struggles.

I really wasn't aware when I was in recovery that my eating disorder would be so hard to overcome. My counselor assured me by saying things like "did you think your eating disorder was going to go down without a fight? Because it’s going to find ways to challenge you."

I had to do things every single day that made me very uncomfortable. The first thing was eating foods that were on my "bad" list... like fruit.

Yes, I used to be afraid to eat fruit because "sugar"....

So, we started with eating berries, then I moved on to bananas! WOO HOO...

I next had to reduce my exercise from 3 hours a day, to 2 hours, to 1 hour to now 4 x 45 min a week. (( sweet spot where I get my period, recover, and sleep 7-9 hours))

No, my recovery wasn't linear. I had set backs. I would body check obsessively, and become discouraged when I would see my body get softer as I gained weight.

"Compulsive body checking is like an itch you can’t scratch” In the toughest moments, I had a coach tell me to remember that I was working on grounding and reprogramming how my thoughts are just thoughts.

Not all thoughts are helpful.

Not all thoughts need action.

“The volume of your unhelpful thoughts will be turned down as you establish new programming. Bodies were never meant to be micromanaged to obtain a different size or shape. If you are struggling to maintain your current size, then, maybe you are not meant to be that size. {ASK: how hard would it be or what would it require that I give up to keep the body size I’ve been trying to manage?’} "

Challenge those negative thoughts.

Deanna =1 ALIVE

ED= 0 DEAD.

If you need help, do not hesitate to reach out. You are not alone.

Body Neutrality is the idea that you can exist without having to think too much about your body one way or another, positive or negative. Here are some tips to incorporate it into your day.

@eatingdsna

DGH

From Home - Eating Disorder Support Network of Alberta (edsna.ca)

How I Went From A Strict Dieter To A Moderator

If I could sum up how I eat and train now after going through extreme diets and long periods of over exercising.. I would say “it feels calm” .. just a gentle settling where I can finally exist in a space where I can eat for my goals of strength and hypertrophy but also drink wine and eat chocolate or take a rest day and not feel bad or guilty.

A few years ago that would have been a NO. Now I can be around any food at any time and I don’t feel stressed being around them. I don’t feel anxiety if I don’t weigh or measure my food, and even the idea of restricting foods (( like #dryjanuary 🙅🏻‍♀️)) lol makes me feel so angry! 🔪

I never tell myself I can’t have something. It super charges my diet brain.

As long as you're restricting yourself or making any food forbidden and then you usually can’t stop thinking about that food.

My eating disorder thrived on restriction and rules. Even the PERCEPTION of deprivation leads to overindulgence - always.

Giving myself unconditional permission to eat whatever I want - I always have ease with my food- I don’t eat everything just because it tastes good- I check in with how I am feeling.. a quick body scan- physically- am I hungry? How hungry? Am I craving? Could I wait an hour to eat? It’s just a low level of mindfulness.

Mindfulness just slows time.. making the connection between your choices and how they make you “feel”....

For me I want to feel good! Not starving, not stuffed, no more mental gymnastics of what to eat, when to eat, how many calories, could I fit this into my macros??

Food is a non issue- not taking up so much rent space in my head!

I want to help my clients have a better, less stressful relationship with food AND minimize the amount of time and mental energy they spend thinking and obsessing about food, so they can spend their finite time and energy on other things, like family, career, personal development and balance.

I want them to know they trust themselves around food 100% of the time.

The #Moderation365 Method is the only way I eat now.. it’s a forever thing. 🥂

As I take 4 new clients through this curriculum I remind myself how I want to feel around food and exercise.

Let me know if this is something you can relate to. I have a solution to help you move from a dieter to a moderator.

Impromptu photoshoot after my workout this morning.

Consistency in 2022

When I ask folks on the social media platforms: "What’s your biggest struggle with fitness and nutrition?"

This is the #1 answer I get : CONSISTENCY.

Staying consistent is the biggest struggle.

I understand this all too well. If you know my exercise dependency and eating disorder history at all, you know I struggled with restricting foods, cheat days, guilt and shame when it came to not eating ‘healthy foods’ or taking a day off at the gym. I was stressed and obsessed with having and keeping a shredded physique.

My body finally had enough, and I crashed and burned. Mostly because that lifestyle was neither healthy NOR sustainable. Why? Because I set impossible standards that I expected myself to live up to no matter the season of life. Meaning, if I was sick or stressed or traveling, I expected the same crazy level of obsession with my diet and training regime.

Long story short, I did a lot of (mindset) work and now live in a place of moderation and ease with how I train and eat. #foodobessionfreedom. I’ve found a way to be consistent with my goals that allow me to live the life I thought was not possible during my figure competition days.

One thing that helped me get consistent was figuring out my non-negotiables.

My priorities.

My anchor actions.

The behaviors and activities that I need to do on a daily basis that would make me feel my best.

This is an activity that ladies do in #moderation365 program in the week of the curriculum. The goal of my coaching programs, both fitness and nutrition, is to help women get consistent and find their version of ease and enjoyment with their training. The best way for them to get clear on how to start doing that is to figure out their non-negotiables.

Action step:

MAKE 2 LISTS

Take a look at your life. Write down all the activities and behaviors you feel like you HAVE to do or SHOULD do on a daily basis to live your best life. Just list everything.

ME? I used to think I had to work out 6 days a week, both cardio and weights for at least an hour each, carbs ONLY post workout, NO carbs at night, no wine during the week and only enjoying treats on the weekend.

Then make another list of the non-negotiables or anchor behaviors and activities you ACTUALLY NEED to do daily that really move the dial.

It took me a while to make mine, but try it: What are the big dial movers?

My non-negotiables include:

a 30 min walk every single day, preferably a podcast walk in between clients to increase my energy
sleep 8 hours a night
lift weights 4 times a week
eat protein at every meal and snack
Simple shit.

These are all things that fill my energy cup every day. And they are all things that I can do in any season of life, consistently (Side note: Drinking coffee or taking a pre-workout everyday gives me energy too, even though it’s not on the list!).

Sometimes getting 8 hours of sleep doesn't happen, sometimes eating protein and vegetables at each meal in a day doesn't happen, sometimes the weather turns to -35 and, I don't get my walk in, BUT these are my anchors that I know I can do MOST of the time.

My non-negotiables are simple and manageable. I can always add if I need, but these are the big dial movers.

Start with the simplest, life-giving activities and then build from there. It’s all about the basics.

And speaking of basics, I’ve got a workout for you from the first month of workouts in my online coaching program's December's block. I am currently writing January's block and when I finalize who the new members are, they will be completed and sent out January 7th.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

Dumbbells
Mat
Bench or ottoman
a GOOD attitude !
Workout 2: Upper Body "Delts by Deanna"

A. Seated DB OHP⁣ ( Dumbbell Overhead Press) I used a chair in my condo for support. Neutral Grip-

Build to tough set of 6-8 Reps⁣ ( so warm up with a set of 6-8 light, then increase weight until you get to a tough 6- )

Then complete 2 x10-12 @ reduced weight⁣

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B. Super set the following chest and back exercises:

Dumbbell Row 3 x 8-12 each side

Push-ups- 3x as many as possible * ask for modifications.

I want quality reps.
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C. COMPLETE THIS COMPLEX x 2 Rounds:⁣ **

12-15 Reps Seated DB Lateral Raises⁣

12-15 Reps Seated DB Overhead Tricep Extensions⁣

12-15 Dumbbell hammer curls standing

12-15 Reps Tricep Dips

Rest 60-90 seconds between rounds⁣
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D. Plank -Knee to elbow variation 2 x 10 each side...* find a difficult # of reps*

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Whatever you aren’t changing, you are choosing. If you are ready to join a community of bad ass ladies who have a common goal- to get strong, build muscle, look good and feel even better as we age, I want you in my program.

The goal of any lifting program should be for you to gain strength and build muscle over time. Building strength is most likely the single best way to reach your health, fitness, and aesthetic goals.⁣

Fitness isn’t a way to escape or cure your problems. Both too little and too much exercise can negatively impact your mental health as I mentioned above.

But your mental and physical health are linked! There’s plenty of research that suggests that strength training can elevate your mood, reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, and boost your self-esteem.

For me, pushing myself physically helps me push myself mentally. Proving to myself that I can learn new things and do what I thought I couldn’t is empowering!

New block goes LIVE January 10. Give me 8 weeks. If after 8 weeks you want to bail, you can!

Contact me for all the details!

#strongertogether

AGE HOW YOU WANT

Feeling myself….

Them: Enjoy your 20s/and 30s because it’s ALL over once you hit 40…

Me: hold my 🍺

44 and not going to fall victim to that bullshit.

Age how you want.

Tips: lift weights and slay your demons by loving yourself harder. I am annoyingly consistent with my workouts.

Life is happening for you not to you.

“How can I expect you to love me if I don’t love me?”
@byron.katie

Reminder: You can start something new at ANY age. Life is not over at 40. Time to change that narrative.

Scales Are For Fish

Getting strong and prioritizing your health translates into being able to LIVE LIFE and do all the amazing things you want to do OUTSIDE of the gym. And I promise you don’t need to crush yourself to make progress..

Candice Grant not only LOOKS strong- she actually IS strong.

She is proud of her body, and wants to always feel strong and confident inside and outside the gym.

It’s amazing to see what one's body is capable of doing once their mind is focused on more than eating less and exercising more. It's also pretty fucking cool how a high-quality strength and hypertrophy program can prep you for anything.

Fighting with a 150lb Marlin for 40 minutes is no easy feat, but a strong body makes it so much easier!

Bodies are neat. They’re moldable, and our current state doesn’t determine our future state. We have control over our own destinies, and we can shape and strengthen our bodies the way we choose to. WE DRIVE THE BOAT AROUND HERE.

Growing a strong and muscular body and looking fit doesn’t come from endless amounts of cardio and chronic dieting.

It comes from getting in the gym, lifting weights, and eating a sufficient amount of calories for long periods of time.

Candice's radiant and proud smile says it all. More than any number on the scale ever would. Scales are for fish.

Let’s GOOOO!!!

Caught this 150lb marlin all by myself !!! 40 minute fight… was amazing experience so happy I had the strength to do it #girlpower #fishingwiththebigboys