Even if this acronym is new to you, I promise you all know what diet we’re diving into today. The SABBD: Standard American Basic Bitch Diet. Eat as little as possible, do as much cardio as possible, and hope ALL the pounds just fall off.
Except… it doesn’t work.
If you want to read this… you’re in the right place.
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If it did work, NO WOMAN on the planet would ever struggle with losing weight. We’d love to believe that it’s as simple as “eat a little, work out a lot,” but that’s clearly not effective. And even more importantly, it’s not even healthy!
Realizing that this strategy is super flawed is what kicked off my own weight loss journey. I started questioning this system I’d been taught through popular opinion. It totally changed my perspective on the way I view my body and my lifestyle. It’s even what led me to becoming a coach! There’s a better way than the SABBD, so let’s do better.
Change Your Mindset, Don’t Cut Your Calories
When I started digging deeper into the SABBD phenomenon, I realized that there was a problem with much more than just our methodology. There was a problem with our mindset. Take, for example, a woman who restricts herself to just 1200 calories a day on the weekdays, but goes wild on the weekends. She thinks her problem is the wild weekends – but she’s wrong. The problem is a restrictive mindset and starvation-mode diet all week! If your weekday plan is keeping you so hungry that you lose all willpower and self control weekend after weekend, you’re actually not doing your long term goals any favors. Wouldn’t it be better if you could build a plan that actually works for you all the time?
For most of us, effective weight loss comes with a hard look in the mindset mirror. I’ve had countless discovery calls that start with, “I know I do best on low carb,” or, “Low calorie is what I need.” Respectfully, if that actually works, would you need a coach? The reality is that most of us don’t know what our bodies need to lose weight. We just go along with what diet culture has told us. We have to ditch that mindset and focus instead on putting pieces together in a way that works for each of our own individual lifestyles and preferences. Your healthy lifestyle needs to be unique to you.
In It For the Long Haul, Baby
To me, a weight loss journey feels like a cross-country road trip. You wouldn’t just hop in your car with no plan, no map, no thought process, and expect to drive problem-free from New York to LA. You’d put gas in the tank, check the air in your tires, get an oil change, and take a look at a map. You’d maybe even chat with someone who has done it before *shameless plug.* You’ll also stop to get more gas when you need it and check those directions a few more times along the way to ensure you’re heading the right direction.
Your body needs maintenance, too. Eventually, your body will stop responding if you never give it the fuel it needs to transport you through life. If you’re expending a ton of energy every day on very little fuel (read: calories), your body is eventually going to quit on you. It’ll just say, “Nope. No more results for you.” Pedal to the metal all day, every day isn’t the road to success. It’s the road to burnout before you’re anywhere close to your end destination.
Don’t get me wrong: eating a low calorie diet can be a fantastic tool when it’s used correctly. (You can see that blog here). But I’d never advise a crash course across the country with no preparation. I’d never advise crashing your calorie count with no preparation, education, or game plan, either. Instead, focus on doing as little cardio as possible and eating as much as possible for as long as possible while you’re still losing weight. That’s how you get results, not even remotely kidding. By building fitness and eating habits sustainably, you’re keeping gas in your tank. Then, when you need to cut calories or up cardio for a while to get to a new level of results, you still have some gas in the tank to actually do it.
Out with the Old, In with the New
If you’ve tried the SABBD and been left cranky, hangry, and not as lean as you imagined when you started this journey (or hell, worse off than before), you’ve crossed it off your list and can now leave the whole thing behind. There are science-backed methods that will take you way farther and leave you way happier. You don’t have to get stuck in the weeds, either. All the contradictory talk about good carbs and bad carbs, good fats and bad fats, cardio vs lifting, and various food calculators can make your head spin. But all it really takes is you, being honest about what’s actually working for you, what’s not, and what’s missing.
Once you’ve got that equation figured out, you’re on the right track. And if that equation feels impossible, hiring a coach will simplify things for you right away. Click here to learn why on earth if you already DO know all those parts of the equation (i.e. eat healthy and exercise) why you’re still not seeing results!
Why Coaching Works
Listen – even coaches like myself hire other coaches when we have goals. As women, we sometimes get so emotionally invested in our own progress that we can’t see what’s happening objectively. The reason social media and diet culture are so confusing is because countless sources are all preaching that they’ve found the one clear superior diet. It’s just not true. You have to figure out what makes you tick and which methods work for your body, your health history, and your goals.
I have clients who are losing weight eating more fats than carbohydrates. I have other clients who don’t do as well on high fats, but they burn through carbs with no problems. Each and every one of my clients has different macro and caloric goals. I’m committed to finding a solution for you – and that makes all the difference.
You don’t have to take it from me, let Team HLB clients show you by clicking here.
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