Webinar: Dealing with the Million Challenges of Healthy Eating

In this webinar, I talk about how to address all of the myriad challenges that come with trying to eat a healthy diet.

I’ve broken this webinar recording into two parts:

1. Part I – My Talk: Dealing with all of the problems of trying to eat healthy (See notes)
2. Part II – Questions & Answers: I answered great questions from members, please watch!

Part I: Leo’s Talk (with notes)

Problem: Changing our diets to something healthier sounds nice, but it’s filled with a host of challenges that can be difficult and overwhelming, so that the odds are stacked against us!

Let’s look at each of the most common problems …

• Stuck in old eating patterns: make small changes over time
• Not knowing what changes to make: pick one small change and get very clear and committed to it, and gradually make shifts
• Not knowing how to cook: Learn! One step at a time. It’s incredibly valuable, fulfilling, even a super power
• Temptations: Remove them when possible, be clear on how you’re going to deal with them, and let yourself feel the discomfort
• Rationalizing: Get very clear, and very committed to small changes.
• Social situations: Give yourself some leeway, but be very clear on what the leeway is. See if you can work with cravings to some extent, but don’t be crazy about it and don’t beat yourself up.
• Cravings and hunger: Cravings are natural — find other ways to address the cravings. Or give in to the cravings in small ways. Hunger is OK to feel! But don’t let yourself get so starving that you’ll collapse.
• Slip ups and downward spirals: Encourage yourself instead of letting yourself slip into the habit of discouragement. Get back on track. Coming back, over and over, is the key practice
• It’s hard, I don’t want to do this: see this as a loving act for yourself

A few key ideas emerge from this discussion:

1. Clarity: Get really clear on what changes you’d like to make
2. Small, gradual changes: Don’t try to change everything at once, or you’ll make it hard on yourself
3. Commitment: Get this commitment deep in your mind, so that you feel you’ll move mountains to make it happen.
4. Let yourself feel a little discomfort and practice with urges
5. Encourage yourself
6. Keep coming back
7. See this as a loving act

Part II: Questions and Answers

In the second part of the webinar, I answered a number of great questions from members, please watch!