09/04/2026
I didn’t lose 115 pounds by cutting carbs, giving up dessert, quitting diet soda, or eating sad meal-prep chicken out of plastic containers all week.
I actually refused to build my weight loss around anything I knew I wouldn’t want to do forever.
And as a therapist, that mattered.
Because your brain does not respond particularly well to:
“I can never have that again.”
“That food is bad.”
“I already messed up, so today is ruined.”
“I’ll restart Monday.”
That’s how food becomes louder, cravings feel more urgent, and one imperfect choice turns into a three-day spiral.
So I made food stupidly simple instead:
1. Protein first.
I decide where 30+ grams of protein are coming from, then build the meal around it.
2. Carbs stayed.
Potatoes. Bread. Tortillas. Fruit. Whatever. I stopped treating a macronutrient like it had personally betrayed me.
3. Dessert stayed too.
I have a treat basically every day. A planned portion is a whole lot easier on my brain than “NEVER AGAIN” followed by standing in the pantry at 10 p.m. 😂
4. Diet soda stayed.
I stopped wasting energy trying to win some imaginary health-perfection contest.
5. I repeat meals constantly.
You do not need 21 different lunches. You need a handful of meals you like enough to make when your brain is tired.
6. I prep ingredients, not 14 identical meals.
Cook some protein. Keep easy sides around. Stock foods you can assemble in five minutes.
7. I have emergency meals.
Because the plan needs to work on the day you’re exhausted, running kids everywhere, and absolutely not chopping an onion.
The therapist lesson?
The more rules you create, the more opportunities your brain has to believe you “failed.”
I needed fewer decisions.
Less restriction.
Less negotiating with myself.
And a way of eating that didn’t require me to be in a motivated mood.
That’s the kind of system I teach inside my 21-Day Automatic Weight Loss Reset.
Comment RESET and I’ll send you the details. 💛
