So, I’ve decided to go Paleo.

Psych.

I like bread too much to ever do that. Plus, I’m half Italian and my Nonno would kick my ass if I ever gave up carbs.

No, the title of this post refers to the fact that my my diet has changed quite a bit over the last six months.

When I first jumped on the health and fitness bandwagon in 2010, I followed a diet that was very typical of what you’d see in a fitness magazine, characterized by:

• Three 300-400 calorie meals per day
• Three 150-200 calorie snacks per day
• At least 100 grams of protein per day
• 1-2 large cheat meals per week
• Mostly “clean” foods except during cheat meals

The result of this style of eating? Well, I got pretty lean but I was completely obsessed with food.

Most days, I was constantly looking at the clock in anticipation of my next meal, probably because my small, low calorie meals never fully satisfied me while my constant snacking prevented me from ever experiencing real hunger. It completely screwed up my hungry/full signals so that I was eating according to a schedule rather than what my body actually needed.

I spent hours every week planning, preparing and packing my meals and snacks to ensure that a) I would never get hungry in between meals (because God forbid my metabolism should shut down as a result of not “stoking its fires” every 3 hours) and b) I was getting enough protein at each meal to meet my daily target of 100 grams. Any unexpected circumstance that interfered with my carefully planned meals and snacks would send me into a frenzy.

On cheat days, I then became fixated on all of the things I could now eat because I was “allowed” to. I’d eat my face off just because I could and I knew that once my cheat meal was over, I’d have to go back to “clean eating.”

Since moving last summer, I’ve taken a much more relaxed approach to food. I think it’s partly the result of moving in with my boyfriend, who has always had a really positive relationship with food. He has never had to worry about his weight so he eats based solely on what he wants and not for health or weight maintenance. His approach to diet has kind of rubbed off on me so that while I still try to eat healthy and stay within my calorie budget, I’m a lot more flexible about my diet.

The other part of it has been stepping away from certain healthy living blogs I used to read religiously. Since I’m no longer constantly reading about other people’s “clean eats,” I’m no longer being influenced to fear certain foods or eat in a certain way that is seen as acceptable in the health/fitness community.

When I do go online for my health and fitness fix, I tend to gravitate towards blogs that don’t take a rigid stance on food/diet. My current favourite is one that one of my own readers referred me to called Happy Eaters (thanks Megan!). I’m a lurker there but all of the discussions are always so insightful and positive.

Consequently, my diet today is more along these lines:

• Three 500-700 calorie meals per day
• One snack per day if I’m hungry (or timed around my workout)
• At least one sugary treat per day
• I don’t keep track of my protein intake
• No food restrictions – white pasta, processed foods and other dietary bogeymen are all welcome in my daily diet
• No more planned cheat days – I’ll sometimes overeat if the situation warrants it (i.e. a wedding or a special event) but my weekend and weekday diets are quite similar

The results, so far:

1) I’m no longer preoccupied with food. All that mental energy I was previously wasting on planning my meals is now being directed towards far more fulfilling pursuits like writing (non-blog related stuff), spending time with loved ones, reading, etc.

2) A more satisfying diet. My day-to-day diet is so much more fun now that I eat what I want, when I want. No more of this waiting til the weekend to eat chocolate bullshit.

3) Less food anxiety. I no longer fear getting hungry if I’m in a situation where I can’t eat for a long time. As a result, I no longer have to plan my life around my diet.

4) A more fulfilling social life. I used to feel anxious about unplanned social outings because I’d worry about eating “bad” foods on non-cheat days. Now that I’ve abandoned the whole cheat day concept, this is no longer an issue. Like last night, my friends and I went out for wings and beer. Wings and beer on a Sunday night? My old self would have flipped her shit and probably made up an excuse not to go.

5) I’m exactly the same weight. This is probably the most surprising result. Since my old way of eating is how I lost weight and kept it off for a few years, I just assumed any deviation from that diet would undo all of my efforts. But, lo and behold, since my overall caloric intake has remained the same, my weight hasn’t budged.

So, if you’ve been led to believe that eating 6 low calorie, high protein, low carb meals per day is the only way to get/stay lean, and that style of eating is turning you into a food obsessed miserable shell of your former self – don’t be afraid to experiment with something different.

Can you relate to any of the above?