My ugly dieting past brought out so many new thoughts and emotions. One reader commented,

The thing for me with Mark is that technically I feel like with Paleo he is still promoting a diet of sorts..how is that different than going vegan?

She was right, but since I don’t think Mark feels like he’s on a diet, I responded,

It’s just not so much a “diet” anymore for him because there are no restrictions, his body is happy and he finally feels healthy. It is a lifestyle for him. I think that’s where we all should be. Not diet; lifestyle.

After that dialogue, I thought about this more:

Diet vs. Lifestyle.

What constitutes a diet? What constitutes a lifestyle?

I would argue that one person’s diet is another person’s lifestyle and vice versa. This is why….

I never went on a gluten-free diet to lose weight. I went on a super low cal diet to lose weight.

I never went on a chicken, turkey, fats, broths and bananas diet to lose weight. I went on a diet which cut out all fat to lose weight.

And so on.

I am gluten free, currently eating no sugar and as of tomorrow will be back to my bare, bare bones with food for a few days (I’m going through a nasty flare up right now). But to me, none of these are a “diet.” They make up my lifestyle. I’m not trying to lose weight or look like a disgusting skeleton or anything else. The truth is that these are elements which make up a lifestyle I must live in order to be healthy – truly healthy – and able to live without any medication for my colitis. It is also the reason I will never, ever be on a “diet” again.

The truth is that there is no diet out there that was made for me.

There is really no one diet out there made for anyone with digestive issues.

And you? If you are fortunate enough to not have digestive issues….well, there is also likely not one perfect diet out there for you either.

The only diet that has ever worked for me includes one that is completely customized for me, by me and has been designed in bits-and-pieces over the past 7+ years. And because that diet now includes my primary foods, it has become the most perfect diet ever, which I have titled:

My life(style).

What about you? Do you think diet and lifestyle are different? Have you ever thought about it, as it applies to your own life?

It’s been reconfirmed: a healthy lifestyle reigns.

This past weekend I:

• laughed
• learned
• cried
• was inspired
• grew even more passion
• met amazing people
• was transformed (oh Ryan might think I’ve gone completely koo-koo!)

I geeked out over a healthy lifestyle at the MEGA IIN Conference for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition all weekend.

Over the course of 2 days, I listened to, learned from and was inspired even more by the following:

1. Cora Poage
2. Mark Sisson
3. Julia Ross
4. Gary Taubes
5. Geneen Roth
6. David Wolfe
7. Eric Barron
8. Stacey Morgenstern and Carey Peters
9. Seane Corn
10. Paul Pitchford
11. John Robbins

And last, but not least, of course Joshua Rosenthal – the school’s founder. The man with a vision. The man who is transforming the world, one bite at a time.

I learned so many things this past weekend. My mind is full with information, my heart with passion and my entire being with love. In the coming days, I cannot wait to share with you some of my favorite new knowledge acquired.

But with everything I learned this past weekend, the top 3 things I took away were:

1. My own vision is very clear. I know exactly what I am supposed to do as a Health Coach. I know exactly who I want to help, and how want to help spread the vision.
2. The school touched on “Social Media” for only about 5 minutes throughout the weekend. “Social” as a part of connecting with others and growing a business that truly changes lives. I went to the school originally because my goal was to take what I know about food and emotions as they relate to the digestive system (various forms of IBD and IBS) and have the ability to reach an infinite amount of people due to my “social” and digital professional background. I believe that “social” should be a more integrated portion to the school, and I realized this weekend that I would love to make that happen within the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
3. It was reconfirmed: a healthy lifestyle reigns. If you take even 2 minutes to check out some of the people that spoke, you will notice very different dietary theories believed. One minute we were listening to Mark Sisson on the Primal Diet. The next, we were listening to David Wolf on SuperFoods, Organic Foods, the raw diet and medicinal mushrooms. While dietary theories might not be consistent, a healthy lifestyle based upon bio-individuality reigns.

Of the people I mentioned above, is there anyone in particular that you would love to see me feature on a separate blog post? I have certain ones lined up, but welcome your thoughts!

Are You IIN?!

Institute for Integrative Nutrition