'Now I don't reach for candy': The 'anti-diet' helping one woman curb her appetite while still enjoying pizza and bagels  

By Sadie Whitelocks

PUBLISHED: 12:00 EST, 13 November 2013 | UPDATED: 13:04 EST, 13 November 2013


A disheartened dieter has told how she's finally managed to curb her appetite by ditching the diet books and adopting a 'license to eat' philosophy.

Kelsey Miller, 29, from Brooklyn, New York, who says she's 'pretty tired of being fat', decided to document her 'anti-diet' program via the news site Refinery29 and told GMA that one week in, her approach to food is already changing for the better.

'Before I used to start my day with a very plain, small cup of cereal [but] If I start my day with what I really want, which is very often eggs on toast, I don’t find myself snacking; I don’t find myself going for [the] candy bowl,' she said.

Novel idea: Disheartened dieter Kelsey Miller has told how she;s finally managed to curb her appetite by ditching the diet books and adopting a 'license to eat' philosophy

Novel idea: Disheartened dieter Kelsey Miller has told how she's finally managed to curb her appetite by ditching the diet books and adopting a 'license to eat' philosophy

Throughout the rest of the day, she says she listens to her body and eats accordingly.

'It’s really about diet-deprogramming and learning to eat based on your internal cues.

 

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'Learn to trust yourself around food because your body’s smart and you’re not an idiot.'

Miss Miller, who says she started dieting at the age of 11, supplements her new 'anti-diet' with exercise.

I don't snack anymore: The New Yorker says she used to start her day with a very plain, small cup of cereal but now she has eggs on toast

I don't snack anymore: The New Yorker says she used to start her day with a very plain, small cup of cereal but now she has eggs on toast which keeps her feeling full all morning

While in the past she was more into extreme workouts, hoping they would make her thin, now she prefers moderate exercise to stay healthy.

'I want to know what it means to get in shape like a normal person, with a life. And occasionally, a bagel, if I want'

 

Around her day job she fits in twice-weekly, hour-long personal training sessions and three workouts on her own.

As a writer for Refinery29.com, she is chronicling her journey every week for one month.

'I’m going to do this for real, because I’m done with all the myths, the juggling, and the nonsense I’ve lived on for so long,' she wrote. 'I’m ready to begin something new.

Keep fit: Miss Miller, who says she started dieting at the age of 11, supplements her new 'anti-diet' with exercise

Keep fit: Miss Miller, who says she started dieting at the age of 11, supplements her new 'anti-diet' with five exercise sessions a week - both with a trainer and alone

Taking it slow: While in the past she was more into extreme workouts, hoping they would make her thin, now she prefers moderate exercise to stay healthy

Taking it slow: While in the past she was more into extreme workouts, hoping they would make her thin, now she prefers moderate exercise to stay healthy

'I'm through with the Next Big Diet and the buzz I get when I lose those first five pounds. I'm finished with starting a new workout regime I hate every second of, because it's not a real workout unless I hate it.'

'Pizza is not the enemy, and kale is not the savior. They're both just food. So, if I eat the pizza, I'm still the same person'

She said she was inspired to find a effective weight-loss solution last month after going on a run and realizing just how unfit she was.

She wrote: 'I've probably never been in what most of us would call "good shape." Fitness was never a daily routine for me, and weight was always an issue.

'There were fleeting moments of diet-and-fitness euphoria where I found myself at a weight both reasonable to me and to most women's magazines. 

Pizza's not the enemy! The writer says she wants to keep in shape while still enjoying her favorite foods

Pizza's not the enemy! The writer says she wants to keep in shape while still enjoying her favorite foods

'But those were the times when my life revolved around yogurt and the elliptical machine. It's a lot easier to be a crazy workout monster when things like friends, family, and career advancement take a back seat.'

Now with a 'great' job and boyfriend Miss Miller says her aim is 'to learn, finally, what it means to get in shape and stay in shape, like a normal person, with a life. And occasionally, a bagel, if I want one.

'Pizza is not the enemy, and kale is not the savior. They're both just food. So, if I eat the pizza instead of the kale salad, I'm still the same person. Lunch does not define me.'

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Fat people hate being fat. Stop stuffing pizza and chocolate ice cream in your face then. You are what you eat.

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I wish her all the best, but honestly, she's been doing for a week and is speaking so emphatically about how she's changed? You can do anything for a week. Check back with her in 2 years and see how she's doing. If she's still successful, then you have a news story.

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I like her approach and attitude and wish I could have that outlook when it came to eating throughout the day. My daily diet consists mostly of green smoothies, vegetables, fruit, and tofu, and I'm batting too far below the weight I should be.

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I did the same thing a few years back and for the same reasons, tired of dieting and of punishing workouts that I hated. I gave up sugar and decided to just eat fruit in place of sweets and then only allowed myself a sugary treat of my choice once a month. Im not going to lie, it is VERY hard to give up sugar like that but I easily dropped 60 lbs from that alone over the course of several months time. I didn't exercise at all but just shifted to giving up sugar. One thing I discovered is how quickly your taste buds get accustomed to a level of sweetness. After giving up sugar I became very sensitive to sweetness and found that on the day I'd have my sweet treat that whatever I chose would then taste 10x sweeter than I remembered and was sickenly sweet so that I only ended up eating half of it. It's very easy to get acclimated to a level of sweetness and sugar is addictive, at least to me anyway. If you can manage to do this as well, you'd be doing your body a great favor. .

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Common sense wins again.

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When you have to lose weight you have to restrict yourself somewhat, more calories out than in. Paleo is a great and healthy way to do this and if you still feel you need your pizza and bread after you've lost the way, then it's portion control. Here in the US especially have no idea what a portion is. Everything is supersized.

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Much like quitting smoking, you can only get skinny if you actually want to.

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BREAKING NEWS.... this just in, here is the diet of the CENTURY!!! Move more, eat less.... BAM

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I decided to 'diet' when I quit smoking as I was afraid of putting on weight. I just listened my cravings, be it pasta, burger, pizza, fruit and only ate when I was truly hunger. I managed to lose one and half stone (21 pounds) and nearly 3 years later it's still off and am still a non smoker.

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Eating low carb high protein high good fats is the only way I lost weight and kept it off. Carbs and sugar including fructose is the reason there's a huge diabetes epidemic and people are constantly hungry. Eating more protein not eating low fat rubbish stops the hunger and the snacking. My private doctor admitted the nhs and the government have the nutrition advice all wrong. Make of that what you will.

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Why do people not understand the difference between refined carbs (white flour, sugar) and whole food carbs? They are the healthiest foods on the planet and eating them will keep you lean and healthy. Potatoes, corn, rice, beans, lentils just to name a few.

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Frenchgirl, you should read "It Starts With Food," the Whole 9 book. It puts forth a very convincing scientific argument for not eating any grains (as well as no dairy nor legumes). You can get all the carbs that your body needs to perform from vegetables alone. Eating Paleo/Whole 9 is not possible or necessary for everyone, but for those who are extremely sugar-addicted, it is a fantastic way to reset the body. Whole food carbs may not be bad on their own, but when eaten in the context of all the added sugars and hidden sugars in everyday foods, they just add to the damage caused by the metabolic syndrome of SAD (standard American diet)- eaters. Your body may need to have carbs, but it just doesn't need to be from grains.

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