Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety Around Food by the Co-Creator of the Whole30

by Melissa Hartwig Urban

Overview

End the yo-yo dieting cycle... forever. Welcome to the Food Freedom plan.

Millions of people have successfully completed the groundbreaking Whole30 program and radically transformed their energy, sleep, cravings, waistline, and health. Now, Food Freedom Forever offers real solutions for anyone stuck in the exhausting cycle of yo-yo dieting and the resulting stress, weight gain, uncontrollable cravings, and health complaints. In her newest book, best-selling author Melissa Hartwig defines true “food freedom” as being in control of the food you eat, instead of food controlling you. Resets like the Whole30 can jump-start the process, but as anyone who has dieted knows, holding onto that freedom and creating healthy habits that last is the hard part. In her detailed 3-part plan, Melissa will help you discover food freedom, no matter how out of control you feel; walk a self-directed path that keeps you in control for months on end; gracefully recover when you slip back into old habits; and create the kind of food freedom that stays with you for the rest of your life.

Food Freedom Forever shows you how to design your reset, making your short-term protocol maximally effective. You’ll learn how to spot your specific triggers before they’re pulled and strategies for dealing with temptation, strengthening your new healthy habits, and boosting your willpower. Melissa also shares advice for retaining your food freedom during holidays, vacations, periods of life stress, social pressure, and criticism from friends and family. By the last page, you’ll have a detailed plan for creating the perfect diet for you, finding your own healthy balance, and maintaining the kind of control that brings you real food freedom every day.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544838291
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

MELISSA URBAN is the co-founder and CEO of Whole30, and a six-time New York Times bestselling author. She is the host of the Do the Thing podcast, and is a prominent keynote speaker on social media and branding, health trends, and entrepreneurship. She lives in Salt Lake City, UT.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Author's Note xv

Preface xix

Section 1 Welcome to Food Freedom

Chapter 1 The Food Freedom Plan 3

The Food Freedom 3-Step Plan 4

Your Food Freedom Journey 6

Chapter 2 My Story 11

We All Have Our Baggage 12

Pizza, Heroin, Sugar, Cigarettes 13

Chapter 3 Diets Don't Work 17

Dieting: Just (Don't) Do It 18

Reset vs. Diet 21

Chapter 4 The Reset (Elimination) 23

Step 1 The Reset 24

The Whole 30 25

Design Your Own Reset 31

Planning Your Elimination 35

Sample Resets 40

Tips for a Successful Reset 54

Chapter 5 The Reset (Reintroduction) 59

We're Mot Dieting 60

Reintroduction Reinforcement 62

Reintroduction Guidelines 63

Evaluating Your Reset 70

Building a Life of Food Freedom 72

Section 2 <$$$>

Chapter 6 Food Freedom, Defined 77

Step 2 Enjoying Food Freedom 78

Is It Worth It? 80

Conscious and Deliberate 82

Chapter 7 In-The-Moment Success Strategies 87

When You Indulge 90

The Language of Food 94

Regret Is Inevitable 96

We Now Return to Your Regularly Scheduled Diet 98

Chapter 8 Big-Picture Food Freedom Success Strategies 103

Growth Mind-set 104

Develop Routines 106

Boosting Your Willpower 108

More on Willpower (the Power of Meditation) 116

Manage Stress 117

Control the Things You Can Control 120

Happier Ever After 122

Section 3 <$$$>

Chapter 9 Spot Your Triggers 127

Step 3 Acknowledge When You're Starting to Slip 129

Trigger #1 The Slow Slide 129

Trigger #2 Vacations 133

Trigger #3 Holidays 136

Trigger #4 Stress 142

Trigger #5 Home Alone 147

It's Okay to Slip 151

Section 4 <$$$>

Chapter 10 Back to the Start 155

Returning to the Reset 156

When It's Not Easy 157

The Role of a Mini Reset 161

Wash, Rinse, Repeat 164

My Reset Recommendations 166

Second Time's a Charm? 167

Every Reset Is Different 170

Section 5 <$$$>

Chapter 11 Talking About Your Reset 177

Phase 1 Have a Positive Interaction 178

Sample Conversations 182

Phase 2 Ask for Their Support 185

Sample Conversations 187

Significant Others 188

Care to Join Me? 193

Chapter 12 Dealing with Pushback 197

Expect the Best 198

Common Criticisms 199

Just Say No (to Peer Pressure) 202

Threat Level: Orange 207

Sample Conversations 208

How Not to Win Friends and Influence People 210

To Be Continued… in Life After 213

Chapter 13 Post-Reset Predicaments 215

Three Little Words 218

To Eat or Not to Eat 221

Chapter 14 In Closing: Go Be Free 225

Out of Nowhere… CUPCAKE 226

Your Food Freedom 228

Food Freedom Forever 230

Resources 234

Index 240

Editorial Reviews

Food can play a powerful role in pleasure, health, and celebration—but it can also be a source of remorse and anxiety. In Food Freedom Forever, Melissa Hartwig explores how we can enjoy food, yet feel free from cravings and negative feelings. It’s a practical, realistic, compassionate—and even funny—guide to establishing a new relationship with food.” —Gretchen Rubin, New York Times best-selling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project   “Eating clean can be tough, but Melissa makes it easy! Her philosophy truly works, without counting calories or being a slave to the scale. Her program, the Whole30, helped change my own philosophy on food and how I eat. Food Freedom Forever is a must-have for anyone who wants to make changes in their life. . .and make them last.” —Molly Sims, model, actress, and lifestyle blogger "I’m a huge fan of Hartwig’s Whole30 Program, and Food Freedom Forever picks up where Whole30 leaves off by tackling the mind-body connection as it pertains to your relationship with food. Our health and wellness goals are often sabotaged because we are at the mercy of our food…controlled by food addictions, unhealthy habits, even perpetual calorie counting that locks us into an obsessive tug-o-war. Food should be a source of sustenance and enjoyment, and Melissa helps bring the enjoyment back by providing tools, tips, and suggestions for creating an extremely personal prescription for healthy eating. I loved this book and truly think it can help anyone stuck on the treadmill of yo-yo-dieting and weight troubles.” —Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint, publisher of MarksDailyApple.com    “Food Freedom Forever gives you everything you need for achieving dietary success, for today and for the rest of your healthy life. Melissa Hartwig’s information is spot-on in terms of scientific validity, and wonderfully approachable in terms of its implementation.” —David Perlmutter, MD, author, #1 New York Times bestseller, Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar—Your Brain’s Silent Killers   “Step away from the calorie counting, food obsessions, and unnecessary restriction. In Food Freedom Forever, Melissa Hartwig delivers a sustainable, healthy diet that will fuel your mind, body, and spirit, and place you in control of your food for life.” —Emily Deans, MD, Harvard Medical School   “I'm a ‘real food’ registered dietitian who believes the standard low-fat, high-carb, ‘everything in moderation’ advice is complete nonsense. Repairing our relationship with food is critical in order to live a happy life, and Melissa’s plan in Food Freedom Forever is exactly what does work for my clients. This is no crash diet, and it’s way more important than a weight loss plan—it’s the beginning of the rest of your life!” —Diana Rodgers, RD, LDN, NTP “Nutritionist Hartwig (The Whole 30) presents dieters with a guide to developing a healthier relationship with food. Organized into 14 easy-to-follow chapters with titles such as “Diets Don’t Work” and “Spot Your Triggers,” and written in a highly conversational and candid fashion, the book lays out a doable program designed to allow readers to gain a sense of control over their eating. The crux of the program, and where it begins, is with the process of eliminating troublesome foods linked to overeating and cravings. Upon completio —

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