Every year I come out with some sort of “anti-detox” post about why you should probably stop doing whatever you decided to do on January 1 (ok let’s be real, January 2) to lose weight or get healthy or WHATEVER because it’s probably doing more harm than good.

Last year’s post, 10 Ways to Anti-Detox Your Life This Year, is still 100% relevant today and one of NA’s most popular posts. So once you’re done reading this, head that way!

I wanna do something a little different thing year, though.

I’m feeling a little rebellious after 2017.

2017 was the year I decided to say “f*ck the man” and take NA to the next level.

I launched my nutrition coaching business, I worked with some INCREDIBLE brands (I’m especially looking at you, Further Food, who always keeps me stocked with collagen for my Protein Coffee and  Daily Turmeric Tonic), and I created a KICK-ASS group coaching program – the 30-Day Metabolism Makeover.

2017 was, truly, a year of massive risk and rule-breaking.

There were some pretty high-stress situations, tears, throwing remotes (by me), and tough conversations, but there were also a lot of celebrations, 5-min rosés, fist bumps, and “hell yes, I can’t believe we’re doing this”.

Let’s break some rules.

There is really nothing more freeing…and nothing that makes you feel more alive…than breaking a few rules, amiright?

Rules can also give us a complex and get into our head and make us feel “guilty” if we don’t abide by them. Guilt is a really shitty feeling that does a hell of a lot more harm than good.

So, before you start putting a bunch of restrictions on yourself this week. Before you roll out your list of DIET RULES. Before you totally over-do it on your “goals” and then ultimately quit, I’ve got a list of 8 rules I actually WANT you to break this year.

Doesn’t that sound WAY MORE FUN than New Year Resolutions?!

8 RULES TO BREAK THIS YEAR

1. “You have to eat under ____ calories to lose weight!”

Calories are stupid, and here are 6 reasons why if you wanna dig deep. But the bottom line is, 98% of calorie reduction diets do NOT work long-term (according to research, not me), bc ultimately, you just end up slowing your metabolism down. You MUST feed your body the right foods to rev up your metabolism, NOT take them away.

2. “Carve out 1 hour each day to get your sweat on.”

I’m sorry, but who the HELL has an hour every day to work out? If you work HARD for 20-40 minutes/day (think sprints, HIIT, and weight lifting), not only will this be more effective for weight loss and toning, it’ll be a lot easier on your body and your schedule.

3. “Eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up to jump-start your metabolism.”

While it’s important to eat the RIGHT foods for your first meal, eating within 30 minutes is totally not necessary. Actually, you SHOULD wait to eat breakfast a full 12 hours after your last meal the night before to tap into your fat burning power.

4. “Do a juice/liver/kidney/whatever cleanse at least once per year.”

If your body wasn’t able to naturally detoxify itself, you’d be dead. You don’t have to do any weird shit to your body to “detox”. The easiest way to detox is to do it every day by – yep – “fasting” for at least 12 hours/day.

5. “Don’t eat avocados if you are trying to lose weight.”

OK so this is oddly specific, but I recently heard a VERY popular, VERY public dietitian say this and ooooo it made me mad! Yes, they are high in fat, but they are INCREDIBLY filling because of their fat AND fiber content. I highly recommend eating 1/2 avocado every day if you trying to lose weight.

6. “Track everything you put in your mouth.”

While I absolutely think this can be helpful when starting to really pay attention to how certain foods make you feel, it’s not something I ever recommend for more than 30 days. If you stop thinking about food all the time, you can actually start enjoying it.

7. “Only shop the perimeter of the grocery store.”

The perimeter includes mostly whole foods and the aisles are where you’ll find the processed stuff. But hey, not all processed foods are created equal. I ALWAYS grab some high fiber crackers (like GG or Mary’s or Wasa), brown rice cakes, and lentil or chickpea pasta, and I hit up the canned aisle for tuna, salmon, potatoes, and green beans for snacks.

8. “Follow the plan to a T, or it won’t work.”

Look – there are some great diet/health/weight loss programs out there. But UNDERSTAND ONE THING: perfection is shit, and the all or nothing mentality is the reason diets and lifestyle changes fail year after year. This is why you have one bad snack and let it turn into a bad day…then week…then month. NO PLAN is “perfect” for you. And this is important to expand on, so read on.

I don’t care if you are vegetarian, vegan, paleo, gluten-free, if feel the best eating low-carb, high-carb, high-fat, plant-based….you MUST figure out what foods make you feel good and what foods don’t. Eating more than 2 egg yolks make me feel like shit. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat 3 for breakfast every day.

Seriously, f*ck food rules. You do you.

Millions of people will go on a diet this week but know this, you are a unique individual and a meal plan from a book you bought on Amazon or the calories an online calculator told you to eat, are probably not *exactly* right for you.

And THIS is why I created the 30-Day Metabolism Makeover. I wanted to be able to offer my services to more people, who didn’t want to invest in private coaching, and I wanted to be able to TEACH them how to manipulate their OWN metabolism using a simple structure that works for everyone.

I give you a simple structure, including a “base” meal plan, and I TEACH you how to make it your own. And I’m gonna make you get a little uncomfortable. I’m gonna make you work a little. But that’s the only way you’ll ever not have to buy another “diet plan” again.

Break the rules. Get a little uncomfortable. And kick 2018 in the face.

LOVE YOU GUYS.

Megan

Want more info on the 30-Day Metabolism Makeover? It’s all here.