My team and I love reading your responses to these Wellness Wednesday emails.

And lately, a theme keeps showing up in your replies that I can’t stop thinking about.

It sounds something like this:

“I’m doing everything right. I’m moving my body, eating well, trying to show up for myself. And I still don’t feel the way I want to feel.”

This is so common (you’re definitely not alone) and I know it’s a frustrating place to be. 

What I often see when working with women one-on-one, is that there are a few long-held “healthy” habits that are holding them back from seeing progress. 

As women’ we’ve received SO many messages about dieting, weight loss and health that we’ve picked up patterns over the years that actually work against our body. 

Our intentions and our efforts are in the right place, but the patterns and cycles need adjusting. 

Here are the five patterns I see most often:

1. Eating Light All Day but Overeating at Night: Why It Happens and How to Fix It

This one is so common. This habit is well-intentioned. You’re trying to be mindful and eat light throughout the day, but what ends up happening is by the evening, your body is genuinely HUNGRY. 

This often leads to overeating, bingeing or making choices that don’t align with your long-term goals. 

When you under-fuel in the morning, your body catches up with a vengeance later.

What to do instead: Start your day with a nourishing meal that includes protein, fiber, and a little bit of healthy fat. My go-to is an egg + egg white scramble loaded with veggies and served over a slice of sourdough bread. 

Research shows that eating protein earlier in the morning has a measurable effect on appetite regulation throughout the rest of the day.

2. All-or-Nothing Dieting: Why Being “Good” All Week Leads to Weekend Overeating

I fell into this pattern for years. I would start fresh every Monday, eat well throughout the week, avoid sweets, count my calories, and then when the weekend hit, I’d be so ready for a break that I’d over-indulge from Friday to Sunday.

Research shows that for most people, the rigid, all-or-nothing mindset (aka: trying to be “perfect” during the week) actually increases dietary lapses, exercise dropouts, and stress. 

It’s a cognitive pattern that many of us get stuck in. But naming it is the first step to changing it. 

What to do instead: Focus on nourishing your body well every day of the week and allow yourself small, mindful indulgences a few times per week instead of saving them up for the weekend.

Find other ways to “let down” on the weekend that don’t revolve around food. Perhaps having a leisurely morning with coffee in bed, reading on your patio, meeting up with friends for a walk, or unplugging from technology. 

And when you over-indulge? Instead of  waiting until Monday to start over, ask yourself “what’s a supportive next choice right now?” Choose grace over guilt and remember that small resets matter more than full restarts.

(I teach on this in depth inside the Nourished Reset)

3. Always chasing the next fix.

New plan. New supplement. New strategy. Every day we are being sold something new to try that will fix our problems. (See my recent post, Are We Making Wellness Too Complicated?) 

It feels like forward momentum to start something new again, but it actually keeps you from ever building the consistency that creates real results. 

What to do instead: Repetition (not novelty) is what changes things. 

Pick a few basics and stay there longer than feels comfortable. It will feel repetitive, it will feel a little boring, it will feel like it’s not working at times, but staying committed for months (eventually years) at a time? That’s where the magic is.

4. Working out hard… but not consistently.

Intensity feels productive, but when it comes to seeing results, consistent exercise throughout the week is more effective than maxing yourself out in that challenging workout class once per week. 

Believing that workouts need to be long, sweaty or exhausting in order to be worth it, will keep you stuck in a pattern of dread and inconsistency (especially if those workouts leave you so beat up that you need multiple days to recover).

What to do instead: Move consistently throughout the week, even in small ways. This may look like a combination of short Pilates workouts, weight lifting workouts and evening walks. Or it may look like attending Pilates classes 2x during the week and yoga and a hike on the weekends.

30 minutes counts, 10 minutes counts, ALL movement counts. 

The goal isn’t to crush yourself occasionally and spend a week recovering — it’s to build a rhythm you can sustain.

5. Over or under-eating healthy fats. 

I know this gets confusing. “Fat is good!” “Fat is bad!” We’ve heard it all and we are ready for clarity!

Healthy fats are essential for good health. They support our brain, joints, digestion and most importantly our feeling of satiety (feeling full and satisfied after a meal).

I find that most women fall on one extreme or the other. 

Either fearing fat and not eating enough (therefore feeling hungry all the time, brittle nails, dry skin, brain fog) or over-eating healthy fats which easily adds up to more calories than our body realistically needs each day, which in turn, can lead to surprising and unintended weight gain.

What to do instead: As a general rule, remember that a little healthy fat goes a long way. 

A single serving can look like:

• ¼ avocado
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 finger-size serving of cheese
• ½ – 1 tablespoon peanut butter

There is no need to fear fat, but portion sizes do matter when it comes to overall caloric intake matching your body’s actual caloric expenditure.

If you saw yourself in any of these… I want you to hear this:

You’re not alone in feeling like nothing is working. 

You’re just human and have likely picked up some sneaky patterns over the years that seem small, but are contributing to feeling stuck. 

As women we are bombarded with rules and weight loss strategies every single day – so it makes sense that along the way we’ll develop some patterns that don’t serve our actual goals. 

At Lindywell, that’s exactly what we’re here to change.

We’re here to help you cut through the noise so you can feel clear and confident in where to focus to improve your health and feel like yourself again. 

Which of these patterns resonated most with you? 

Leave a comment and let me know — my team and I read every single response. 💛