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Summary
On episode 395 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Elizabeth Rider, a leading nutrition and whole living expert who teaches women around the world how to become the healthiest, most successful versions of themselves through her blog and her Elizabeth Eats show on FMTV.
Elizabeth walks through her book, The Health Habit, and argues that most people already know how to be healthy, the real problem is that restrictive, all or nothing approaches to diet do not hold up over time. Her work focuses on turning vague desires like “lose weight” or “sleep better” into daily, actionable habits instead.
The conversation covers her Qualitarian approach to food quality, the difference between people who do better with strict rules versus flexible moderation, and practical tools like the bookend method and the crowd out method for building habits that actually stick.
Links
- https://elizabethrider.com
- https://elizabethrider.com/book
Key Takeaways
- Goals need to be daily and actionable, not just a desired outcome. Elizabeth says wanting to “lose 15 pounds” or “sleep better” is a fine starting point, but you have to work backward to a specific daily action, like keeping your first meal low in sugar or using a consistent eating window.
- Your underlying desire has to run deeper than vanity for a goal to stick. Elizabeth found that when vanity alone drives a goal it tends to fizzle out; a deeper desire, like wanting to feel confident or accomplished, is what actually sustains the daily habits.
- Visualization works because your mind gravitates toward whatever you focus on. Elizabeth compares it to noticing red cars after someone mentions them, and says vision boards work the same way by keeping your goal in your visual environment.
- Know whether you are an abstainer or a moderator before choosing a way of eating. Abstainers feel more free with strict, black and white rules like Whole30 or vegan, while moderators feel restricted by those same rules and do better with flexible guidelines.
- The Qualitarian way means choosing the highest quality version of whatever you eat. Elizabeth warns that gluten free or keto branded snack foods are still processed junk food; the label on a diet does not guarantee real nutrition.
- The bookend method sets aside intentional time at both ends of the day. A short morning routine sets you up to make better choices during the day, while a short evening routine is built specifically to improve sleep, and Elizabeth treats sleep as being as important to health as food.
- The crowd out method builds habits by adding foods in rather than restricting foods out. Elizabeth recommends focusing on eating a big bowl of vegetables or a salad first, which naturally crowds out less healthy choices instead of triggering the feeling of deprivation.
- Replacing “I can't” with “I don't” shifts you into a position of power. Elizabeth's own example is telling herself “I don't eat after 7pm” rather than “I can't,” which keeps the choice framed as something she controls rather than a restriction imposed on her.
- Elizabeth's three strategies to get and stay well: recognize that you are constantly changing and are always free to change course, since your needs shift with your cycle, the seasons, and the stage of life you are in; build an environment that actually supports your healthy choices; and stop searching for one perfect diet and follow the Qualitarian way instead.
“We should be always searching for progress, not perfection, because perfection is in the complete illusion.”
Elizabeth Rider
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 444 – How to survive and thrive when bad things happen – Dr. Jim Taylor