Wabi Sabi Dieting & Renee Zelwegger's New Face

The Japanese aesthetic concept of wabi sabi suggests that beauty is linked to imperfection. A smooth surfaced, perfectly shaped ceramic bowl can be purchased at any Target or Macy's, but the potter's bowl that is slightly lopsided or has a tiny crack is more beautiful because of its flaw.

Renee Zelwegger before and after

Which may partly explain why much ado is being made of Renee Zelwegger's new face. Not that she doesn't look Hollywood pretty, but she has lost the squinty eyes and pouty mouth that made it look like she had just sucked a lemon. We loved that her face wasn't perfect.

So what does that have to do with dieting?

It's the notion that being imperfect is sometimes the best approach to solving a problem, which in my case was losing weight on Medifast.

I am not a big fan of processed food; so the idea of eating five replacement meals procured from a company in Owings Mills, Maryland -- along with one meal of real food -- seemed like a weird way for me to lose weight. In a perfect world, I would have eaten organic kale and free range chicken and other clean, healthy foods that do not contain a single ingredient you could not find on a farm.

Imperfectly beautiful bowl

But at the time I needed to melt some fat, the Suzie Granola thing seemed like too big a leap. I wanted something quick, easy and convenient; and Medifast fit the bill.

Now that I have achieved my goal weight, I can work toward continually making better food choices and ultimately eating as cleanly as possible. But I'm not sure I would have gotten to this place had I tried to eat "perfectly" to start with.

Nor do I have the illusion that I will always eat the "right" foods and never stray from my relatively low carb eating plan. Since reaching my ideal weight, I have had an occasional scoop of ice cream or cupcake. And I never beat myself up over it. What I do when eating contraband food is focus on the experience without feeling any guilt. If I'm going to cheat, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

And then go right back to making healthier food choices.

Barbi Brown, a Medifast TSFL health coach whom I admire, counsels her clients that it is okay to be "perfectly imperfect." As she recently posted on our Facebook group page, "When we string enough perfect days together we end up with perfect results of what we're trying to achieve . . .  and that is fat loss." I love that her clients don't feel like a failure if they do not follow the Medifast 5&1 Plan perfectly. They may have a cheat meal here and there -- and maybe even get kicked out of ketosis for a few days -- but they go right back On Plan because they do not expect the path from A to Z to be a perfectly straight line.

Wabi sabi dieting is not about deluding or sabotaging yourself. It's about accepting -- and celebrating -- imperfection instead of using it as an excuse to give up.

You can purchase Medifast replacement meals directly from Medifast Centers, the Medifast website or -- for less cost -- through the co-branded website of a Medifast TSFL health coach. Medifast does not recommend purchasing its products from third party vendors, but if you choose to do so, you can find them on both Amazon and eBay.

Medifast Custom Order - You Choose ANY 10 Boxes



More from Diet Skeptic:

Fruck You! Fructose

Can You Drink Alcohol on Medifast

Medifast Centers Vs. Take Shape for Life

Planned Exceptions: What Is Your Pie Policy?

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