Part 2: Plan a Non-Diet Year
Supportive behaviors.
January 12, 2026 ~ by Marissa Beck, MS, RDN
Hi Reader,
Before we dive into Part 2 of this non-diet email series, a quick personal note. (BTW, if you missed Part 1, you can grab it here).
I’ll be honest, I am starting this week a little discombobulated. The release of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines last week sent a ripple through the nutrition world, and if you’re a dietitian, you know exactly what I mean lol.
What the hey is goin’ on?!
We got some new Dietary Guidelines for 2025-2030. But this process isn’t new, these guidelines get released every five years.
A brief background: the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) writes a scientific report, and this is the document where the actual evidence review lives.
Then the USDA and HHS use this report to create the final Dietary Guidelines. In the 2025-2030 rendition, some parts are A-ok, and some, not so much...
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The bottom line: even now more than ever, it feels important to come back to the basics.
This is why I am committed to helping you create nutrition and movement goals that are realistic, supportive, and grounded in practical, evidence-based recommendations.
Part 2: Supportive behaviors
Last week, I shared this non-diet framework to help you set realistic goals:
Were you able to think through any desired outcomes you’d like to work toward?
In this email, we’re moving to the next part of the framework: choosing supportive non-diet behaviors that actually back up your desired outcome.
But first, a simple rule of thumb that guides this next step:
Weight is not a behavior.
Even if weight change is something you want (and yes, you’re allowed to want that), we don’t use it as the plan. Instead, we choose non-diet, health-supportive behaviors.
Why?
Because there’s a meaningful difference between weight changing as a byproduct of supportive, non-restrictive behaviors and weight changing because you relied on rigid, disordered rules.
The former supports health and stability. The latter usually backfires.
Okay… so what counts as a supportive?
Things you can actually DO.
Supportive behaviors are sustainable things you can actually do, consistently, that make eating (and life) feel better and less stressful.
They are not:
- Lose 2 lbs per week
- Stick to the plan no matter what
- Only eat non-processed food
- Exercise every day for at least 30 minutes
Those are rules, not supportive behaviors.
Here are some examples of supportive behaviors I commonly work on with clients:
- Eat breakfast most mornings
- Eat regularly instead of waiting until you’re starving
- Plan a robust mid-afternoon snack
- Aim for satisfying meals, mentally & physically
- Have a few go-to dinners for busy days
- Eat enough earlier in the day to reduce nighttime overeating
- Create a consistent eating rhythm, even on imperfect days
- Lift, walk, stretch, or rest based on what your body actually needs that day
The goal here is not to do all of these.
It’s to choose one or two supportive behaviors that clearly connects to your desired outcome and feels realistic for this season of life.
Next week, I’ll show you how I help clients plan these behaviors in a way that’s flexible, realistic, and actually usable (including a few of my favorite planning tools).
I’ll see you back here next week.
P.S. If you want, hit reply and tell me about your desired outcome and some behaviors you are experimenting with this week. I would love to hear what you are up to!
Want support beyond these emails?
If this series is resonating and you’re ready for more support, here are a few ways to work together.
→ The Non-Diet SHIFT Program
If you want structure, guidance, and weekly prompts to help you plan a non-diet year without extremes, the Non-Diet SHIFT program is open. It’s self-paced and designed to support real-life follow-through.
→ Book a Free Welcome Call
If you’re curious about working together but not sure what you need yet, you can book a free welcome call. We’ll talk through your goals, your history, and what support would actually make sense for you.
→ Ready to get started?
If you already know you want to work together, you’re welcome to book an initial nutrition session directly.
→ Follow-up: established clients
If you’re an established client (former or current) and want to schedule a follow-up or check availability, you can do that here:
Thank you for being here. You’re receiving this email because you’ve downloaded a resource, taken a quiz, or are a current or former client of REVV Health.
