Diet Redefined

Diet is such a hated word these days; "Diets are bad" "diets won’t last" "if you go on a diet you will gain all the weight you lost back and then some" they say. In reality the word diet simply means the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutritional intake. I'll say it- we all need a diet. Yep, that's right we do. Small people, big people, tall people and short people, strong and not so strong people. We need diets because without being deliberate with our food we run the risk of not taking care of our bodies and minds. What we do with our diet- now that’s where the trouble is lurking.

Most people think of diets as severe caloric restriction or restriction of certain types of foods in an effort to lose weight and/or feel better. There are several marked diet programs out on the market right now which call for an individuals to significantly restrict calories and sometimes part of the program is buying the (extremely overpriced) pre-packed food. The problem with significantly restricting calories (reducing intake consistently by more than 500 calories of your daily overall burn) is that it will, eventually, damage your metabolism. Overtime the body will go into a starvation mode and significant damage can result. Your hormones, which play a significant role in ability to lose weight, will be in complete disarray.  And you will lose the ability to lose weight. The mind also suffers from the practice of prolonged significant calorie restricting and can easily turn into disordered eating habits and in some cases, a true eating disorder. I also have concerns related to consuming a lot of pre-packaged food. For the most part this food is highly processed and full of additives to increase shelf life. In the short term it is, potentially, more convenient, but long term effects of eating primarily processed food are yet to be totally understood.

In the new world, diets should be thought of through the eyes of Wikipedia: deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutritional intake AND in the context of your lifestyle. Be real with yourself when identifying your lifestyle as it will dictate your diet. If you want to change the way you look and feel- don't look to your diet first- look at your lifestyle. Where do you see yourself? What are your goals? What is keeping you from your goals right now? How are you willing to adjust your lifestyle to get where you what to be? If you aren't sure what to do or where to start- reach out to a professional or someone who has been where you are and might be willing to offer some advice.