Too often people use
the word diet when they really want to discuss nutrition or nutrition when they
want to talk about diet. While these two words can have the same definition, in
some incidences they have very different connotations.
Most often people use
the word diet when they attempt weight loss. Because of this, the word diet has
come to be defined as a denial of favorite foods. People hear the
word diet, and they cringe at the thought of limiting food choices, feeling
hungry, avoiding social occasions, and unhappiness. It also conjures memories
of past attempts at weight loss, commercial diet programs that they have tried
time and time again, or self-defeating thoughts that roll around in their
minds. Because of these previously formed beliefs, often times you’ll hear
people declare “Diets don’t work!”
I challenge these
opinions. Diets do work!!! They work when people can begin to understand that
diet only defines the way one eats. People choose all sorts of diets:
vegetarian, vegan, low carbohydrate, high protein, etc. Diet just means:
D…Decide (how)
I…I’ll
E…eat
T…today
This definition puts
you in total control of food choices.
We fall into a false
belief when we buy into the notion that diet means depriving ourselves of
something, or of everything, we enjoy. We can easily combine nutrition with
diet because nutrition is eating as it relates to our dietary needs. Those
needs change over a lifetime. Children and teenagers have different dietary
needs than someone in their seventies or eighties. Pregnant or lactating woman
differ in dietary needs than their male partners, and overweight individuals
must adjust their dietary needs if it’s their desire to lose excess body
weight.
In order to stop
gaining weight and start losing it, one’s diet must change from the current
diet to one that produces weight loss. We cannot argue that point! The
question remains how can one lose weight without feeling deprived? How do we
change eating patterns to ensure all necessary nutrients are consumed?
To transition from a
diet that causes weight gain to one that will achieve sustainable weight
loss, nutrition must be paramount. If the word diet relates to bad memories of
your previous efforts, forget it and let’s talk nutrition instead
Six nutritional
steps to take:
1. After careful
consideration, you may be surprised to find that you are currently eating food
with little or no thought to how much you enjoy the item. Eat only the food you
love and avoid food you find mediocre. Eliminate food items that you know you
can easily do without.
2. Replace the
food that has been eliminated with healthier options by including fruits and/or
vegetables at every meal and snack.
3. Plan to eat
five to six times throughout the day. Make your meals smaller and your snacks
larger, and each time include lean protein for energy and sustainability, along
with plant-based products for nutrients and vitamins.
4. Assess your
eating patterns to mindfully include food items considered unhealthy but that
you enjoy. With careful planning you will be able to eat these items in a more
controlled manner.
5. As time passes
and you experience a weight loss and feel energetic, your focus and efforts
will take a different course. Decide which food items and eating patterns
impede your ability to lose weight. You’ll find some of your favorite,
unhealthy food items no longer have the attraction they once did.
6. Understand
that you must eat to lose weight and eating too little could result in
frustration and a failed attempt.
In order to have
successful, sustained weight loss, take the necessary steps and be patient.
Keep your energy levels elevated by understanding and meeting your nutritional
needs. Eating too little, depriving yourself of food, and believing “diets
don’t work” will put your system into starvation mode. Diets always work
when they are nutritionally and mentally satisfying. Weight loss is never about
the before and after picture; it’s about making the after the forever.
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