Diets suck
Diet. What is it? It is the word die with a t on the end. Who wants to do that? I did one successful diet in my life and that was the Atkins diet which I did for four years to help me lose and keep off 40 pounds. But can you really call that a diet?
A diet is something that people will never keep up with, the purpose is to lose weight and once the weight is lost most people resume their prior eating habits and previous weight.
Why I don’t think my four years on Atkins was a diet is because diets are temporary. I thought it was a diet when I started, but it became a lifestyle change. I changed my eating habits to something that I thought was healthier. And yes for you nay-sayers I still believe Atkins is a healthy eating style that can be maintained.
I stopped because of some personal issues. I was having relationship issues and when I am depressed I become a binge eater of junk food much like others turn to drugs and alcohol.
Diets don’t work because they are a mindset. Your mind is determined to eat a certain way until you reach a certain weight. Once you reach that weight almost everyone will slowly revert to their previous bad habits.
About a month ago I made the conscious decision to change my lifestyle again. I went from having cereal for breakfast and burgers and fries for lunch to having eggs and vegetables for breakfast and a spinach salad or beans and chicken for lunch.
My friends who I regularly have lunch with started joking about how I could not go with them because of my “diet.” All in fun joking, but none the less I had to constantly remind them I was not on a diet.
In my mind I am not doing this until I lose some weight, I intend to eat much healthier for the rest of my life so I will have a long life to enjoy with my family and friends. Let’s be honest with each other and ourselves. We may only be 20-30 pounds overweight, but how many years will that cost us with our loved ones? We don’t have enough time as it is.
So next time you decide you are going lose some weight don’t ever use the word “diet”. You are just “changing your eating habits” to live a longer and healthier life.
In the coming weeks I will share the healthy lifestyle choices I have made, how they have helped me be more productive, and how I put minimal time, effort and money into my food.
Until next time, be productive.
[...] I don’t like the word ‘diet;’ I think you are setting yourself up for failure when you use that word. But whatever you want to call it ‘diet,’ ‘lifestyle change,’ ‘eating healthier’ -there is one key to success. One day at a time. [...]