Let’s begin by defining diet in context. When I talk about diet or dieting I mean dramatically changing your eating habits, reducing calorie intake, and/or restricting a wide variety of foods in order to lose weight. For instance, going from the standard american diet (SAD) to juicing, Atkins, Vegan/Vegetarian, or cleansing. I have done them all and every time I’ve lost 10 pounds in a couple of weeks and gained 15 in a couple of months.
Here’s the problem. If you think “diet” as in, “I’m only going to eat this way for a while until I reach my goal” you are also thinking “this is not how I want to eat.” If this resonates with you and you are trying to lose weight, please please pretty please DITCH THE DIET!
In the last eight months I have lost 52 lb. and I have eaten everything I love to eat that’s not very good for my waistline. I have not taken anything off but instead have added new foods to my life. I still have a turkey and cheese sandwich for breakfast but I choose 100% whole grain breads. I still have pasta al pesto (my favorite) for lunch but I pair it with a salad. I had initially changed my old carb-loaded dinners for cereal and milk but have now switched to an even lower carb load of fruits, nuts, and sometimes cheese. I eat much more varied now and probably much more in general but more importantly, much better.
I also move a lot more. I went from no exercise, to walking at least 40 minutes 3 times/week, to zumba at least 5 times/week, and now I regularly exercise every day (7 days a week) and do a variety of things: yoga, swimming, zumba, and weights. I’m taking my first High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) class next week. And my local Y is starting a kettlebell class that I am very much looking forward to.
Diets are temporary, being healthy is for life.
Ditch the Diet!
Additional Resources:
The Extra Pounds 
I’m seriously impressed with your 52 pounds. But even more impressive is your new attitude towards food and movement. You are so right. And spring/summer is such a good time to reset eating habits as all this healthy produce becomes in-season. (A kettlebell class sounds interesting. Maybe you can talk about that for “K”) #atozchallenge
Thank you! I’m seriously impressed with my weightloss too! I have learned so much and I am loving having the blog to share what I have learned. Mmmm… K is for Kettlebell… could be. 🙂
that loss is pretty impressive! I do most of this already, except for the exercise.
Thanks! I’m averaging about 6 lb./month but I started losing 9/month and have settled at about 3-4/month. Exercise will give you the added advantage of speeding up your metabolism and shaping your body.
This is exactly what people need to read. Diets just don’t work because they are band-aid solutions – I’ve gained and lost and gained and lost before I figured out that you just have to eat better quality foods in smaller quantities and still make room for the things that you like for anything to make a difference : )
Exactly! I really hope everybody gets there eventually.