The Last Diet You Will Ever Need
How Many Diets Have You Tried During Your Lifetime?
Photo from Pixabay - no photographer noted
Did you have success followed by a regaining of the weight (plus some)?
Maybe the weight came back after a month, maybe two, but always...without fail... there they are again, those pounds (or kilos) you swore would never return...
And why did you feel you needed to go on that diet in the first place?
Maybe because you wanted to be thinner in order to look awesome in that dress, suit, jeans, bathing suit or naked in the bedroom?
Or, are you doing it for health reasons?
The Problem
Going on a 'diet' is the problem. A diet for most people means you will change your eating habits for some period of time until the weight drops off. During that time you feel deprived, you feel hungry, you not-so-patiently wait to return to your 'normal' eating habits.
But wasn't it your 'normal' eating habits that landed you in this position to begin with?
Looking great is one thing but feeling great, avoiding disease, being healthy and fit enough to do what you want to in life - isn't that the real end goal?
What You Don't Want
What's your greatest fear? Obviously, that question evokes wide and varied responses but I think everyone would agree that a life-threatening or life-altering diagnosis would be on that list. Cancer, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and the list goes on.
No one can promise that one of these fates won't befall you, but if you are taking care of your body in a way to minimize the likelihood of these diseases you will give yourself the best chance to live a life feeling good in health.
The Last Diet - Ready? Here's the Diet
Photo-Unsplash by Jon Tyson- 'And Healthy' word addition by a
Superhero photoshop editor who wishes to remain nameless.
STOP THE DIET MENTALITY!
Change the way you think about food!
- No longer do you think "I can't have that cake for dessert because I'm on a diet"
- You think "I don't eat cake because it destroys my health and pushes me inch-by-inch towards diabetes or a heart attack - instead I have a delicious bowl of berries with all those health-promoting antioxidants, fiber, and nutrition with a dollop of whipped cream on top."
- Nor do you think - "I'm NEVER going to have a piece of cake again" because of course, you are. But instead of it being a 'normal' part of your diet it will be a very, very, occasional treat.
The critical change here are the words 'can't' and 'don't' and 'never'.
If you 'can't' do something it's because you are not allowed to do it or you are incapable of doing it. I can't kill my neighbor, I can't lift 800 pounds.
If you 'don't' do something it's because you are making the choice for yourself to not do something. I don't eat gluten because it makes me sick, break out like a teenager, and gives me gut pain.
I don't eat refined sugars and carbohydrates because they zap my energy, promote cancer, diabetes, dementia, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease and I want to live to 100 years in great health - enjoying my life.
Get the Difference?
Here it is - Step by Step
- You are no longer on a diet.
- You choose foods you know do promote health (veggies, clean grass-fed meats, healthy fats, nuts, seeds, etc.)
- You avoid foods known to destroy health (processed carbohydrates, foods with added sugars, soda, cookies, foods with trans-fats, gluten etc.)
- You listen to your body to find out what works for you - no one strategy works for everyone; you have to find what works for your unique body.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Stay tuned as I continue to discuss healthy food and lifestyle choices.
In the meantime here are a few of my previous posts to get you started.
Yes, yes, yes! Preaching messages like this is what’s needed to begin transforming the negative thinking surrounding food, fitness and health.
Saying “I don’t” instead of “I can’t” puts the power and responsibility on us, where we can take control over our health.
Great job @tamala!
Thanks for your support! One of these days we should run a weight loss challenge together - Steemit’s Biggest Loser :)
In health! T
This is pretty much what I've had to do - stop the carbs - stop the sugar - eat mainly fruit, veges, meat and nuts. I do feel a lot better. When I eat processed carbs or potatoes now all my joints hurt so I can tell that I shouldn't be eating them. Great post!!
It's amazing what happens when we remove the junk and really focus on eating nutrient dense, clean food. Thanks for stopping by! Keep up the good work!
In Health, T
You are so right!
Now to get TV commercials, magazine ads, grocery stores, restaurants, factories, and home chefs to boycott the processed foods and get healthier choices to be more common. Right now, it's so much easier and costs so much less money to make unhealthy choices. We need to change the culture, but the economy would have to transform too, and all those bright-orange Mac and Cheese mixes, all those red fruit punches full of corn sweeteners, all those hydrogenated cookies, those frozen dinners... we can find better models in third world countries with open air markets!
Amen! You are so very right! Remember when they banned cigarette advertising on t.v. (in the US) because it was a national health problem? Same needs to happen with the foods that are killing us. At a minimum, we should spend a commensurate amount of money educating people about healthy food choices.
The good news is that more and more of us are buying organic and healthier foods so by voting in that manner, with our wallets, more and more healthy options have become available. Who knows where we will be in the next 10 years? Hopefully much closer to a grocery store where the majority of the products are clean and healthy AND taste great!
Thanks for your insightful comment! In Health! T
I hit the upvote button on your reply, but Steemit is being agonizingly slow again today.
Yes, ban the high fructose corn sweeteners, MSG, artificial colors and flavors. Orange cheese? I don't need the dye to be motivated to eat cheese. Children are the biggest target of the bright, unnatural colors to entice them to eat junk food. Parents, we all need to say no. Our 22-year-old is grateful NOW that we never let them order soda with fast food (they were lucky to get the fries and chicken fingers). Sugar free or regular, soda is one of the most toxic things we drink. Beer would be safer for our children. Seriously.
When adopt a healthy lifestyle and eat the proper things, you cease to think that you are on a diet. I was on a gluten/sugar/yeast for couple of years. The first month was the toughest.
Changing habits is always hard but once you get through those first few weeks and it truly becomes a habit it smooth sailing from there! Thanks for stopping by!
I've lost over two stone now from switching to a plant-based diet. It's worked out so well for me but I feel I've hit a plateau. I found your idea compelling so I will follow along.
@damianjayclay That's great! Plant-based in that you never eat meat, chicken or fish? Have you noticed health improvement along with the weight loss?
One idea to help you over the plateau is Intermittent Fasting.... I guess I now know what my next post should be.
Thanks for stopping by! In Health! T
Yeah, I mean, it's a little hard to tell because I feel so much better with the weight loss. But I have noticed some longer term health issue starting to ease up. Not sure if that's due to switching to plant based or the weight loss tbh.
Well cleaning the crap out of the diet really does some amazing things. It is always hard to tell why health issues are improving. Certainly, the decrease in inflammation that is brought about by losing weight helps with everything.
Things like removing gluten from the diet usually show up as both health improvement and weight loss since it reverses the leaky gut that wreaks havoc on the body.
Happy to hear you are experiencing health improvement along with your weight loss!
I don't think I ever went on diets, but I have gone through lifestyle changes. The first was when I stopped drinking soft-drinks and started drinking water instead. I only drank softdrinks a couple times a week so it wasn't that bad, but I didn't drink enough water either. With just that change, I had lost 5kg within a month (so everyone, makes sure to keep your body hydrated!)
Secondly, I went through a lot of changes when I became vegetarian and then vegan. Once I started eating healthier foods, I dropped the unhealthier ones. Yes, I still have some unhealthy snacks, but it's a very tiny percentage of my food. It's a great post; I hope people learn from it ;)
Such a great point @poetrybyjeremy! Soft drinks are just a mess of chemicals and sugar or very bad for you fake sweeteners - water is so much better.
It's funny that now that I haven't had soft drinks for years and years if I do have one (which happens maybe 1 time a year) they taste horrible to me, sickly sweet.
That one thing is a really great lifestyle change for people to start with - thanks for pointing it out!
In Health! T
Yeah, they have way too much sugar! I stopped drinking soft drinks 4 or 5 years ago, except for a mix with alcohol (like jack coke). I also stopped drinking alcohol 3 years ago so now totally eliminated. In a way, it can be very difficult at social situations because there will be people who just pour you a drink of whatever they think you will like, and you have to refuse! I do not miss soft drinks one bit; a lot of the things I no longer I eat I don't miss actually. It's all about doing the change and committing to it for a little bit - once you start enjoying feeling healthier and enjoying everything you're having, it's easy!
Amen! One little change at a time and poof! You're there - happy and healthy! Love it!
Exactly :D Not everyone knows this, but when you are healthier, you are actually happier!
I totally agree! I when I went on a "diet" back in April of 2015 I gained it all back after going off the diet. Now I make lifestyle changes and find myself much better off health wise and I've lost more weight since changing my mindset.
That same yo-yo scenario has happened to me too many times to count! It truly is all about changing your lifestyle and creating those healthy habits. Keto on my friend!
Keto makes me happy. I can eat bacon and cream and still lose weight, PLUS get rid of my gout. :)
Keto is great! I love it too - isn't it great to never be "hangry"? I'm sure cutting the sugar did resolve your gout. It's amazing how the uric acid level in the blood plummets when you cut the carbs.
Thanks for stopping by!
Yes exactly - it's like the memory of being hungry a long time ago, instead of that panicky feeling and my hands starts to shake and all. :)
Excellent advice. If one gets in the mindset that certain food ingested promotes health and well being, while other food ingested leads to fat and bad health, the choice should become easier.
I've had a similar change of thinking in the last six months. It works most of the time. :)
It does work most of the time! As long as 90% of the time you're following your healthy mindset that 10% of the time when you might eat something you know isn't the best for you we just call enjoying life!
Thanks for stopping by!
Most people do a crash diet where they remove something and then once they achieve their target or find it too difficult they would revert back to their old habits.
Exactly - it's that "diet" that never works. Been there, done that, gained the weight back. It's true - you have to build the habit of eating healthy 1 step at a time.
Thanks for reading!