Thank you to my friend Lizbeth for contributing this post:
DIETING, the dreaded word
I hate the word diet! I really do. I think I hate it for many reasons. First and foremost, it is such a negative thought for most people. Many people associate diet with starvation. It really should not be that way. Really, truly it is not. Also, diets are successful for such short periods of time. Many people go on fad diets, lose weight, obtain their goal, then just go back to their old eating habits once they are done. So you gain a few more pounds and you don’t feel successful. Or they go on these crazy restrictive diets and then see that delicious cookie on day 3 and end up eating 5 and feel like failures. So I do detest the word diet.
I do realize several people MUST go on a diet by doctor’s orders. There are true medical reasons to go on a diet. I agree a diet by a medical professional is necessary for those individuals. But usually the doctor goes over or works with an individual and is monitoring it. They also have team of specialist who help them. But ultimately it is a habit change the doctors are aiming towards.
So I prefer the term “LIFESTYLE CHANGE. ” Ultimately that is what it should be. Your eating habits should change over time to rid yourself of the junk and chose to eat the healthy alternatives. Well let’s get real. Very few of us do this. But with the mindset of a lifestyle change, eating healthy should and must be a part of that. So how do you accomplish this goal? First, I think you need to start small. Don’t change everything all at once. Changing all at once is a sure fire way to fail. This is what restrictive and fad diets do. Change things slowly and over time. Decide what changes you want to make and break them into steps. Do one new step a week. Slowly over time it will adjust your old habits to new habits. Also give yourself permission to occasionally fail. There are times that you will and do need to fail. No one is perfect. No one eats healthy all of the time. No one never ever eats a cookie. Successful dieters will tell you that they gave themselves permission to eat that cookie—on occasion. It was not a daily, hourly, or even weekly accomplishment. It was once and while. If during the Super bowl party you want potato chips, you allowed yourself to have a few (one small bowl), then moved onto fruits and vegetables, you were successful. But if you watch the March Madness and for a month you had a bag of potato chips every night of the games, you were not successful.
So in your plan to gain a change of lifestyle, think of the steps you need to do. They should include: exercise, sleep, healthy eating. In each category, write down what steps need to accomplish. Break them down into smaller steps. Then establish a plan to accomplish these steps. If you are unsure, talk to a medical professional—doctor, nutritionist, psychologist, etc. They may be able to assist you. But don’t give up hope. Really, you can accomplish this change.
Lizbeth Opiola I love to talk, discuss, research and actively seek healthy eating and nutrition. By no means am I an expert, but I hope to be one day. I have been active my entire life, worked in the fitness industry for many years and was constantly asked about health, weight loss and nutrition. I first became interested as an athlete, but continued my love (it is one topic I can talk hours and hours on, sports being the other). I read a lot of books on the topic, enrolled in a Nutrition Certificate Program at University of Utah and try to practice what I preach. The information I provide is from my years of studying the topic and trying to get others interested in what they eat. I believe it is a lot easier than what you think it is. A healthy diet is attainable by all. You just have to start somewhere.
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