Why is it that merely saying the “D” word, you know “diet”
brings immediate thoughts of failure to the minds of many men and women around
the world? Could it be that we have all learned through trial and error that
diets simply do not work? I know many of you are sitting back with jaws dropped
at the moment. After all, this is an article about dieting, right? It is and it
isn’t. Dieting is the kiss of death for many while a new phase in your life or
lifestyle adjustment may be just the thing that will mean success for you and
your fitness and health goals.
Eating for some is an addiction. Unfortunately, you can’t
exactly give up eating all together as a smoker can give up cigarettes. I’m not
applying by any means that giving up cigarettes is easy but how much more
difficult would it be if you were forced to have three a day? At that point you
may as well enjoy them every time the urge hits right? The same holds true for
food. You must eat in order to survive. You cannot live without eating. This
means that if food is a problem in your life, you must find a healthier way of
viewing food.
Isn’t this where diets generally come in handy? The short
answer is no. This is where diets often fail. Diets do very little to change
how we view food. In fact, most diets only serve to tell us which foods are
good, which foods are bad, and which foods (typically most of the foods we
enjoy most) are strictly taboo. Diets begin by forcing people to feel deprived
or punished. And no one likes to feel either of these things.
Even worse however, is that we punish ourselves further when
we slip along the straight and very narrow pathways upon which our diets place
us. This means that we are going to wallow in guilt over every little misstep
we make until we give up all together and decide to over indulge once again and
ignore the guilt all together.
In order to have real success you must make a lifestyle
change. This is the only way that you will be able to shed those unwanted
pounds without experiencing the horrible guilt that so many dieters go through
each and every step of the way with their diets. Set goals for yourself. Keep
them aggressive but realistic for fitness, dropping pounds, and eating new
healthy foods. Even if your goal is as simple as eating 5 vegetable servings a day it is a great
place to start.
Change your way of eating. Then change your way of seeing
food and you will experience amazing changes in your attitudes toward your
health, your body, and even your fitness level. As the first pounds begin to
drop you will begin to experience more energy and less pain when exercising.
This should help keep you motivated to do even more as time goes by.
Do not think that long term weight loss goals will be as
easy to achieve as the first five or ten pounds. Consistency is vitally
important when making these lifestyle changes. Take each day as it comes and
begin again the very next day. This means that even if you fall completely “off
the wagon” today, you can start over tomorrow. The trick is in staying the
course more days than not and learning moderation and balance when it comes to
straying from the straight and narrow.
There are many ways to fail when it comes to dieting and I
know people who have failed in almost every one I can possibly imagine. There
is no way to fail, however, when you are making positive changes in your life
that are getting positive results. It may take weeks, months, or even years to
reach your goal. As long as you are making steady and continuous efforts and
progress, you are doing many great things for your health and well being.
