Diet?! Who Said Anything About Dieting?

So the race to lose weight is in full swing. All of the ‘resolutioners‘ are packing the fitness centers and the annual weight loss competition has begun. There is an air of competitiveness amongst the summer beach seekers but they don’t all have the will to win. Here are the top 5 excuses that are often heard as to why we aren’t more healthy:

1. I don’t have the time/ I have no place to go
2. Smoking helps me relax / I can quit if I wanted to
3. I’m too tired
4. My back (or insert your favorite body part) hurts too much
5. I’m not dieting – I hate dieting

Last but surely not least, excuse #5: I’m not dieting.

You can’t out-train a bad diet. But, no one said to go on a diet! Heck, I hate dieting. I stink at it. And the last time I checked diets don’t work, lifestyle changes do. I do my best to never used the darn word. What I’m suggesting is better food choices, using common sense, doing your homework on what you are really putting in your mouth. There are a ga-zillion alternative food sources and choices out there, all you have to do is look. There has to be something better to eat than fast-food? Something better than anything ‘fried’. Something better than ‘take-out’.

The problem is -the ‘something better’ takes planning and preparation. You have to plan ahead and prepare the better food choices by making, or bringing your lunch.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m working a shift – even IF it’s a slow day, I don’t really get much of a lunch. So what do most of us do? We either don’t eat, or we settle for what’s available? That would mean accepting whatever food-like substance is offered at the cafeteria, or god-forbid enjoy a fun-packed mea (snack)l from a vending machine??!!

We somehow give our automobiles the very best care, and ‘feed’ them the very best energy source – but we abuse the one and only body we have? It baffles me to this day. Remember: Garbage in = Garbage out.

Not eating all day is just as bad, if not worse than the horrible food choices we make. Your blood sugar and your metabolism go haywire when you don’t eat for a long period of time. After a while your body starts punishing you for not eating by taking everything you eat and storing it for later. You’re body starts to catch on, so when you do feed it something it doesn’t actually process the food for immediate energy release. No, it packs it away and stores it for later – for when you don’t eat. And guess what kind of ‘storage’ your body creates for this food? I’ll give you a hint – it sure isn’t muscle!

I am just as picky as the next person, but there are better choices out there, without sacrificing your cravings or your taste in food. All you have to do is try and look a little harder.

Best of luck with you and your health this summer. My hope is that we all take care of ourselves a little better and start practicing what we preach.

By Sean Dent