Why People Hate Diets
Friday, February 22, 2008
Mention the word "diet" to most people, and you can literally see them cringe. "Diet" seems to be such a bad word that must not be uttered to people who are losing weight.
General perception is that, when you're "on a diet", you have to eat very little, you cannot eat this, cannot eat that etc. In other words, when "on a diet", they are deprived of the things they love. I call this the "eat less" diets.
The problem with "eat less" diets is this - once the person has reached his weight-loss goal, he/she goes back to his old diet, ie the unhealthy one. That is when the weight starts piling back on again, and people have trouble keeping it off.
If you look in the dictionary, the meaning of diet is "the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit."
Hence, if you change your diet permanently, you no longer are "on a diet". As soon as you change the food you eat, ie to healthier alternatives, and make it part of your daily life, you no longer will hate the word "diet". For example, when a person decides to become a vegetarian, that person has just decided to change his/her diet.
First of all, you need to know which kind of food is bad for you, and keep those out of your new diet (and by diet, I mean the dictionary version, not the "eat less" ones). Once your new diet consist mainly of nutritional food, and you consume them on a daily basis, they'll become a part of your life. You'll no longer crave junk food, sweets, candies etc anymore.
However that doesn't mean you can't eat those. You still can, just in moderation. Don't eat burgers and hot dogs everyday for example. Have one when you feel that you haven't had one in a long time. It's fine to eat a couple every month, but not every day. Personally, I have a "cheat" day every week. This is the day where I can eat stuff I loved, before I changed my diet. For example, this week I ate pig trotters (猪脚), with all the fats and grease and everything on Wednesday. On all other days, I ate my normal, usually balanced meals consisting of fruits, vegetables, meat and grains.
Of course, if you're on a weight-loss plan right now, for the moment you need to watch your calories. Your output, ie, exercise and workouts, must exceed your input, ie, the food you eat. This is only temporary, however. Once you have reached your goal, you can go back onto your (new) normal diet. Remember, if you eat healthy and nutritional foods, and exercise regularly (once or twice a week), your weight should be able to be kept under control.
So, change your mindset. Going on diet doesn't mean you have to be on a "eat less" diet. Make a decision to change your diet permanently. Decide to eat healthy, and you will benefit by keeping the unwanted weight off.
General perception is that, when you're "on a diet", you have to eat very little, you cannot eat this, cannot eat that etc. In other words, when "on a diet", they are deprived of the things they love. I call this the "eat less" diets.
The problem with "eat less" diets is this - once the person has reached his weight-loss goal, he/she goes back to his old diet, ie the unhealthy one. That is when the weight starts piling back on again, and people have trouble keeping it off.
If you look in the dictionary, the meaning of diet is "the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit."
Hence, if you change your diet permanently, you no longer are "on a diet". As soon as you change the food you eat, ie to healthier alternatives, and make it part of your daily life, you no longer will hate the word "diet". For example, when a person decides to become a vegetarian, that person has just decided to change his/her diet.
First of all, you need to know which kind of food is bad for you, and keep those out of your new diet (and by diet, I mean the dictionary version, not the "eat less" ones). Once your new diet consist mainly of nutritional food, and you consume them on a daily basis, they'll become a part of your life. You'll no longer crave junk food, sweets, candies etc anymore.
However that doesn't mean you can't eat those. You still can, just in moderation. Don't eat burgers and hot dogs everyday for example. Have one when you feel that you haven't had one in a long time. It's fine to eat a couple every month, but not every day. Personally, I have a "cheat" day every week. This is the day where I can eat stuff I loved, before I changed my diet. For example, this week I ate pig trotters (猪脚), with all the fats and grease and everything on Wednesday. On all other days, I ate my normal, usually balanced meals consisting of fruits, vegetables, meat and grains.
Of course, if you're on a weight-loss plan right now, for the moment you need to watch your calories. Your output, ie, exercise and workouts, must exceed your input, ie, the food you eat. This is only temporary, however. Once you have reached your goal, you can go back onto your (new) normal diet. Remember, if you eat healthy and nutritional foods, and exercise regularly (once or twice a week), your weight should be able to be kept under control.
So, change your mindset. Going on diet doesn't mean you have to be on a "eat less" diet. Make a decision to change your diet permanently. Decide to eat healthy, and you will benefit by keeping the unwanted weight off.
Labels: diet, healthy diet
