Problem??? Too many damn people.
I am the first to congratulate and support people who are aiming for a healthier lifestyle. I think it's wonderful and I applaud them for wanting to move their life in a healthier and better direction. What I have a problem with is the New Year's Resolution or the crash diet / look at me I can be fitness poster child for the next 3 weeks diet. Those don't work, and they take up my gym space!
Studies have shown new years resolutions typically last 3-6 weeks, 3 being common, 6 being the extended-version...no commercials....all the extras.
IF you are one of many wanting to get healthy and IF you are looking to truly revamp your diet and lifestyle, here are my takes on the system:
(1) Exercise should be about movement and energy exertion and maybe even a little bit about fun! It should NOT be about "how many calories can I burn today." That mentality only ends in frustration, self-loathing when the plan is not followed to a "T", and eventual off-shooting from the intended path. Instead make it your goal to get to the gym a few times a week and just move for 25-30 minutes. Maybe somedays you kick your own ass and some days you find you just barely get by, but the goal is to be healthy, and movement of any kind is better than no movement at all. Soon your body will start to crave regular exercise, and you'll find you push start to learn what your body needs in order to feel like you've done something healthy and productive for the day.
(2) Diets Don't Work. I'll try that again: Diets Don't Work. I have tried them all: weight watchers, Jenny Craig (which is my favorite if you have to chose one), the slim fast, the grapefruit, the lemonade diet...you name it, I've done it. I've even tried diet pills, which just made my moral and cancer-fearing compasses hurt. Here are the problems I have with diets: they focus on artificial substitutes to take the place of those foods that are actually good for you. What do I mean?
- Weight Watchers is based on points, and foods that are lower calories tend to mean lower points....which means you end up opting for the LIght and Fit yogurt over the Greek Yogurt. The problem? Light and Fit yogurt (and all others in that same vein) are HORRIBLE FOR YOU. They are riddled with things like preservatives, added color, chemicals, and the worst: ASPARTAME. You may be eating less official calories, number wise, but the amount of shit you are putting into your body causes your body to go into "What the Fuck?" mode, and leads to it not knowing what to do with that food. In fact, Yahoo!news recently posted an article saying how some of these foods are actually causing you to GAIN WEIGHT because they lack any hint of nutritional value and the fake sugars actually lead to your body putting on weight to try to metabolize it. This goes for Reduced Fat Peanut Butter, and that Low Fat butter / cheese crap.
- Jenny Craig is a pre-portioned meal program. Now, I will admit I did Jenny Craig on and off for a REALLY long time. What I love about this program is that everything is pre-portioned for you and they still want you to eat semi-real foods. They also push the importance of fruits and vegetables (and I should admit, Weight watchers does a good job of that as well). I like this better than the Lean Cuisine Diet simply because it deals with you entire daily outlook, but the same problems I had with Weight Watchers I have with Jenny Craig: They push low calories above all else, often at the expense of your health simply because something says "sugar free" or "low fat." Also, I don't trust eating anything that's pre-packaged for that kind of extended period of time. That can't be good for your body in the long run. Maybe it's a great jumping off point, but not for the permanent fix.
Ultimately, here is what I recommend and what I follow: the "Whole Food" diet, and no, I don't mean the supermarket. I mean, when you go to eat something, eat something that is a "whole" food. Don't have orange juice when you can have an orange. Have low-fat PLAIN yogurt with honey over other flavored low-fat yogurts. Have a REAL piece (notice I said PIECE not entire block or package) of cheese instead of the low-fat imitation crap (and, side note, another study showed women who ate 1oz of full-fat cheese a day had more stable weight). Have real vegetables over V8 if you can, but at least have the V8 over a soda. Drink iced tea (real...mind you) over sodas anyday. Eat some nuts for god's sake or REAL peanut butter, not the stuff with hydrogenated oils. If you want Chicken, have Chicken...just be sure it's not the fast-food version. Eat homemade cookies over store bought or pre-packaged because you watched and controlled the amounts of everything that went into it. Always choose the dark chocolate over the milk because it's higher concentration of cocoa is actually much healthier and beneficial to you!!
And please, swap Olive Oil and spices for your current salad dressings! Ew. Olive Oil is SO good for your body when used daily in moderation. Don't believe me, google it.
That is what I will be doing this year: eating as much "whole food" as I can. And the best part? It's not a diet. It's a way of life and the real foods, the kind with real flavor, are not actually off limits. In fact, I recommend the book "French Women Don't Get Fat" to anyone, anyday. It' REALLY makes you take a hard look at your food choice for the better. Happy New Year, and may it be your healthiest one yet!
No comments:
Post a Comment