Diet Schmiet

Why is it that we make so many excuses when it comes to food? Well, in life in general too. Human nature? perhaps. 

Whenever we start a "diet", it's rare to be good 100% of the time. Let's not lie, it's nearly impossible. We've gotta be more realistic people...

...we are going to slip off the healthy wagon every once in a while....

A holiday sneaks up on us, a birthday party gets out of hand, we have one too many drinks that turns into several too many drinks...I could go on for days. All of those things add up, but it doesn't mean we need to start all over. I don't know about you, but any time I would slip on one of my many diet adventures, I would be so mad at myself and feel this deep sense of guilt. ugh! Talk about exhausting--guilt is probably the most tiring emotion...just sayin.

This is what we need to do instead of guilting (google blogger doesn't like this word, but I do so I'm keeping it) ourselves crazy:

1. Acknowledge that we messed up
2. Take note of how we messed up
3. Forgive ourselves quickly
4. Figure out how to battle the life events/temptations/cravings for next time. (because, there's always gonna be another birthday or holiday or random craving that sneaks up on us when we least expect it...c'est la vie).

**I made this list up so I will not cite it.

It's so standard, at least for almost everyone I've ever met who has been on dieting stints at some point in their lives, to say something like:

"I'll start eating right tomorrow."
Then tomorrow turns into the end of the week. Then the end of the week turns into next month. Then next month turns into one of those infamous New Years resolutions. and it goes onnnn and onnnnn and onnnnn...

Another piece of word vomit that regurgitates itself if we mess up on a diet is:

"Welp! (that's a dramatic way of saying 'well'), I already screwed this week up, I'll just eat whatever I want and start fresh next week."
Fail. If those words make their way out of our food traps, we did not follow the 4 easy steps listed above. 
I've done it. I KNOW the majority of you have too. But it's really silly when you think about it...how is continuing a few days of unhealthy eating going to help at all? It's not. Done. Finito.

More food for thought (catch that nugget of a pun there?):
I have the cure for being a swing dieter...

We've GOTTA change our outlook on dieting. The word "diet" has a negative connotation. It really does. Some people are ashamed to say, "I'll pass on that cake--I'm on a diet," because of that negative connotation that comes along with it. Being on a diet immediately makes the receiver of that information develop a new mindset about you.

So just like global warming should have been called global climate change from the beginning in order to correctly convey what it actually means, "diet" should have been given the name "healthy food choices" or something like that. (I'm not good at coming up with names for things; don't judge). Newsflash, you don't have to be overweight to be on a "diet". You can be a very healthy weight and still be on a "diet", but in reality, it's just maintenance of a healthy lifestyle at this point.

Give it some thought. Being on a diet is NOT a bad thing. It's simply a lifestyle that involves making healthy choices.

So start a diet as a lifestyle change. It's really the only way to sustain success. There are several psychological theories associated with behavioral change that I will apply to this subject...at another time.

Until then, happy dieting! ;)