Diet or Lifestyle Change
Jan 3, 2008 by Chelsea von Tobel
Diet or Lifestyle Change?
So many people go on crash diets, fad diets and crazy diets. We know they don’t work long term but we still do it – why is this? The media sells them to us, especially the ones the stars are currently following. Not to say all the diets stars follow are bad; in fact, some diets like the South Beach Diet are just fine! But really, what is the South Beach Diet? It’s a healthy way of eating. You don’t need the book, the South Beach recipes and especially the products to be successful on the diet. The principles can be found easily on the internet, but some people just like to be told what to eat and when. That is fine – as long as you continue that forever. The other option is to learn how to eat healthy without somebody telling you what to eat.
Also, it seems the phrase healthy eating has a different meaning to every person in the world. Most people, when they come in for an assessment, say they eat healthy and they do – in their eyes. Many things I consider to be junk food, people often think are very healthy (hint – it is often what they eat for breakfast!). Healthy compared to what exactly? Yes, what the average person eats is healthier than what the guy in Super Size Me ate (the movie where they guy ate only McDonalds for 30 days) but not healthier than say what a personal trainer or fitness guru eats. Therefore, the phrase “I eat healthy” means nothing anymore.
Tell me exactly what you eat everyday and then I will tell you what you are doing wrong, what you need to change, what you need to incorporate more/less of and how this will morph into an actual lifestyle rather than another diet that only lasts a month or less.
How do you make your eating habits into a lifestyle change rather than just another diet that will fail you once you go off of it? The only way to do this is to actually want it first of all, and second of all, you need to read about nutrition and research. If you never understand what a carbohydrate is or which ones are considered unhealthy, including the ‘WHY’, ‘how’ and ‘for what reason’ they are impeding your success, will you stop yourself from eating them?
Moral of the story is – you need to learn for yourself. Surround yourself with information and consider the guidance of an expert personal trainer to point you in the right direction as you get started. Free Form Fitness offers nutrition counselling, with or without personal training to go along with it.
Chelsea von Tobel
Certified Nutrition Advisor
