I know what I like to eat. This may be a simple statement, but during my "dieting" days, I just ate the typical "diet" food like low fat cottage cheese, "lite" whole wheat toast with jam of course, not butter - oh no, that's fat, and the list could go on of foods I ate because I thought they would help me lose weight. I learned to eat the packaged diet foods and tried to enjoy them because I was motivated to do what I needed to do to lose weight. If you asked me what I liked to eat, or enjoyed eating, I didn't have an answer. There was nothing I really enjoyed eating when I was on a diet, except of course if it was a "cheat" day!
My thinking was all wrong about how to be healthy. Enjoying simple, fresh whole foods have now sustained me and helped me maintain my weight without gaining weight back as I used to do whenever I stopped "dieting". Now, I just eat real food, mostly plants, when I'm hungry, until I'm satisfied.
Here are Ten Top Reasons to Give Up "Diets"
10. DIETS DON'T WORK. Even if you lose weight, you will probably gain it all back, and you might gain back more than you lost.
9. DIETS ARE EXPENSIVE. If you didn't buy special diet products, you could save enough to get new clothes, which would improve your outlook right now.
8. DIETS ARE BORING. People on diets talk and think about food and practically nothing else. There's a lot more to life.
7. DIETS DON'T NECESSARILY IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH. Like the weight loss, health improvement is temporary. Dieting can actually cause health problems.
6. DIETS DON'T MAKE YOU BEAUTIFUL. Very few people will ever look like models. Glamour is a look, not a size. You don't have to be thin to be attractive.
5. DIETS ARE NOT SEXY. If you want to be more attractive, take care of your body and your appearance. Feeling healthy makes you look your best.
4. DIETS CAN TURN INTO EATING DISORDERS. The obsession to be thin can lead to anorexia, bulimia, bingeing, and compulsive exercising.
3. DIETS CAN MAKE YOU AFRAID OF FOOD. Food nourishes and comforts us, and gives us pleasure. Dieting can make food seem like your enemy, and can deprive you of all the positive things about food.
2. DIETS CAN ROB YOU OF ENERGY. If you want to lead a full and active life, you need good nutrition, and enough food to meet your body's needs.
And the number one reason to give up dieting:
1. Learning to love and accept yourself just as you are will give you self-confidence, better health, and a sense of wellbeing that will last a lifetime.