Chewing the Fat on Skinny: Ditch the Diet

Am I the only one, or do you feel like you’re surrounded by people that are on a diet? Maybe it’s still the New Year’s resolution thing, but I swear, between Facebook and chatting with people in person, it’s all I see and hear.

So what’s the deal Tara, why does this bug you so much? Don’t you love how I just had a dialogue with myself? The deal is that the word diet REALLY agitates me. Now I don’t mean to pick on the poor word, maybe it’s the use of the word. When I hear or see people use the word diet, it’s usually associated with:

Deprivation. Oh, I can’t have that, I’m on a diet <insert your guilt here>.

Short Term Thinking. If I can just do this diet for 6 months, I’ll be all set for that wedding, high school reunion, vacation <insert special event here>.

Irrational behavior. I’m on this juice cleanse. I can eat protein only. Yep, I’m eating those meal bars, they’re super filling. The grapefruit diet, soup diet, cereal diet, frozen foods only diet <insert your diet of choice here>.

Unrealistic expectations. If I stick to this diet, I will lose 7 pounds in one week <insert your disappointment here>.

Does anybody remember Susan Powter from the 90’s? What ever happened to her anyway? Remember her catch phrase? Stop the Insanity! Well do it people, I beg you to Stop the Insanity!

Pretty please on top of cheese… remove the word diet from your vocabulary! Why? Because it implies:

Deprivation. In case you’re new to the whole feeling deprived thing, it stinks! When we deprive ourselves, we end up eating even more and before we know it, we’ve gained the weight back and maybe then some. Please find a program, Weight Watchers or otherwise, that teaches you how and what to eat, along with allowing you to occasionally indulge and live your life. It’s a long life! If you don’t want to be in the never ending cycle of deprivation and overindulgence, jump off.

Short Term Thinking. One reason I love being a Lifetime Member of Weight Watchers, is that I’m in this for life. And not in a prison sentence kind of way, in an I can do this for life because it’s maintainable, practical and flexible kind of way. I am making small changes that are achievable for the rest of my days.

Irrational behavior. If it seems too good to be true, most times it is! Those fad diets might produce the results you’re looking for, but let’s think about the word fad. A fad is something that’s temporary. Hmmm…what an interesting coincidence…a fad is temporary…it comes and it goes. And most times, when we follow a fad diet, our weight loss comes and goes. If you follow a program that teaches you how to make the best choices using real food that you eat in real life, you are going to be able to maintain those choices for the long haul.

Unrealistic expectations. Although it might seem awesome, you should not expect to lose vast amounts of weight each week. Weight Watchers and other scientific and medically based wellness programs recommend losing .5 to 2 pounds per week. Slow and steady wins the race.