What diets do
For some, the lifespan of a diet looks like this:
- You research everything from tried-and-true plans to fad or extreme diets.
- A plan gets selected and the prepping begins.
- Day One arrives. There are some needed adjustments, but you’re all in!
- At some point, you begin feeling confined and restricted. In other words, hungry!
- Cravings sneak up on you. As much as you try to battle them, you eventually give in.
- The guilt-ridden self-talk begins to tear you down.
- Pretty soon, you ditch the diet and feel defeated.
If that journey sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
According to the Washington Post, more than 45 million Americans diet every year, and there’s no limit on how much they will spend to ditch the weight. An estimated $33 billion is spent annually on products that promote weight loss. From prepackaged food to workout plans, that’s a lot of money spent, yet nearly two-thirds of Americans remain clinically overweight or obese.
It’s easy to get caught up in how a diet makes you look rather than how it makes your body feel. The goal should be to give your body what it needs to be strong, healthy and perform at peak function. With so many conflicting messages about what to eat, when to eat it and what to ban from the pantry, it’s no surprise people are frustrated. When you’ve spent so much time and money on the diet merry-go-round, how can you adopt an attitude of wellness over weight loss?
Listen to your body
If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re not, don’t. Stop mindlessly grabbing fistfuls of chips. Before you eat, stop and ask why you’re opening the fridge. Are you hungry or is something else pushing you? Being bored and being famished are two distinctly different reasons why we snack. Emotional eating may feel better for a few moments, but turning to food when you’re upset won’t lead to making peace with the problem.
Eat the good stuff
When you’re eating for wellness, a trip to the grocery store may look different. Skip the lean frozen dinners and low-sugar toaster pastries. Processed foods, no matter how healthy they claim to be, are not the same as reaching for whole foods.
Shopping for healthier options means mostly roaming the outer loop of the grocery store: fresh fruits and veggies, whole grain breads, fish and chicken, and whole milk yogurt—the good stuff. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients list, chances are you should pass on the product.
H2O
Water does a lot more than just hydrate. A study¹ published in the Oxford Academic shows that your metabolism can get a significant boost by drinking more water each day.
If you’re hungry, first reach for a glass of water. Hunger could be your body’s signal that it’s feeling dehydrated. Doctors suggest² drinking around two liters of water per day, and you can accomplish this by remembering the 8×8 rule: drink eight glasses filled with eight ounces of water.
Find your zen
If running, biking or hiking sound like a day in the torture chamber, then they’re definitely not the right fit for you. Look for activities that challenge you, get your heart pumping and leave you feeling better. If you like the camaraderie and accountability that come with getting fit with friends, check into group classes. Like the solitude of working out alone? Great! Just get moving.
It may be challenging at first, but give your body a chance to prove how strong it can be. Let it move and work for you just as it was intended.
Be positive
You can’t change what you ate for breakfast yesterday. There’s no time machine to go back to when you once killed it at cycle class. Where you are right now isn’t where you have to be tomorrow. Rather than punish yourself for past choices, make peace with them. Negative thoughts about who you are or where you’ve been derail progress. Today is a new day filled with possibilities, so focus on those.
How others look or live is not yours to control, either. What works for your bestie may not be your optimal plan of action. Find what makes you feel good, and stick with it.
Feed your mind, body and soul
This trifecta is critical. Your mind, body and soul work together as a team. The energy in one feeds the others. Going to early morning exercises before picking up your daily extra-sized fries and jumbo burger isn’t the best way to maintain wellness.
To change your body, you have to change your mindset. There’s more to wellness than just fitting into those jeans stashed in the back of your closet. Your life shouldn’t revolve around hitting a magic number on the scale. What truly matters is accepting yourself for who you are while continuing to evolve and move towards the best version of yourself.
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