Eliminating the Word 'Diet'

Diet is a very disconcerting term. Of course, we applaud any and everyone who chooses to hop on a diet for weight loss and/or with the intention of improving their health and wellness. However, the term 'diet' implies a temporary state with a beginning and ending.

What happens when your diet ends? Do you go back to your regular eating and exercise habits (or lack thereof)? Do you plan to gain back the weight you lost and eliminate all of the progress you've made? Of course not...Why would you want to do that?

Let's eliminate the word diet and ask yourself if you're ready to change your lifestyle!

A diet is temporary but a lifestyle lasts forever. No, it doesn't mean that sweets or alcohol will be off limits forever. No, it doesn't mean that you need to hit the gym every single day for the rest of your life. It means you have to be willing to eat healthy and workout consistently for most of the year. The more consistently you can adhere to a healthy lifestyle, the more days you can enjoy sweets or alcohol or decadent foods without a) hurting your progress or b) hurting your health!

If you're just starting out, sure, it's advisable to completely eliminate artificial sugars, trans fats, and most likely alcohol to help kick start the weight loss process and get your body functioning on healthy foods / breaking the sugar addiction. You'll need to be strict for a small period of time (typically 30-45 days) in order to establish and learn healthy habits.

After this "introductory period" you can again begin to indulge in the 'not so healthy' things in life if you should choose to. But be warned, your progress will become so addicting that you may decide to remove these things from your lifestyle entirely. With time, you will be able to control cravings and have so much will power that YOU decide when you indulge and it won't make you fall off the wagon. In fact, since things like alcohol, trans fats and high fructose corn syrup are actually considered poisons (foreign/unnatural substances) to the body, you'll most likely end up feeling pretty terrible ingesting those things after not having had them for a period of time. This is another lesson that many have to learn when it comes to the diet versus lifestyle conundrum.

Let's make a conscious effort to eliminate the word diet and start calling it what it should be, a lifestyle change. If you need assistance with putting together meal plans, workout plans, supplement plans, or life coaching don't hesitate to reach out to us so we can connect you with the many personal trainers, nutritionists, and life coaches we work with!

Health and wellness ISN'T a temporary state! Let make it permanent!