Neil Swidey is a well known and respected journalist for the Boston Globe. In a Sunday Magazine edition Swidey dug deep into the question: Which is the right diet?
The answer to this question is sought after as relentlessly as the Holy Grail, leading to one best-seller by the latest diet guru to the next new and shinier best-seller. We’ve had Atkins, Pritikin, South Beach, Paleo, Gluten-Free and Keto in just the past few decades. Have they worked? Perhaps for some, but for many they lead to temporary weight loss followed by accelerated weight gain.
In my book, Food Becomes You - Simple Steps for Lifelong Wellness, I offer you a new perspective that really works. To give you a flavor and see this isn’t a Holy Grail but instead is something you can succeed with, here are a few tidbits.
Stop thinking diets and start thinking high quality food. Diets are unconsciously associated with deprivation and who wants to feel deprived? Eat enough but not too much.
Ditch the thinking that high quality food is expensive. When you empty your food basket of chips, soda, cookies, canned soups and sauces, processed meats, etc. and buy only fruits, veggies, small amounts of hormone and antibiotic free meats and seafood, nuts, seeds and unprocessed whole grains, you'll find you're spending about the same.
Be sure to add in an occasional treat, and make it a high quality one.
Follow my 90/10 formula, eating well 90% of the time and relaxing 10% of the time, and you will feel well-fed, your weight should stabilize and you won’t feel deprived.
Not all women should be a size 8, nor should all men have a 32" waist. It's not the size, it's the amount of lean muscle and the lack of excess fat that will tell you if you're eating enough of the right kinds of foods.
Eat fat. The good fat. It’s an essential nutrient and staves off hunger.
Is this easier than depriving yourself and measuring your food like it’s a chemistry experiment? You bet!
Stop making food the enemy - buy good quality food and enjoy it. It’s the best way to attain a positive relationship with food and nourishment.
If you need guidance, look over my programs page for some customized ways we can work together to help you meet your goals.