As a former high school health teacher, I taught my classes the importance of a good diet and frequent exercise. I never taught them how to "diet." We cringe at the sound of the word now because of its negative connotation. But in fact, the dictionary defines diet as:
a: food and drink regularly provided or consumed
b: habitual nourishment
c: the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason
d: a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight
The definition we attach to the word is number four. Unfair, I say! The origin of the word is from the Greek diaita, literally, manner of living. So let’s give it back its rightful place among the good words.
"Impossible," you say. Not when there are over 60 weight-loss diets in the ether and on the written page. Amazon lists 100 books on diet and weight loss. Maybe more, but I stopped looking after 100. Everydayhealth.com features an A to Z list of diets. Everything from Atkins to Zone. I checked them out. Couldn't help myself.
(Side bar)
Lost 15 lbs on that diet back in the 80's. It's probably fallen out of favor, what with all the alcohol and fat. But, boy was it fun!
The Four-Day diet sounded like something I could sink my teeth into (pun intended), but a 3-hour diet sounded even more intriguing. Again, not what you think.
There appears to be lots of overlap in the various plans. For instance, Slim-Fast, The 3-hour diet and Medifast all suggest eating 6 meals a day--one larger, sensible meal and the rest smaller, snack sized.
But whether you analyze three or thirty of the plans, the overarching theme is the same . . . get ready for it . . . consume less calories. Zounds! What a concept. Whether you call them points or calories (actually a unit of heat), you have to reduce intake. ("Ay, there’s the rub.")
Common sense, of course. But since when did common sense enter the picture? Most overweight people want to lose pounds by magic bullet. And some plans appeal to that fantasy. The explanation for the 3-hour diet includes the fantastic words "all while eating your favorite foods and without exercising." I too would like to eat whatever I like while sitting, feet propped up, book in hand, and lose weight. Yeah. I'm listening for the Hallelujah chorus here.
Nope. Not happening.
Surgery? I think it should be the last resort. But even so, I know three women who had gastric bypass and within one, two, and three years, each one put all her weight back on. I am not casting stones; I am lamenting.
In my humble opinion and years of keen observation, keeping fit requires conscious effort. If you habitually eat poorly, you must, according to life-change pundits, invest 40 days to break the old/bad habits and establish new ones. There are no short cuts. If there were, I’d be the first in line to get one.
So, let’s all select the good, the best manner of living, and return diet to its rightful place in the lexicon.
As one who spends 99% of my professional time with patients with diabetes, let me second your motion and suggest we bring sanity back to the American diet. When I say, "This is not rocket science," people are offended. But really - it boils down to calories consumed/calories burned. Veeery simple math - and a topic for which I have much passion and 'calories'.
ReplyDeleteI think there are many people with glandular and therefore hormone issues that cause them to gain and keep weight on no matter what they do. I have a dear friend who eats far less fat than most than anyone I know, doesn't take in much sugar, and exercises daily, hard core cardio. She cannot lose weight. She has many other symptoms of glandular issues. She's not my only friend like this.
ReplyDeleteBut, even this can be helped with diet. We don't eat enough fresh food (unpackaged), without hormones, antibiotics, etc. We don't eat enough veggies for sure (hence, my juicer, which is helped tremendously).
You might find the movie "Fat Head" on netflix or hulu. It's a fascinating flick.
Love ya, Patricia.