Why Diets Don't Work

If you read this blog, you know I'm on a "diet". The thing is, I've been doing a lot of thing about dieting and health recently. It all started with me looking for a motivation picture. A picture of me when I used to weigh my goal weight. That would have been when I was in college. As I was looking through pictures of me in college, I realized I didn't want to look like that. See, I may have only weighed 125 in those pictures, but I didn't look good. I was "skinny fat"! "Skinny fat" describes a person who appears skinny, but is still has an unhealthy body fat percentage. That was me. I ate crap, and didn't exercise and I didn't care. I thought I was fine because I looked skinny. But looking at those pictures I can see the unhealthy body fat percentage as easily as I can see it on me now. So, I started thinking about how a diet to lose weight may be all well and good, but once I got down to 125 again what was I going to do to keep that weight off? I came to the sudden realization that I needed a lifestyle change, not a diet. This is part of what fueled my quest for eating real food. If I eat healthy things with ingredients my body can properly digest, I will be a lot healthier than if I eat only diet food for 3 months, then resume crap eating habits after. This is why people gain back everything they lose plus some after they go off a diet. They haven't really changed their lifestyle. So, I'm three weeks into this huge lifestyle change. The first week I craved fatty foods all the time. 24/7. I dreamt about pizza, thought constantly about a bacon cheeseburger, and was haunted by a small Baggie of goodies I use as rewards for my kids. It took all my will power not to cave and eat them. Week two I allowed myself a piece of pizza at the end of the week. I felt awful afterwards, but my brain still wanted more. By yesterday, the thought of pizza was no longer appetizing, and I actually ate some pizza yesterday and I felt so terrible afterwards, it was like, that was it. The have been no more cravings for things like pizza, hot dogs, processed foods, and breads. I do however crave real foods. Like seasoned chicken, raw carrots, whole grains, which I allow myself in small amounts since they are good in small amounts for you. I even love how I feel because I'm not snacking. I LOVE working out. I love how I feel when I'm exercising, and I love how I feel all day afterwards. See, these are the types of things that have changed for me. If you aren't willing to put the work into changing your mindset toward food, then you will always fail on a diet. Diets are temporary. Healthy is for life!!