Why I Emphatically Dislike the Concept of “Dieting” Part 2

Why I Emphatically Dislike the Concept of “Dieting” Part 2 - “Diet” vs Lifestyle Change”

 Last week I asked you to take a look at the dictionary.com definitions of the word diet, more specifically definitions 2, 3, 9, and 10. I have inserted the definitions as a refresher but today I want you take a look at definitions 4, 5, 6, and 8 paying particular attention to number 4.

–noun

1. food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.

2. a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.

3. such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I'm on a diet.

4. the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.

5. food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.

6. anything that is habitually provided or partaken of: Television has given us a steady diet of game shows and soap operas.

–verb (used with object)

7. to regulate the food of, especially in order to improve the physical condition.

8. to feed.

–verb (used without object)

9. to select or limit the food one eats to improve one's physical condition or to lose weight: I've dieted all month and lost only one pound.

10. to eat or feed according to the requirements of a diet.

Definition number 4 is my favorite definition because it is simple and succinct. This definition is why the phrase “going on a diet” should be eliminated from your mind. Your diet includes everything you eat and drink, even if that item has zero calories. I’ll say it again, EVERYTHING you eat and drink is part of your diet. There’s no need to go on a “diet”, you’re already on one.

As I said last week diets have become an evil concept leaving many people feeling discouraged. The feeling of discouragement, and quite possibly failure, is a result of how most “diets” are designed. “Diets” seem hard because they are in fact hard. It’s difficult to go from eating the way you eat right now to a severely restricted number of calories the very next day. It’s shock to your body, both physiologically and psychologically. For most of us the way we eat is a habit, formed over the course of many years. Like other bad habits, the bad habit of poor nutrition and poor eating is difficult to break.

Committing to a lifestyle change instead of a “diet” is how we can begin to break our bad food habits. “Diets” are temporary fixes at best, for prolonged success you are going to have to commit to changing the way you think about food and your diet (see definition #4). In a head to head competition a Lifestyle Change will beat a “diet” every time. Is making a lifestyle change easier than “going on a diet”? No it isn’t, it may actually be a little more difficult and challenging, but the long term benefits are far greater. Changing how, when, and what you eat, creating new habits, will benefit you for the rest of your life. Not just for the 8 or 12 weeks you are “on a diet”.

Here’s a quick story. I have a friend who is on a personal quest to improve her lifestyle as it relates to her overall diet. She has a list of things she wants to change on a daily basis. Every time she successfully makes a change or completes a task she puts money in her vacation fund. Sounds good to me! Find your motivation and use it support your efforts. Success will come. Rewards are a pivotal part of that success.

Start your lifestyle change today. Make one small change and stick with it.  Remember, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (Lao-tzu).

Next week’s topic: What is a lifestyle change anyway?

If you’d like to join my email list, have a question, or have a topic suggestion email me HERE

Thanks for reading!

Your friend,

RJ

Why I Emphatically Dislike the Concept of “Dieting” Part 1

"About 10 years ago I went from a size 12 to a size 4. I tried a million fad diets, but I realized making healthier choices was the way to keep the weight off. 

There is no magic pill."

Jillian Michaels (Black Team trainer on Biggest Loser)

Ok. Here’s a hot button issue for most people, to include me. So much so that I can’t fit everything that needs to be said into one post. This topic is going to have to be a series, I’m pretty sure that’s the only way I can offer enough explanation to you about why the traditional societal concept of dieting is NO GOOD. Of course this post is Part 1.

Before we dive into this topic too deep let’s take a look at the definitions of the word diet. I took a look at dictionary.com and this is what I found:

Diet

–noun

1. food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health: Milk is a wholesome article of diet.

2. a particular selection of food, especially as designed or prescribed to improve a person's physical condition or to prevent or treat a disease: a diet low in sugar.

3. such a selection or a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight: No pie for me, I'm on a diet.

4. the foods eaten, as by a particular person or group: The native diet consists of fish and fruit.

5. food or feed habitually eaten or provided: The rabbits were fed a diet of carrots and lettuce.

6. anything that is habitually provided or partaken of: Television has given us a steady diet of game shows and soap operas.

–verb (used with object)

7. to regulate the food of, especially in order to improve the physical condition.

8. to feed.

–verb (used without object)

9. to select or limit the food one eats to improve one's physical condition or to lose weight: I've dieted all month and lost only one pound.

10. to eat or feed according to the requirements of a diet.

I’ll be the first to admit that quite a few of these definitions seem relatively identical, definition 2, 3, 9 and 10  are the four I would like to concentrate on for the moment. Notice all four of these definitions reference a selection, limitation, or regulation of food. It seems words like these have become the societal idea of “diet”. 

When most people hear the word diet they automatically think, “Awe man, I’m not going to be able to eat what I want” or “Looks like I’m eating rabbit food for the next few months”, which is not always the case but I’ll cover that next week in Part 2. Diets have become an evil thing that tends to leave more people feeling discouraged than empowered. 

“Diets” always have an expiration date, which is a major problem. Think about all the people you know who have ever been on a diet, including yourself if you have ever tried any diet. Now think about how the diet worked. Pretty much all “diets” work the same way. Eat “this” for 8 weeks (or any other specific duration of time) and you will shed the pounds. Sound about right? Here's on of the major problems with almost every diet. They don’t tell you what to do when the specified time from is over. What do you do at the end of 8 weeks? Well, sad truth is, most people regain the weight they lost during that 8 week “diet”.

Therein lies another super huge gargantuan problem with “diets”, which is, THEY DON’T TEACH YOU ANYTHING! Most “diets” tell you exactly what to do, but they don’t tell you why you’re doing it. If you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing how can you have continued success and not just 8 weeks of success? Here’s how, throw out the notion of “diets” and embrace a lifestyle change as it relates to how and what you eat.

Next week I will get a little more into that topic, “Diet” vs Lifestyle Change.

If you’d like to join my email list, have a question, or have a topic suggestion email me HERE 

Thanks for reading!

Your Friend,

RJ

Don’t Worry Ladies, You Won’t Get “Swole”

"Fitness to me isn't about a crunch or a push up, it's about taking your power back." 

– Jillian Michaels (Black Team trainer on Biggest Loser)

So here we go. Probably one of the most repeated concerns expressed by women about working out and resistance training is this, “I don’t want to look like a body builder”, or any statements fairly close to that one that relate to woman and lifting weights. Ladies, I want you to “listen” to me very closely. YOU WILL NOT LOOK LIKE A BODY BUILDER IF YOU LIFT WEIGHTS. Let me “say” that one more time, YOU WILL NOT LOOK LIKE A BODYBUILDER IF YOU LIFT WEIGHTS!

Ladies, if you want to maximize your efforts and time in the gym then you NEED to be lifting weights or doing resistance based exercises. In my experience the fear woman have of looking like a bodybuilder is based on misinformation and ignorance. I understand how you might come to that conclusion. You’re in the gym and you see a muscular woman lifting weights and you think, “if I lift weights I’ll look like that. But that’s not what I want”. From that moment forward you have decided that lifting weights is bad and you will have no part of it. Instead you will continue to utilize the treadmill, bike, stair climber, and cross trainer as a means to achieve your goal. Depending on your personal goals those things could work for you. However, in most cases it will take you longer to achieve the results you desire. 

Here is the simple truth. Just lifting weights will not make you look like a bodybuilder. Female bodybuilders and fitness competitors are more muscular than the average female because that’s the nature of what they do. They don’t look the way they do just because they lift weights, it’s how they lift weights and resistance train, it’s their diet, it’s their supplement regimen, and sleep habits. It’s also months and years of highly intense training and dedication. 

No matter what your goal is resistance training will help you get there faster. Here’s the science part of it. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest. Whether your goal is to have arms like Michelle Obama or abs like Jillian Michaels resistance training is the way to go. With traditional cardio machines you burn calories while you are performing the activity and for a short period of time after you finish the activity. Research shows that a person continues to burn significantly more calories for 24 hours after completing a resistance training based workout. 

So ladies, lay your fears to rest and start pumping iron. Not sure where to start? Next time you’re at the gym flag down one of the personal trainers. They can point you in the right direction and give you a little instruction if you need it. If you workout at the same gym I belong to, you can flag me down as well. I will be happy to help. 

If you’d like to join my email list, have a question, or have a topic suggestion email me HERE

Next week’s topic: Why I Emphatically Dislike the Concept of “Dieting”

Thanks for reading!!

Your Friend,

RJ