Diet, How many of you guys can think of a specific diet off the top of your head? We’re all pretty familiar with some sort of diet, but is diet necessarily the way to go for weight loss? yes and no. Diet comes from the old latin word “Dieta” meaning daily allowance, unfortunately many diet’s are far from that, with extreme calorie cutting, avoiding specific nutrients altogether, which can then contribute to health problems (sleep loss, irritability, digestive issues and headaches). We all have different dietary patterns, but overall moderation is the best for optimal health and long term weight loss.
Diets are one of the biggest money making industries out there, unfortunate for consumers studies have shown that diets work for weight loss but not long term weight loss, meaning the pounds probably won’t stay off. One of the main reasons is commitment, we’re unable to commit to a restrictive diet for the rest of our lives. What happens when you go out to dinner or to a party or on vacation? The foods on your restrictive diet may not be available to you, which can make it difficult not to pile your plate up with junk. This is where moderation steps in and allows you to enjoy a meal that isn’t within guidelines. Moderation also teaches you how to make healthy choices on the occasion that you might not be in your home kitchen and have to compromise.
When considering moderation it’s important to remember the three main nutrients; Protein, Fat and Carbs. Protein helps your muscles and bones , Fat cushions your organs, provides energy and is also the way your body absorbs fat soluble vitamins, Carbohydrates are important because they supply energy to the cells in your blood, brain and nervous system, they also provide energy that your muscles use during high intensity exercise, ever heard an athlete use the term carbo-load before a sporting event? These three nutrients work in harmony together to keep you feeling full longer, provide you with energy and an overall good mood. As you see leaving any of these three nutrients out of the equation can be consequential to your health and body function.
Moderation, a term meaning having limits but not extremes. The idea of moderation is not to go over your daily caloric limit, eat balanced meals with protein, fat and carbs, fruits and veggies and be mindful when you’re eating. Being mindful can mean a couple different things from savoring flavor, texture, smell and taking your time eating.It's important to be mindful when you're eating, food provides fuel and enjoyment and should not be a chore. Mindfulness can also mean being aware when you’re eating something that’s a treat and not just doing it out of stress. Will you really enjoy that snicker's bar because you've had a bad day or would you rather have it on a day you can fully enjoy it at 100%? Another important key to moderation is keeping meals balanced with fruits and veggies as well as your three main nutrients, this will help keep you full and satisfied.
Eating in moderation has many benefits which include; better mood, good health, lots of energy, long term weight loss and also peace of mind. Peace of mind when you’re in the store walking away from a cookie because you know you’d rather have it another day instead of being impulsive right now. Moderation is also being at a party and not saying no to dessert or wine because you know that one meal won’t break you just as one healthy meal won’t make you. So like Goldlocks said “not too little, not too much, just right".
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