Never say Diet.  A diet is a quick fix, a short term solution to a problem requiring a permanent change.  So again I repeat, Never Say DIET!

Now you are probably wondering, what should I do to lose this weight, wear a bikini, feel better or have more energy.

You will find several different changes that can be made to your daily living listed here.  You can change one, two or all of them and reap the rewards of not dieting.  Clearly, the more you change, the more change you will see.

1.  Obvious reasons, why not to diet.  By decreasing calories you lower your metabolism, the thing the burns your food for energy.  I’m not saying the more calories you eat the better you will burn, I’m saying to determine how many you should eat a day and stay in that range.  Many times I will hear, “I only eat once a day, why am I not losing weight?”  Your body enjoys and requires food, when it senses a shortage it hoards it out of fear of when the next meal may come.

Solution:  Determine your calorie range according to activity level, age and current weight.  Stay within this range.  Your body likes fuel at least 4-5 times per day and about 300-600 calories each time.  When you give it 1700 at a time it can only use about 400 leaving 1300 wasted calories that the body stores (fat).   That may explain the lack of weight loss when you eat one meal a day.  Your body will thank you for feeding it on a regular basis.  You will have more energy, your blood sugar will be stabilized and you will find you are losing weight even if you increase your calorie intake.

2.  Another favorite of mine, BREAKFAST.              “When I eat breakfast I find that I am hungrier.”  “I don’t have time.”  This is the most important meal of the day.  When you sleep your digestion goes to sleep, it remains sleeping until you ‘start your engine’ or ‘stoke the fire’.  Meaning EAT!  This should be your favorite meal, it’s almost a freebie.  It is long before you are going back to sleep, you can eat crabs without guilt and it will actually reduce the number of calories you eat throughout the day.

Solution:  Eat something with protein and carbohydrates within an hour of waking up.  This is not the time for sugar filled donuts or a Grande cappuccino.  This is when you should eat something of good nutritional value.  Have a slice of WHOLE wheat (next on the list) and a glass of milk or juice.  Eat some fruit and yogurt.  There are several organic, whole grain cereals on the market now.  I would suggest a Kashi or Cascadian Farms.  Instant Benefits.

3.   Whole grain, whole wheat, whole lotta confusing information.   You will see whole grain on items throughout the grocery store now.  My favorite is the whole grain Chips Ahoy cookies.  This is a trick to make you believe you are eating healthy.

Before I explain what you need to know to not be fooled, let me explain why it is important.  Refined flour and white sugar may as well be the same thing.  When you eat any refined flour it is converted into sugar by your body.  It digests quickly (this is bad) and quickly raises your blood sugar.  This is very important when there is a concern about diabetes.  Whole wheat and unrefined wheat flours are digested slowly and also contain fiber, which is its own benefit.

Solution:  When you see these items it will only take one second to determine if it is truly healthy.  Turn it over, look at the ingredients list.  They are listed in the order that it contains the most of.  The first ingredient should read whole grain or whole wheat.  If it says refined whole wheat they are tricking you.  They have stripped the whole wheat of anything whole.

4.  Real Food, now what do I mean by that?  If grocery stores stopped selling food you could find it on a tree, growing in the ground or on a bush.  Also, this would include natural meat (not lunchmeat).  Now I say this because we have become a very convenient society, but peeling a banana or eating carrots doesn’t seem like too much work.  The preservatives that we are eating in the country are poisoning us.  From an experiment I did myself, a fast food chain cheeseburger, left in the wrapper and placed into a dark, room temperature place did not mold or even smell after 30 days.   I won’t push my personal beliefs; I will just say what is obvious.  Ingesting poisons seems like a bad idea all the way around.

Solution:  Again you will turn over the food item and look at the ingredients.  When all the words can be pronounced then you are treating your body well.  Another way of reducing the poisons is eating organic.  Even if you exchanged your milk you are reducing what you put into your body.  This will only help your body do its job of making you feel good.  And believe it or not, that is what it wants to do, which is why when you feed it poorly it doesn’t feel well.

5.  This is a fun and simple one.  Spice up your life with natural flavor.  They are finding many benefits to cinnamon and honey.  You can put these two items in several dishes and add amazing flavor.  Cinnamon on a dessert helps reduce the insulin produced by your body by slowing the digestion.  Honey in your hot tea or on oatmeal serves as a natural cough suppressant when you have a chest cold.

Solution:  Find interesting ways to add these into your diet.  My family’s favorite is stir-fry vegetables with only honey as the seasoning.  It is a double bonus by introducing those REAL foods and encourages the kids to eat the veggies.  It is also been found that substituting this where you would put sugar is a great alternative.

6.   The two bad H words.  Hydrogenated and High fructose.  When you see that in the ingredients look for something else.  The hydrogenated oils are trans fat, even when it says zero trans fat.   Labels can state that if the amount is small enough, but it is still harmful.  The high fructose is a sugar that quickly goes into the bloodstream and a concern when dealing with diabetes type II.

Solution:  Read the labels and try to avoid at all times.

7.   Portions, portions, portions.  You will find that if you eat 4-5 times a day you can decrease your portion size without panic.  You will know that very soon you will eat again and it is what you are supposed to do.  Starving leads to overeating.

Solution:  This is another place where “Never say Diet” is important.  There is nothing you can’t eat (unless you’re allergic).  Don’t say “I can’t have chocolate chip cookies”, you can.  You may have one or two with a glass of milk and be sure to enjoy it guilt free.  Now eating a container of them is not healthy or fun, you never feel better afterward.  If you love cheesecake know that you can have it.  I may suggest not having it in the house if that is difficult, but go out to dinner and slowly savor each and every bite.  People will begin to wonder how you can eat like that; you can because you do it at the right place, the right time and the right way.

So say it with me, “I will NEVER SAY DIET.”  You don’t have to diet another day.  Make small changes, discover new foods, choose smarter items, eat what you love, eat several times a day and feel better doing it.