To Diet or Not to Diet, That is the Question

Diet, diet, diet. That’s all you hear everywhere you turn, when you ask about losing weight. Everyone has their own diet to recommend. But has it worked? How many people actually keep the weight off after they go on a diet? CBS had an article a few years ago that stated, “A review of 10 of the nation's most popular weight-loss programs found that except for Weight Watchers, none of them offer proof that they actually work at helping people shed pounds and keep them off.” So why diet? Perhaps in the end you don’t really need a diet but a change.

Change Eating Habits Instead of Dieting

One way to understand the success of Weight Watchers ™, and also why diets don’t work, is that Weight Watchers emphasizes the change in eating habits. They constantly point out that you are not on a diet. A diet is something that is of short duration, involves change, and cannot be sustained. However, choosing healthy foods and being conscious of what you eat is not a diet; it is a change in the way you eat.

A Diet Is Tedious

The worst part of a diet is that it is tedious. You are always having to be on guard: is this food on my diet today? Is that what I am supposed to eat? However, if you switch your eating habits to fresh, healthy foods and moderate portions, you can eat what you want and not constantly be obsessing about each and every meal. Just relax, eat smart, and you will lose weight.

When Should You Diet?

On the other hand, if you are medically obese, undergoing any illness, and/or have been advised by your doctor to follow a strict diet, then by all means you should and must diet. Not all diets are simply fads. There are diets that are medically advised for a variety of reasons. Controlling cholesterol is a good example, as well as control food because of diabetes or high blood pressure. In all these cases, there is no substitute for a carefully controlled diet.

No Diet is as Good as Exercise

You might still feel like you want to diet to lose weight. That’s a great idea, if you found one that is healthy and works for you. But if you have not also included exercise in your daily regime, it is unlikely that any diet will work for you. Exercise is essential to keep your body healthy and make best use of the foods that you eat, whether you are dieting or not. And it is quite likely that if you simply add exercise to your life, you might find some weight loss occurs even without the diet. Try it for two weeks and see what happens. Then, if you are not convinced, try your diet.

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