It's not a diet...

The dreaded phrase, “I’m on a diet,” is spoken and the room grows quiet. Suddenly images of not being able to enjoy dinners out, constant conversation about calories, and the inevitable food-related tirade by someone that has only ate salads with no dressing for the last three weeks come to mind.

Let’s face it we grown, when we hear friends and family say they are on a diet, because we wonder how this will impact us. We grown when we’re on a diet, because we begin to severely limit the things and foods we can eat. We treat dieting like a prison sentence and frankly I’m doing a life sentence.


The first problem here is looking at it like a diet. We look at eating healthy and exercising as something we do for an assigned period of time to reach a specific goal aka serving time ‘til we make parole for good behavior or ‘til we find a cupcake with a file in it and saw our way out to relapse into a life of dietary crime. As long as we look at healthy eating and exercise in this matter we’re doomed to repeat bad behaviors.

Healthy diet and exercise are not something we do for a period of time, but should be a lifelong pursuit. The more to integrate into our lifestyle the more successful we’ll be in sticking to a lifelong plan that promotes overall good health.

This, however, doesn’t mean that we can never taste chocolate again, enjoy a slice of birthday cake, or have a burger! These foods aren’t banished from our diet. A healthy lifestyle incorporates the good and the guilty foods in moderation. A slice of pizza isn’t going to destroy you. It’s when we go overboard jumping into the junk food deep in of over indulging that we find ourselves drowning in poor health.

A healthy life isn’t about restrictions, but balance. I’m a true believing in one’s life having balance. We can’t do all of one thing or we are lopsided. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, remember? Well, all lettuce and no scoop of ice cream makes Melissa plot against skinny friends lol! This was something I have struggled with my entire life. When I worked on losing weight I quickly banished all salt, sugar, and fat from my diet. I would eat fresh fruit and vegetables for a month or two, losing weight, and then one day binge on something sugary, fatty, or salty. I would, of course, beat myself up and the vicious cycle would continue.

It wasn’t ‘til I discovered the need for true balance in my life that I embraced the same notion with my diet. I could have a burger from time-to-time, as long as I was making healthy choices on a regular basis. So, even though today I plan to engage it two guilty items (a pop corn at the movie) and, perhaps, a burger after, I don’t have to feel like I’m destroying myself because I’m making healthy choices on a regular basis.

This shift in my perspective about diet and exercise allows for a greater balance and enjoyment in this process. When we see something as temporary we lack the emotional investment needed to truly get what we need out of it. The experience is truly lost on us. If I relegate diet and exercise to that idea I will fail in my quest to live healthy.

Exercise isn’t something I will ever stop engaging in, which makes the pursuit more fun. I’m building upon it by challenging myself to new heights. Just as with my diet I am learning ways to have balance. For a fat girl a life of unbalance will only result in falling to the ground and frankly I prefer standing tall.

Today’s Meals:

Breakfast – bowl of fresh strawberries, banana, and bowl of shredded wheat with 2% low fat milk

Snacks – Single serving of carrots, single serving of almonds (eating them now yummy), small pop corn at the movies, and a small Coke Zero at the movies

Lunch/Dinner – Undecided, but it will be out and involve something meaty!

Today’s Exercise – 20 minute walk with Milo and 20 minute cardio workout at home

Today’s Treat – Seeing Iron Man 3 with Stacie and then attending an Improv show with Stacie, Bethany, and Marianne!

Today’s what I like about me – There are all these fun aspects of my personality that make up the fabric of me. I’m much like a quilt; warm and cozy, but lots of patches of color!