Are Diets Good or Bad?

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Are Diets Good or Bad?

This is such a tricky question, isn't it? Let me first preface this by saying that I know I'm lumping a whole lot into the term "diet" and when I say diet in this case, I'm talking about a calorie restriction plan that tells you exactly what to eat.

A lot of times people will tell you that diets are bad for you or that they don't work, and I do think there is truth in that (I myself have even said this before). Yet I also think that there is a place for diets and they are not ALL bad.

When you first get started getting healthy and fit, you need a starting point. When you have no clue what you're doing or how to get started, it can be a bit overwhelming. So, in this case, a diet might get you excited. It might get you feeling inspired and in control of yourself. You have a step-by-step actionable plan in front of you and for once you feel like you know what to do in order to start getting your health and your body back on track. You feel EMPOWERED. At this particular time in your life... a diet might be exactly what you need.

Diets Are a Bridge not a Crutch

I struggled with diet and weight loss for a long time and have tried literally every diet plan and pill on the market. Even though I had many frustrating attempts at trying something new, losing some weight, and then gaining it back...I don't regret it. Because each of those attempts was a bridge to the next, and to the next, and to the next, which eventually lead me to the healthy relationship that I have today with my body and with food. Without each of those experiences, I'm not sure that I would be where I am today. They all taught me things about myself and what I wanted in my life.

The trick is in not seeing the diet as the solution. The diet is a tool, but the ultimate goal isn't to be on a structured eating plan for the rest of your life. The goal is to have the freedom to make food choices solely depending on what you WANT to eat (which by the way is also healthy too) rather than what you think you have to eat.

I think that where people get off track is looking for the solution outside of themselves in some sort of magic quick-fix thing. Learning the basics about what foods are healthy through a diet plan... that's one thing, but it's another to go on a never-ending search bouncing from one plan to the next thinking that something outside of you is going to fix all of your problems.

It took me some definite trial and error but I finally realized that I wasn't fixing the root issue by searching for the magic cure to all of my weight loss issues in a diet. I had to get to the root and the root issue was my relationship with food and with my body. Once I was able to shift the way I looked at food and the way I treated myself, I lost the weight and have kept it off.

It's About WHY You Eat, Not What You Eat

It's so much more about WHY you eat than what you eat, ya know. If you build a healthy relationship with food, and the why behind eating is a healthy, positive why, then I think most people will see that they'll naturally reach for healthier options because they see food as nourishment rather than something they're using to try to fill a void.

What do you think about diets? Do you agree, disagree...? Share your thoughts below!!

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