Diet Vs Healthy Eating

Dieting is an area people tend to get confused; they either don’t understand the concept or they jump on the treadmill of yo-yo dieting. Dieting is an area people tend to get confused; they either don’t understand the concept or they jump on the treadmill of yo-yo dieting. Fad diets that eliminate one type of nutrient (low fat/low carb) or focus exclusively on a special food (grapefruit diet) fail to take into consideration the balance of nutritional needs of your body. They may provide a short term loss, but they usually plateau well before your ultimate goal. You will also likely gain the weight back and sometimes you’ll gain more than you lost.

Diet vs. Dieting

While following a fad diet (i.e. dieting) is not a good way to lose weight, changing our eating habits (i.e. healthy eating) is an important part of a healthy weight loss plan. You need to change your lifestyle and that includes what, how much and when you eat and drink.

Fats and Proteins

Fat and protein still have a bad rap today. Many diets look only at the calories they provide. Both fats and proteins have more calories per gram than carbohydrates. That is an undeniable fact. But they also contain vital amino acids, proteins and other building blocks that your body cannot grow without. Your body does not break the fat and protein down for energy unless there is more building blocks than it needs. So the caloric content of fat and protein is not the most important fact to consider.

Carbs

The pendulum of dieting has begun to swing back in the anti-carb direction. There is ample evidence to show that carbohydrates, while having less calories per gram, are often a major culprit in weight gain. Excessive carbohydrates will go directly to fat storage but that doesn’t mean that it is healthy to eliminate all carbs. You also need to learn the difference between simple and complex carbs and how they affect your body.

It’s About Balance

Often people will say “If less is good, none is better.” While this may be true for toxic waste and bowling on TV, it isn’t true for any of the food components. You also need to keep in mind that not all fats (nor all carbohydrates for that matter) are good for you. Some will affect your health negatively and are best to be avoided. Just don’t fall into the trap of eliminating all fat/protein/carbohydrate from your diet. Your body needs all of them at the right balance.

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