In today’s world, nutrition has become a growing focus for a number of different populations and everyone seems to want to get on board with being healthy and losing weight. However, changing your lifestyle and dieting are two very different things. For some, it means that you’re going to suffer for a little bit (starving yourself, giving up all foods that you love, dedicating your entire life to burning those calories, eating bland foods with no flavor, etc.). But it’s all okay, you’re going to look amazing in those jeans or ripped in that sleeveless t-shirt, right? Well…….. as fun as all that sounds, there’s actually a better way that can get you results AND let you live realistically with your food choices.
A lifestyle and a diet aren’t the same thing. This means that you can (that’s right, you CAN) eat carbs, fats and proteins as well as have the occasional piece of cake or slice of pizza and wash it down with a nice cold brew. Yes, let yourself indulge in the things you love, after all, life is short! But, that doesn’t mean that you can have a whole pie to yourself while watching the new episode of Grey’s Anatomy and expect to see results. The difference is moderation.
The idea of moderation incorporates a balance between being conscious of what you are eating and exhibiting will power, portion control, and overall power in your choices of foods you eat, including the indulgence with things you love. However, you should focus on limiting your sweets and even more so, utilize the idea of cutting down on quantity and frequency as well. Furthermore, when you do indulge, look to limit the impact it will have on your diet. For example, instead of eating an entire pint of cookie dough ice cream, choose to eat a pint of a reduced calorie/fat/sugar brand. So, the real difference between a diet and lifestyle is the end game and what you want out of life. The next time you decide to go on a diet and stick to a strict rulebook of what you can and cannot eat, think to yourself, is this something that I can do for the rest of my life? (Do you really want to be missing out on one of the best things life has to offer?!?!?!) A diet may offer a quick fix to weight loss, but is it really something that you can maintain for life and say that you are happy?
