Dieting vs eating healthy

Scott Schwab
Everyone that I have been talking to lately, seems to be on some type of diet. There are many commercials and infomercials, that are advertising great rates at Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. There has been enough money spent on dieting that we could cure world hunger. The fact is: many of us need help and assistance to lose weight, but you should not have to pay for it. There are a couple of key steps that will help you stay off dieting and simply live healthy. The first step is to set boundaries for yourself. One might be, I will not eat a whole bag of cookies, chips, or ice cream in one sitting. This may or may not be you, but from my experience, if there is junk food around, then I will eat it until it is gone. I start to think, well if I eat it all today, then I don't have to look at it later, and I will start tomorrow anyway. Does this sound familiar. Having a cookie or some chips, is not the end of the world and I personally believe that you should be able to eat these things, just in moderation. so set boundaries. The next thing is to give yourself a reason. Why are you wanting to get in shape. Is it for your children, your spouse, yourself? Whatever the reason, you need to make sure that you do it for yourself and have that be what you always come back too. Set goals! My wife has a 3x5 card on our mirror that has all of her measurements. In this way she is accountable and has something to look at during the day. The final step is to eat healthy. Sounds easy, but it really is more involved, much more involved. To eat healthy takes planning and time. It is much easier to grab something quick, that is apparent. However; the benefits of planning will help you in more ways than just diet. It helps in budgeting, turning off cravings, doing what you say you're going to do. In this way your subconscious mind will know, that when you say you will do something or wont do something, that it will happen. Our mind can be our worst enemy or our greatest support. That depends on if we can control our cravings and desires through our thoughts. Many of us do not know where to start and are to embarrassed to ask. That is where I was when I first made the decision to live healthy. I had a friend sit down and write me a meal plan. At this point Chandi, Drew, and I will do the same. Just let us know. We would need to know your schedule, what you usually eat, and what your goals are. In this way we will get you a meal plan that will work for you and you can get started. One more thing. Whenever you are dieting or eating healthy, you always need to include exercise. Exercise and good eating go hand in hand. Let us know where we can help and have a great start to your weekend.