The Diet Trap

Banksy's Caveman: Flickr Creative Commons

Banksy's Caveman: Flickr Creative Commons

You’ve been losing the same 50 pounds for the past 10 years. You’ve tried all the diets, Mediterranean, South Beach, Paleo, low-cal, low-carb, high-protein, low-salt, Atkins, gluten-free, 3-day, 7-day, 12-hour, detox, etc, … But, nothing seems to work.

Could it be that you’re trying too hard?

Maybe you should just take a step back and simplify things. Nobody said that your diet has to be complicated. Your diet should be simple to remember, simple to plan, and simple to execute.

Try these tips when planning your diet:

  • Eat The Rainbow. No, I don’t mean that fruit flavored candy! You should eat food that has a range of natural (i.e, not artificial) colors: green, red, yellow, purple, white, orange. Not blue, there is no blue food!
  • Eat Several Times A Day. Don’t skip meals … ever! Ideally, you should eat 5-6 meals every 2-3 hours. This keeps your metabolism up and never puts your body into starvation mode.
  • Drink Plenty Of Water. Use whatever method works for you. Drink 6-8 glasses per day. Drink 2 oz per pound of body weight. Drink until your urine is mostly clear. More importantly, never wait until you’re thirsty. If you do, you’re already dehydrated.
  • Limit Refined Foods. This include breads, pastas, cookies, crackers, any processed food that uses refined flours and sugars. These have empty calories and little nutritional value. They’ll fill you up, but leave you unsatisfied and searching for more nutritious food.
  • Be Mostly Good. It’s O.K. to treat yourself with your favorite junk or sweet food once in a while. But, if you overindulge in them every meal, then you will get into trouble. If you eat well 70 – 80% of the time, then you will see progress on the scale.
  • Weigh Yourself Daily. This is controversial, but I believe that if you don’t, you will never see how food affects your weight. Tracking your weight daily will let you make adjustments to your diet to improve your success.
  • Keep Healthy Default Food Around. There’s nothing worse than deciding what to eat while you’re hungry. Keep it simple. Have a variety of food in the house so you can make 2 or 3 different breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Can’t be any simpler than that.
  • Remove Certain Foods From Your Diet. Ban high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, and artificial colors from your diet. Replace them with healthier alternatives such as organic sugar, honey, maple syrup, olive oil, coconut oil, spices and organic extracts. These will satisfy your palate and make eating your food more enjoyable.
  • Be Mindful Of What and How You Eat. Savor what you’re eating. Don’t just gulp it down. See your food. Smell your food. Taste your food. Feel your food. Use all of your senses to experience what you’re eating. Don’t neglect location either. Eat in a comfortable, relaxed setting with no distractions. Just you and your food.

Keep things simple when planning your diet. Doing so will help ensure your success for your short-term an long-term weight loss goals.

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