Good morning, friends! Today I want to talk a little bit about psychology. When you hear the word "diet," do you immediately cringe? Does the word conjure up images of suffering and deprivation? Iceberg lettuce with radishes? If you "go on a diet," does that mean that eventually you plan to "go off" that diet again?
When I use the word "diet," I am not talking about a temporary state of calorie deprivation. I am talking about the sum total of what you eat on a daily basis. The diet of the red fox is composed of mice, voles, moles, berries, and the occasional chicken which it steals from our yard. The diet of the typical American is composed of carbohydrates in the form of bread, pasta, bagels, muffins, chips, pizza, french fries, cookies, cake, etc. If you are not particularly concerned about your health, then you may purchase most of these foods already prepared for you at a fast food restaurant. If you are a health nut, you probably purchase the same types of foods, but maybe in their whole grain form at your local Whole Foods Market. Either way, your "diet" probably leans heavily in the carb direction while somewhat light in the protein. In terms of the fats, Americans tend to eat way too many Omega-6's which are found in soy and other vegetable oils, while neglecting the Omega-3's which are mainly derived from fish or grass-fed meats and eggs. My point is that you are already "on a diet," whether or not you are calling it by that 4-letter word.
If you decide to join me on the Zone Diet, I hope you will not consider this a temporary weight loss journey, where you will eventually end up back in carbohydrate land where the sodapop flows from all the drinking fountains and blueberry muffins grow on bushes low to the ground. I hope you will discover that the benefits of this eating regimen FAR outweigh the brief pleasure of a cookie. Not that you can never eat a cookie if you are on the Zone. You can. But I know personally that watching muscles emerge from under a blanket of fat is deeply gratifying. If you would like to access that fat and burn it off, then the Zone is the place you want to be.
I have had many clients who have told me that they want to lose weight. Only, when I detail exactly how to make that happen, most clients find reasons why they simply cannot change their diets. What it comes down to is this: change is hard. Change is stressful. Change is scary. You might think that an obese person, one hundred pounds or more overweight, might be MORE afraid of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and early death. But denial is a very powerful force! Whether you are 5 or 50 lbs. overweight, you are probably resistant to change.
If you find yourself thinking that you just can't do it, for whatever reason (I need a glass of wine at night; my children won't eat that; I have to travel for work; what is life without a cookie? etc.) start with baby steps. Maybe you can change one meal a day? Maybe you can change one snack? Maybe you can start by adding one dose of fish oil to your daily regimen? Maybe you can start by just writing down exactly what you are currently eating each day? Maybe you can start by drinking 8-10 cups of water each day? Any of these small changes can be the starting point. After establishing these new habits for at least 3 weeks, move on to the next step that feels doable to you.
And remember that I am here to support you! That is the main goal of this blog-- to create a community of people working together to become healthier, fitter, happier, and sexier! Yup, the Zone can do all that, and more! I hope you join me.
When I use the word "diet," I am not talking about a temporary state of calorie deprivation. I am talking about the sum total of what you eat on a daily basis. The diet of the red fox is composed of mice, voles, moles, berries, and the occasional chicken which it steals from our yard. The diet of the typical American is composed of carbohydrates in the form of bread, pasta, bagels, muffins, chips, pizza, french fries, cookies, cake, etc. If you are not particularly concerned about your health, then you may purchase most of these foods already prepared for you at a fast food restaurant. If you are a health nut, you probably purchase the same types of foods, but maybe in their whole grain form at your local Whole Foods Market. Either way, your "diet" probably leans heavily in the carb direction while somewhat light in the protein. In terms of the fats, Americans tend to eat way too many Omega-6's which are found in soy and other vegetable oils, while neglecting the Omega-3's which are mainly derived from fish or grass-fed meats and eggs. My point is that you are already "on a diet," whether or not you are calling it by that 4-letter word.
If you decide to join me on the Zone Diet, I hope you will not consider this a temporary weight loss journey, where you will eventually end up back in carbohydrate land where the sodapop flows from all the drinking fountains and blueberry muffins grow on bushes low to the ground. I hope you will discover that the benefits of this eating regimen FAR outweigh the brief pleasure of a cookie. Not that you can never eat a cookie if you are on the Zone. You can. But I know personally that watching muscles emerge from under a blanket of fat is deeply gratifying. If you would like to access that fat and burn it off, then the Zone is the place you want to be.
I have had many clients who have told me that they want to lose weight. Only, when I detail exactly how to make that happen, most clients find reasons why they simply cannot change their diets. What it comes down to is this: change is hard. Change is stressful. Change is scary. You might think that an obese person, one hundred pounds or more overweight, might be MORE afraid of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and early death. But denial is a very powerful force! Whether you are 5 or 50 lbs. overweight, you are probably resistant to change.
If you find yourself thinking that you just can't do it, for whatever reason (I need a glass of wine at night; my children won't eat that; I have to travel for work; what is life without a cookie? etc.) start with baby steps. Maybe you can change one meal a day? Maybe you can change one snack? Maybe you can start by adding one dose of fish oil to your daily regimen? Maybe you can start by just writing down exactly what you are currently eating each day? Maybe you can start by drinking 8-10 cups of water each day? Any of these small changes can be the starting point. After establishing these new habits for at least 3 weeks, move on to the next step that feels doable to you.
And remember that I am here to support you! That is the main goal of this blog-- to create a community of people working together to become healthier, fitter, happier, and sexier! Yup, the Zone can do all that, and more! I hope you join me.
I'm on day 4. And like you said, the hardest part is finding enough protein. Particularly for snacks. Can provide some snack ideas at some point?
ReplyDeleteLove the post today - I've been drinking more water since practicing hot yoga just because it feels so good, but I'm going to up it even more.
Keep the blogs coming!!!
Liz, what a great job you have done in explaining the whole "diet" concept! Your suggestion, at the end, of taking baby steps makes establishing a healthy lifestyle so much easier and manageable. I do believe most people start out taking drastic measures to change their bad habits and become overwhelmed and discouraged and ultimately give up. I have found that changing just one thing at a time works for me, and it may be months before I try to incorporate additional changes. In fact, all of your suggestions are ones I have addressed and find doable. If I can sustain these changes 80-85% of the time, I'm satisfied. It's a life journey.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think! Thanks for the encouragement!!!
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