Most are so irrational about their eating habits that they'd rather not even look. As long as the taste pleases them.
Long ago, before our society evolved into…this, English words had definitive meanings. Then, with the continued glorification of superficiality, envy, and irrationality, some words that were once normal took on negative connotations. Where people used to see budgeting their money as a means for survival, now, instituting a budget means heavy financial restrictions to individuals and families. Where people used to listen to both points in an argument, today, the word “argument” is used to define heated screaming matches. People used to see diet as defining a person’s entire food intake (i.e. “my diet consists of…”), now people see diets as strict regulations or extreme changes in food intake.
It’s all for the sake of superficiality, envy, and irrationality. Budgets and diets scare people because with our liberalized living they represent strict and uncomfortable changes in spending and consumption. Arguments scare people because they are far too irrational to hear outside opinions. It might all result in people who can’t properly handle saving money, communicating with others, and eating properly. That’s because with our current definitions of these words, we can’t effectively manage these essential elements of our lives.
If you don't really exercise, the potato may be too many carbohydrates...
Before you go on your next diet, consider a few things. First, which factors have gone into this being your “next” diet? Meaning, if initially every diet and exercise plan that’s sold to you works, then where did you allow them to fail? Was it in the approach? Second, what was your normal diet before you started going on diets? Meaning, before you thought you needed to look better, what did you eat, and since you’ve been going on diets, how many times do you revert to your original diet? Which is the way you’re naturally inclined to eat. Which approach makes you more comfortable? Third, do most diets you embark on force you to into completely uncomfortable eating habits? Would a different approach make you feel differently?
It all makes the word “approach” sound far better than “diet.” In my experience, taking a different approach sounds much more solid then starting a new diet. Taking time to be honest with ourselves, diets are quite easy to break, and sell to others so that they aren’t too discouraging. Taking a new approach is far more frightening and permanent than a diet. Without the catchy names, the calculated starvation, the instant and ephemeral results, new approaches are exactly what “diets” as we know them aspire to be.
New approaches are rooted in common sense, something that diets aren’t. They may not help you lose five pounds in five days, because the superficial and irrational nature of that type of weight loss is not rooted in common sense. Also, that sort of weight loss indicates that a person might not want to completely eliminate unhealthy foods from their daily intake. That same person, taking a different approach to food might give up all unhealthy foods and lose thirty pounds in two months. Still, those who are focused on the looks of things can’t imagine deeply committing to doing the right things for their bodies. Most who try new diets are looking for ways to wear certain articles of clothing by a certain date, are envious of others with different bodies, and are willing to irrationally alter their bodies regardless of risks. People who choose new approaches have simply determined what they should and shouldn’t eat. For all of us, the lists of both should be extensive. Anyone with basic knowledge of healthy and unhealthy foods should be able to make simple determinations on food and what’s right for them.
What's really entertaining about Kirstie Alley? That she struggles like most other Americans with weight, and that money won't fix your approach.
Why is it so difficult? One, because we’re not all fed the same ways, but since we were babies, the only thing we’ve ever really been given for its nutritional value was breast milk or baby formula. Beyond that, we’re mostly fed based on what our parents thought a human being should eat, and what we like and don’t like. This creates an adult who is naturally inclined to only eat things they enjoy, and who will only eat healthy food when forced to by the doctor or the mirror. If you’ve ever wondered why so many Americans are obese, start there. That’s a completely unhealthy approach to food. Mentally, it lacks consistency, which can put an unnecessary amount of stress on food and food issues. Physically, it places bodies in unhealthy situations with fluctuating weight, health problems from years of sensory eating (for some reason, all the foods that taste great also kill you), and it feeds the fitness industry with money that American consumers could save, possibly changing notions about the prices of healthier foods.
A new approach to food should be the complete opposite of a diet. If we start diets to look better, we should start new approaches to be better. If we start diets thinking we can change for the short-term, a new approach should mean decisions we’ve decided to make permanent. If we start diets to sell people on the idea that we’re trying by having them agree with the diet’s principles, then a new approach should be full of things that are unique to us and our own principles.
Lastly, most diets, on their face, mean well. They tell us to eat less bleached foods, fewer carbohydrates, or to take in more liquids. Really, humans shouldn’t eat bleached foods, they eat far too many carbohydrates for the insufficient amounts of exercise they get, and they don’t take in nearly enough liquids or fiber to live in good health, much less lose weight. What diets are really showing us is that we’ve conditioned ourselves to be so unhealthy for life that fixing one of the many unhealthy areas temporarily will result in losing five pounds in five days.
If you think that’s a good thing, you need to take a different approach.
