Diet or Lifestyle?

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What does weight loss mean to you, look slimmer or be healthy? Have you ever dieted? Or have you changed your lifestyle to keep a healthy weight? Do you even need to loose weight?

For those of you who know me, you know that I am more of a promoter for a lifestyle change when it comes to weight loss as opposed to intermittent dieting.  However, I also understand that there is a convenience factor of following a program for a limited period of time until a goal is achieved.  In that case, the type of the program, how suitable it is for someone’s life and how accessible it is are also very important.

The challenge is that every day the definition of “healthy food” changes based on the trends, and, in a way, politics.  What was deemed to be very unhealthy back in the time, can be promoted as VERY healthy today.  And based on those trends, new diets emerge for weight loss.  Some rely too heavily on the trends and others focuses more on the science.  As I have been working on and off on my nutritionist certification for the last decade, I have gained more knowledge on the science part of things, which helps me understand which diets are actually healthy and which ones just end up in water weight loss.

Here are couple tips to consider while looking at any diet plans:

  1. Understand the logic behind the program: Is the explanation of how the weight is lost makes sense?

  2. Stay away from any diet that relies on a TOO QUICK of a fix

  3. Consider what you are asked to eat: Is there a special emphasis on a certain type of food? Is there a limitation on a certain type of food? If so, WHY?

  4. Listen to your body carefully when/if you start a diet: Are you feeling tired or energized? Is your body achy or strong? Is your sleep affected?

  5. Think about what to do after the diet: Will you be able to sustain your weight? Does the diet provide you with long term tips?

And here are some key principles that we follow in our household for a healthy lifestyle:

  1. Stay away from processed food: longer the ingredient list further away it stays from our house. :)

  2. No Refined Sugars (like cane sugar): maple syrup and raw honey are our best friends.

  3. Keep water close by at all times: the first sign of thirst feels like hunger so first drink water as opposed to snacking on whatever you find

  4. Balance meals with protein and carbs: you need carbs to send the protein to the muscles so make sure to pair them at ALL times.

  5. Eat frequently in small and balanced portions: food is your fuel so try to eat every 3-4 hours.

  6. Listen to your body: every “body” is different so reconsider your carb to protein ratio if you feel unenergized. Rule of thumb: if you tend to forget to eat, carbs will satisfy you more than protein so consider to have more vegetables with your protein.

Big thanks to my brother for inspiring my blog this month.  He thought I didn’t approve the fact that he was dieting but once I realized that he followed all the tips I provided above, without even knowing about those tips, I was very impressed with his efforts.  I know that he will get to his goal in no time and that he will be able to sustain a healthier eating pattern after his diet is over. Big high five to him for taking the leap to an healthier weight management. :)

Our body is what we have to survive.  Just like you wouldn’t fill your car with bad gasoline, don’t fill your body with bad fuel!

full month of june with my family in turkey

long family hikes is a part of healthy living - grandpa and the grandkids

here is a healthy dinner - everything is made with pure ingredients, nothing processed, nothing with refined sugars