DIET – what does it mean to you?

Kathryn Villa
Apr 26, 2017
4 min read

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/diet

DIET: This word receives a bit of a bad rap and understandably so. To most of us the term ‘DIET’ has a negative connotation (as seen in definition 2 above) of eliminating food groups, restricting calories, fasting, etc. all normally with the view to losing weight. These are things which can greatly impact on the way we live our lives. It is a term that instils fear in many of us!

In actual fact, the term ‘DIET’ should simply refer to the food we eat in the course of a 24-hour, one week, or one month, etc. period. Our ‘normal’ food intake (aka. definition 1).

A good diet is a nutritional lifestyle that promotes good health and must include all food groups because one single group cannot provide everything the human body needs for good health and function.

Over the past few decades the way we consume food and the type of foods we consume has changed dramatically. Seems everyone these days is time poor. Families rarely have a stay-at-home parent meaning that with both parents working, not only are our older children left to their own devices after school to eat whatever takes their fancy (rarely an apple or celery stick), when two working parents finally arrive home after a long day at work, cooking a meal often is the last thing they want to do. Energy levels are low, kids homework has to be done, school lunches to be organized for the next day…..so much to do, so little time!

And so the fast food boom began!

Now this isn’t to say that people didn’t want to give their families nutritious and healthy food. More often than not due to excellent and often misleading advertising campaigns, most people thought they were doing a good thing for their family. They had no idea just how harmful and addictive the foods they were providing their families were. A couple of generations in, this way of eating had become the norm and times had changed. People genuinely didn’t know any better.

Along with this social change in the family structure, socializing too changed. I remember when I was little my parents and their friends would catch up over a game of cards, a picnic at the park involving either a game of cricket or footy. Then I think about how we socialized a decade ago…..normally this revolved around a meal out or a big night on the town (tones of empty, alcoholic calories). Everything seemed to involve eating or drinking. It was easy to eat out four or five nights a week (which I often did!).

Now times are changing again. People are becoming more health conscious and attempting to undo the damage, so to speak. We often see lifestyle related disease in our grandparents or parents, and that is often what spurs us on to make changes to our own lifestyle (I know it certainly did for me!). BUT, because of entrenched habits making these changes can be very hard…. no less difficult than quitting smoking!

Here is where most of us find it challenging:

Being unrealistic - Too often we try the latest diet fad that claims to be the best, yet deep down we know we are never going to stick to it, or it doesn’t work for our lifestyle because it is just too restrictive and too much of a shock to our system. We chase quick results to try and undo years of poor eating. Instead of searching for the fast results, learn to slow down and find what best suits you.

Education - It’s not your fault! Many people just don’t know what to eat. We live in a world where advertisements can say what they like about their products, claiming to be healthy when unfortunately more often than not it is very much the opposite. People are confused, with low-fat, low-carb, gluten free, sugar free, cholesterol this, low GI that. Let’s move past the hype and learn how to go back to the basics and eat what’s right for you.

Consistency - We are all going to slip up sometimes, and that’s ok! Nobody’s perfect, so let’s learn to plan things a little better. If we know we are going to be at a party with plenty of bad things to eat and drink on a Friday night, than its ok to allow it sometimes, but plan ahead and make sure the rest of the meals that week are as good as they can be, and get to the gym or the park the next morning and get some exercise in. If you slip up, that’s ok, but get back on the horse and stay consistent. Try not to have two cheat meals in a row!

Liquids- Most people don’t realise but a very high percentage of our daily carb intake comes through our beverages, not just our food. Balancing protein, fats and carbs is important for consistent results, and failing to calculate the carbs we drink can mean we get the numbers way off. Try and limit things like coffee with milk & sugar, soft drinks of any kind, sports drinks, and of course alcohol. You need to earn your carbs until you get to your ideal body composition, so choose smart!

The main reason many of us have a negative view of the ‘DIET’ label is because most if us have fallen prey to one or more of the challenges listed above. The diets we have attempted have been either too restrictive, too bland, too low in calories or our expectations have been far too unrealistic.

The key is to find the right diet for you. One that you can maintain over a long period of time and fulfils all of your nutritional requirements. Remember this won’t happen overnight…but it will happen if you can be consistent! Once you achieve your ideal weight and body composition, maintenance is much easier and allows the reintroduction of a few of your favourite foods again (occasionally).

So forget about the label….eat healthy, nutritious food and enjoy a healthy active life!