That 4 Letter Word That Makes Adults Cry.... DIET

That 4 letter word that makes adults cry.... diet,
GASP! I said it!
  Americans are obsessed with dieting. According to 20/20 in an article called Losing It: The Big Fat Trap there are some outrageous numbers associated with dieting in America. $20 Billion is spent annually on diet books, diet drugs and weightloss surgeries. 108 million people are on a diet usually trying 4 or 5 attempts a year. 85% of those dieters are women. $500,000 to $3,000,000 is spent on celebrity endorsements for diet plans!
  To me that is absolutely ridiculous!  Why are diets so damn expensive, complicated and hard to follow? Our attention spans and self control must be really bad or we are being set up for failure.....hmmmm. The AlterNet.org article Why Diets Make You Fatter And What to Do About It says the "diet industry keeps offering new programs and plans. Low-fat, low-carbohydrate, and low-calorie diets get recycled with new names, claiming that they aren't a diet (since, as we all know by now, diets don't work!), but a way of life. Fitness clubs ready themselves for the onslaught of new members, counting on the fact that these exercise enthusiasts will work out religiously for a month or two and then drop out, fleeing the tedium of Stairmasters and treadmills.The common cultural notion that anyone can successfully lose weight and keep it off with enough hard work and commitment mirrors the values embedded in the American Dream. Yet despite this collective belief -- and the short-term weight loss that occurs with just about any type of weight-reduction plan -- the most frequently cited statistic is that 95 percent of dieters will regain the lost pounds. Given that a few percent will maintain the weight loss, we all know someone who can claim "success," yet the vast majority will regain the weight. Although the blame -- and shame -- for the failure is usually placed at the dieter's doorstep, strong physiological, psychological, social, and even economic forces make dieting a losing battle."
  Frankly, it is overwhelming with the Eat This, WAIT, we changed our minds, now it's now bad for you.... so Eat That instead! It is honestly enough to make me scream! It is overload and most people think they are too busy to spend the time to eat healthy, to eat fresh, work out and put in the effort it requires to be successful. That 20/20 article also says that of those who kept off 30 pounds for at least 5 years were the people who put in a minimum of 1 hour of exercise daily. It honestly is not all about the food. People say they are on a diet all the time but it has to be more than what or how you eat. Put any label you want on it, spin it with a fancy name or have a skinny celeb spout off a bunch of lies but losing weight all comes down to some basics.
"All diets work by restricting calories. Since simply telling people to eat smaller portions doesn't sell books, most commercial diet plans are built around a nutritional trick that makes it easier to restrict dietary intake. Food is made up of four basic components (so-called macronutrients): water, fats, protein and carbohydrates. Therefore, it follows that telling people to avoid fats or cut out carbs will automatically eliminate a lot of food choices. Low-carb diets, for example, are effective, because they remove an enormous number of potential foods such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc., from a person's diet." According to the PBS article Frequently Asked Questions About Diet & Health by Jon Palfremon.
  Save your dollars!  Use that money for fresh veggies and walk your happy butt the long way around the store! You don't need some fad diet or book telling you to skip fruits because they are high in sugar. That is insane! It's FRUIT! Use your brain! You don't need some celeb with a personal chef telling you to buy a prepackaged diet food because we both know this is NOT what they are putting in their mouths everyday! Or EVER for that matter! i am learning we should really KISS our life! Show your body you love it, Keep It Simple Stupid....KISS.  If it is fresh, if it is a lean protein, if it is something you will eat then go for it! What is the point of an expensive name brand labeled diet type food if it tastes gross and you will never eat it. Or the ones full of fillers to trick your body into thinking you are eating more?
  So, I am sticking to my theory. One I did not have to pay a fee per pound for or choke down a slimy frozen entree to be able to say I'm sticking to a diet. Forget that! I am going to attempt to love my body (which I know is NOT easy). I am going to KISS it and fill it with as little preservatives or artificial crap as I can! It worked for me before surgery then I am going to focus on it again. Can't hurt..... I am going to start by cleaning up my use of those 4 letter words...by no longer saying I am on a DIET, I am just focusing on my new lifestyle instead! so, GOOD LUCK my friend, it's crazy out there!