Is it even possible to lose weight without going on a diet? Yes! And more and more people are finding that cleaning up their eating habits is better than dieting. According to a recent article at The New York Times, Instead of Eating to Diet, They’re Eating to Enjoy, the number of men and women who are dieting has dropped significantly since 2004, from 33% to only 29% in 2007. So what are these people doing to lose weight? They’re eating more – healthy foods that is. A lot of folks are realizing that diets just do not work. They’re also doing a couple of other things:
First, one of the most important things they’re doing is cleaning up their diet by cooking from scratch. (This also saves money!) Instead of buying pre-packaged boxed foods, diet foods, and low-fat snacks, they’re spending a little more time in the kitchen preparing healthier foods.
Second, they’re buying locally grown, unprocessed foods.
Third, they’ve stopped counting calories (yes, you read that right), fat grams, and carbs. How is it even possible to lose weight without counting calories? Because once you start feeding your body healthy foods, you free yourself to actually enjoy cooking and eating nutritious foods. Eating healthy provides the body with a balanced diet and there really is no need to worry too much about calories. Also, because you’re eating foods that you enjoy (and are healthy), you may find that you won’t eat as much.
The article does say that the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service found that those who spend more time on shopping for food, cooking, and cleanup are more likely to be of average weight than those who spend less time on those meal-related tasks.
Lastly, I think one of the most important things to realize is that food is not the enemy. Our bodies need food to survive, so how can it be the enemy? We need to take a step back and remember what it feels like to actually enjoy preparing and eating a meal in a healthy way. Once this occurs, weight loss isn’t nearly as difficult as when we’re on yet another diet that doesn’t work.
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