When someone eats chicken breast, fish, vegetables and fresh fruit, they call it “dieting” but when people ate the same thing 2,000 years ago, they called it a feast. Maybe it’s time to rethink healthy eating and shift your mindset for success.
“DIET” Is NOT a Four-Letter Word
When someone says the word “DIET”, most people immediately think of calorie restrictions and whatever diet fat that’s trending online. Maybe you immediately pictured a life full of salads, boring vegetables, plain rubbery chicken and a lot of water. Well, if that is what you were thinking then you are reading the right blog!
Let’s take a deeper look at the word – and the facts.
Diet, according to Webster, simply means “habitual nourishment“. In fact, when the word diet first appeared in the 13th century, its original meaning meant “habitually taken food and drink.” So “DIET” isn’t a bad word, it’s a pattern – a habit that can be good or bad.
A Healthy DIET is NOT Punishment
One thing I have noticed over the years is how people often treat exercise and diet like it’s a form of punishment for their bad decisions – as to erase their dietary sins. This is a very unhealthy way to look at something that is so good for you.
Eating healthy whole foods is not PUNISHMENT, it is NOURISHMENT.
Actually, eating poorly destroys our body. Sadly though, most people focus more on all the favorite meals and treats they will have to do without rather than focusing on all the amazing healthy foods that will energy, heal and protect their body. Take a look at all the benefits.
Fresh fruits and vegetables rich in powerful vitamins, minerals and antioxidants:
energizes our body
reduces heart disease
fights cancer
improves digestion
lowers blood pressure
boosts immune function
Quality proteins:
promotes satiety
supports weight loss
boosts metabolism
rebuilds muscle and help repair cells
promotes healthy skin and hair
preserves bone and muscle mass in older adults
Healthy fats:
improves nutrient absorption
nourishes our skin
strengthens bones
supports heart health
optimizes brain function
improves sleep
Now that you know all the benefits (and those are not even all of them!), let’s also consider the risks you are taking when you eat unhealthy food if you really want to adopt a healthy eating mindset. Unhealthy foods are not just high in calories, they are often high in toxins and ingredients that actually are killing you. However, that is not what people think of when they think of their favorite unhealthy cheat meal.
A Healthy DIET is NOT Complicated
In fact, eating healthy is simple eating – whole foods, fewer complicated processed foods and fewer overall ingredients. We just tend to overcomplicate things.
If we want to live LONG and WELL, we have to quit being lazy in the kitchen and stop relying on sauces packed in sugar, seasoning packets loaded with MSG, and all the shortcuts “big food” wants you to buy – and start learning to cook REAL food cooked in delicious natural herbs and spices.
For some reason we tend to think we have to have a fancy recipe when some of the best meals are extremely simple – like a really great steak seasoned with garlic, salt, cracked pepper and maybe some olive oil or butter served with a baked potato and roasted vegetables. Or, like the photo below, juicy grilled chicken with peppers, onions, mushrooms and pineapple over rice.
If we want to live WELL, we must PRIORITIZE whole food and FUEL your body with real nutrition.
As much as I would love to eat French Fries everyday, I have to work hard to practice self-control and not let my eating habits get out of balance. And, admittedly, it’s challenging! I think we all want to eat healthy, but we allow ourselves too many cheat meals and often avoid accountability. (Contact me if you could use some accountability and would like to learn more about online coaching!)
Eating HEALTHY is not dieting. It’s eating SMART.
Adopting a healthy eating mindset is being able to think about food as nourishing fuel for your body, and not just something you taste. It is not only recognizing the many benefits of healthy food but also the many unhealthy side effects and risks connected with making poor choices.
You can change your meals all day but you will never be successful on any diet unless you also change your mindset too.
