DIET: Good Word or Bad Word?

DIET: MISERY, DEPRIVATION, BORING, DEPRESSING
If you want to start a debate or ruffle a girl’s feathers, just say the word DIET really loud and it will get as much attention as yelling out a cuss word. I don’t think of it as a bad word, but my experience with diet is a lot different than many others. 

Look at blue cheese dressing. Some people may LOVE blue cheese dressing but if I mention that word to my mom or dad, they don’t think “delicious”. They think of being hung over the toilet puking their guts out FOR 24 hours when it gave them food poisoning nearly 35 years ago. That bad experience left such a bad taste in their mouth, they never had the dressing again.

DIET: THE HEARTBREAKER
I think this is how prior dieters feel about going on a new “diet”. It’s like trying to date again after a really bad relationship. Do you really want to put yourself out there only to be hurt again? Before I met Steve, I was crazy about a guy that I wanted so badly to be “the one”. After a few months dating him, I began to realize he was not “the one” at all and I could wish it all day long but he was not the man God had intended for me. I broke up with him and cried for days. Although it was my decision, it hurt so badly.

Before that, I never really had a lot of dates and the guys I did date never liked me as much as I liked them. One disappointment after another takes a toll on you. Then I met Steve – just weeks after breaking up with that guy I was wanting to be “the one”. I always used to say, “if I think that guy is pretty awesome, but he’s not the guy for me, the guy God has planned for me must be REALLY AMAZING!” Thank the LORD I didn’t give up because Steve was amazing (and still is of course!). We were married 8 months later.

I say ALLLLL that to say THIS: Whether you are talking about a bad dining experience or a bad relationship, you could always just give up trying, but think of all the opportunities you would be missing. Sure, you may feel “safe”, but like my grandmother said “A ship in Harbor maybe safe but that’s not it was built for”. Someone also just tweeted “Every man dies. Not every man really lives. ~ William Wallace”. What we do with our life is totally up to us. We can continue to LIVE, and get hurt occasionally, or we can begin dying now. The choice is ours.

If chills go up and down your spine every time you hear the word “diet”. Maybe you just had a bad experience. It’s not fair to treat every diet the same – just like it’s not fair to treat your NEW man like your OLD one.

Your life is all about trial and error, and your diet is no different. Just as one relationship can make you miserable and another make you feel amazing, diets can do the same.

WHAT DIET MEANS TO ME
DIET: HAPPY, HEALTHY, THIN, SMART, PROUD, OBEDIENT, FREE…
For me, diet means: feeling skinny, energetic, sexy, happy, healthy, confident, disciplined, in control, balanced and strong. It means eating the foods that I love and that LOVE ME BACK! It means fantastic flavors, whole foods, juicy fruits, savory vegetables, nuts, creative salads, delicious smoothies, homemade popcorn, refreshing water and feeling GOOD after you eat instead of feeling like a FAT piece of stuffed LARD full of regret.

When I think of dieting, I think of the times I looked the best, I think of people, like my friend Kristia Knowles (left) who looks amazing – and it’s not just because she works out, it’s because she eats right and feeds her body what she needs to look that good.

WHAT DIET DOESN’T MEAN TO ME
Diet DOES NOT mean celery sticks, chicken broth, diet pills, starvation, depriving myself, crappy pre-packaged foods I don’t like, food that tastes like cardboard or a 5-step plan with expensive supplements you “have” to buy to get skinny. Diet means eating clean, eating healthy, fueling my body by giving it what it NEEDS, not necessarily what my taste buds WANT, but SURELY what they enjoy.

DIET for me is forever if I want to live long, feel good and look my best.

FATTY FOOD = FATTY FEELING
Ironically, some of my old foods I used to eat a lot like french fries, nachos, hamburgers and pizza make me think bad words. When I think of those foods, I no longer think of how they TASTE but how they make me FEEL – sluggish, fat, gross, full of regret, disappointment, shame, disgusting, tired, stuffed, sick and lazy. They sure didn’t USED to make me feel that way, but once I started eating clean, I noticed a difference in the way the foods made me feel and I started associating the way I feel with the types of food I ate.

It’s truly much like relationships. My prior relationships did not give me the same feeling that my relationship with Steve gives me. I was left unfulfilled, disappointed, not valuable, disposable, never good enough, sad and alone. A failed diet can give you those same awful feelings but you can’t give up! Never, NEVER give up!

So, when I mention the word “DIET”, if your blood started boiling as if you just saw your old boyfriend who treated you like a piece of trash, believe me – they are not all created equally and it’s time to give DIET another chance.

When you find the “right one”, it will treat you right and you just may fall in LOVE!