Wellness Wednesday

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Hang in there if you're still keeping (or trying to keep) your New Year's resolutions to get fit, eat healthy, and/or lose weight.  After a few years of going to the gym on a regular basis, I noticed that from January through February, I always saw lots of new faces in my weekly classes.  By March, however, we were back to the regulars and stayed that way until...January.  

Often I hear people comment that they're "on a diet."  The hidden message behind this simple comment is that 1) they're approaching it from a position of deprivation - even if they're eating the freshest, healthiest, tastiest food they've ever had - and 2) they see it as temporary.  That is, they believe that once they've lost the weight and they're done with the "diet" life can go back to the way it used to be.  The problem with this is that their past eating habits are what put the weight on in the first place.  As they say, stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again...and expecting different results.

In order to lose weight and keep it off, you need to develop new habits, new patterns of eating, and a new attitude.  Eating fresh foods that actually nourish your body shouldn't be seen as deprivation.  Actually, eating processed foods and artificial ingredients is deprivation.  Your body needs the micro-nutrients found in whole unprocessed grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.  When you don't get them, your body really is being deprived and is probably sending you a variety of distress signals that you continue to ignore - or mask with prescription drugs.

Do yourself a favor - ditch those fad diets, get an attitude adjustment, and go for a kitchen makeover.  Feeding your body what it actually needs is not deprivation.  And don't take the stupidity route by returning to the habits that got you in trouble in the first place.  Educate yourself.  Get to your local library (or search good resources on the internet), read up on healthy eating, and find easy and delicious recipes made with fresh and natural ingredients.  Your body will thank you.