Dieting is a Gimmick

There comes a point when increasing self discipline when will can easily be broken. Ideally, willpower should only be used to set the stage for a successful change. My attempt to maintain an all raw food diet is not working out so well. The simple reason is that I ordered girl scout cookies about a month before deciding to embark on this fitness trial, and they arrived right after I started.

Eating fruit all the time is a wonderful treat. I really enjoy banana spinach smoothies. I love my amateur homemade guacamole. I feel like I have to pressure myself to keep eating fruit sometimes. I've grown accustomed to getting sweet healthy raw food at regular intervals. My kitchen is overloaded with an abundance of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. So when the cookies are just laying around, somehow my willpower completely overlooks the fact that they are not on my list. If I have one thin mint, then I have at least half a box if not the whole box. At that point, it's very difficult to want to keep preparing healthy meals. Cookies are ready to eat and pack many calories into an easy to devour package. Vegetables take time to wash, cut, and mix, and the will to keep up with all that can go out at any point if there are more convenient calories nearby.

I don't think the raw food diet is bad. I experienced heightened consciousness when I was making the transition to the eating style, and my digestion worked better than ever. The difficult part is saying no to social eating and long lasting energy. I love the smoothies, but they don't make a meal all themselves because doing so causes a major sugar crash. I miss the ability to go for four straight hours without getting hungry. The advantage of the raw food diet is you get to eat all the time. The disadvantage of the raw food diet is you HAVE TO eat all the time.

Instead of trying yet another restrictive diet, I will follow my gut and use the logic of how I will feel after I eat something to determine what and when I will eat. I'm calling this my "Brenda diet" because I find the excuse of being on a diet convenient when turning down donuts and cake at work. On the other hand, it's a diet specifically tailored to my physical needs developed by my own mind. I am the guru of my own eating plan so I don't have to fear being too far away from the source of information.

So yes, dieting is a gimmick, but if the purpose of a gimmick is to get you through the door, then dieting at least gets you through the first step toward consciously choosing health over lethargy.

For the last time - NO PIE!

I'm finally getting through to people that I don't like to eat the random sweet desserts at work.  Today there was a lot of pie left over from a big meeting.  Word made it into my hallway, but I did not even flinch (well I winced a little just because I'm so sick of the overabundance of empty calories).  Someone came into my office to tell me and stopped himself because he remembered that I can't/won't/don't eat that stuff.  Alas! I have discovered a benefit to dieting: no matter what diet you're on, if it's weird enough, people will stop trying to offer you anything.  If the diet is based only on calorie restriction, no one understands when you pass up dessert since it's not something offered every day.  But if you're one of those people with a taboo, everyone will be more afraid of offending you than trying to peer pressure you into eating junk food.

I once had a friend who loved saying, "Free food tastes better and is better for you."  I used to agree with him because I was in my senior year of high school at the time so I had many starving college years to ponder this phrase.  It's an alright mentality for someone who is scraping by and doesn't know if or when their next meal is coming.  I have outgrown this phase now.  I could continue to spend all my money on games, music, and electronics like I used to (fashion was never first pick on my spree list).  I could survive on rice and frozen pizza until my student loans are paid off.  That is how I survived paying down credit cards.  Instead, I chose to enlighten myself with the experiment of finding the best fit for my health.  I've discovered that being healthy is a lot more fun and relaxing than eating junk and always having indigestion or low energy.  Time will pass, bills will get paid, things will be bought, and good health can be gained along the way if I can find a way to make it enjoyable while keeping it affordable.  For me, dieting is far more about the self discipline gained in the process than about actual body image.  The feeling of true health is the reward.