I have a four letter bad word that I hate to say in conjunction with my weight loss journey. When I say or hear this word it makes me cringe! What is the word you may be asking? The word is.......diet! I can not stand the word diet! It is a horrible word, right?
Ok, honestly when I hear someone use the word as a noun I don't mind it. For example, "Sally is following a vegetarian diet." Yup, that's not bad is it. It's pretty benign that way isn't it? It doesn't hurt to say that. There really isn't anything negative or bad about it. Yet I still hate it! But why do I hate the word diet so badly?
I hate the word diet so badly because this word is most commonly used as a verb. "Sally is on a diet." And I do not like the word used that way. Dare I say it is even akin to a bad word when used as a verb? But let me dive into the word and talk about why I hate it.
- Diet has such negative emotions connected with it. So many people go on a diet......and fail. Yes, there are quite a few people that have had success. But seriously, how many times do we stumble and fall? HOw many people just give up and never pick themselves back up after they stumble? Quite a few!!! Thus the word diet gets linked with negativity so much. I do not want my weight loss to be negative. It's hard enough to overcome the excess weight without added negativity! Nope. No DIET for me!
- The word diet many times is linked with crazy fads and ideas. " Eat just this and you will lose 20 pounds in one month!" Fad DIETS and crazy diet ideas are usually not based on solid nutritional intake of food. They are based on some crazy idea or plan to drop weight and unfortunately those fad diets many times will actually do your body more harm due to lack of nutrients or overload of one or two specific nutrients. No thank you, I want to lose weight but I also want to be healthy! No fad DIETS for me!
-The word diet implies that you are going to restrict or do something short term to lose the weight. Someone going on a diet is doing it to fit into a dress for a special occasion. They are doing it short term. It is a temporary change in their life just to reach a goal. And honestly, that may be ok for a person that never has a weight problem and just gained 5 pounds due to a single event. But for me, a temporary restriction is NOT the answer to my weight problems. I need a lifestyle change and a temporary change is not going to do the trick.
Diet.......yes, I can look at the word and see it's uses...but I will probably always continue to cringe when I see and hear the word! A DIET is not for me. I am here to change my life. I am here to change the way I think I am here to build a healthier and more fit lifestyle that will carry me through the rest of my life. No diet for me!
