Eating Well Vs. Dieting

I've joined a couple of healthy eating and dieting groups lately and I'm struck by the differences between my eating experience and theirs. Dieting is torture. But eating well is a pleasure.

I lost all the weight I wanted to - 40 pounds - and have kept it off for over 4 years now. I weigh what I weighed at 18 years old. This was at age 47 after decades of unsuccessful dieting.

I did not "diet". I changed my eating habits permanently. I have chosen to eat 30% less calories than I did before and to do this forever. I do this because it makes me feel the best I have ever felt in my life. While I eat lower calorie, this is not the main focus of my eating philosophy. My primary focus is on nourishing my body. I try to give my body all the things it needs to keep itself healthy. I get several times the RDA in Vitamin A and C each day. I get at least 60g of high quality protein - and average more like 75 or 80 grams. I get the RDA of B vitamins on average and the RDA of most minerals. I supplement to make sure I have more than enough in some cases.

By focusing on nutrition, and making the permanent commitment to eat less for the rest of my life, I have taught myself to eat more and more nutritious foods. I believe your body adjusts to the improved nutrition and your tastes change totally, making you enjoy and desire nutritious healthy foods. Junk foods lose their appeal. It becomes easier and easier to eat well.

You become used to feeling better. Eating too much food or too many bad carbs and you will feel somewhat ill, and you will not want to repeat the experience. Like a hangover.

This is not a diet - it's a total lifestyle change. If you can keep this regimen going for several months, you will not want to turn back. There are so many delicious foods that are nutritious. Fresh fruits, nuts, lean meats, tasty vegetables, fish. Bread becomes boring.

You will stop worrying about your weight. You will achieve your fantasy weight and find it easy to maintain it. But, you will lose the community of fellow "fat sufferers". When they are all drooling over the chocolate cake, you will not be interested. Or you will be able to eat a tiny piece and no more. Everyone will start to look fat to you (so many Americans are). You will become a thin person in a fat world. The grocery store will seem strange to you, filled with "bad food" that you are sorry that so many people are buying. The farmer's market will seem like heaven. Choosing the fish at the fish counter will seem like an adventure.

Eating will become a sacrament. Your small meal of carefully prepared fish or meat, vegetables and fruits will taste fabulous to you and you will think about its nourishing potential as you eat each bite. The flavors will seem exciting and strong. You will taste spinach like you never tasted it before. Asparagus will fascinate and delight. It appears this happens because calorie restriction enhances the effect of food on your pleasure response - your dopamine response. This is nature's way of encouraging you to eat. But for you, this will be just an added benefit.

So, as you see, this is nothing like the torture of dieting. This is eating. Eating well. And eating well for the rest of your life. Your long and healthy life.