At the mention of the word diet, trying to lose weight springs to mind, not to mention depriving oneself of favourite, yummy foods. No wonder a stress quake rolls over the body causing both physical and psychological upset.

Honestly, however, it doesn’t have to be that way. Of course, people diet to lose weight rightly or wrongly, but people also adopt different diets to maintain their health. Some of them are necessary such as special renal diets for people with Chronic Kidney disease, for example.

But you don’t have to have a chronic condition to adopt a healthy diet. All you need to do is to change your lifestyle. This approach cuts out unhealthy dieting, jumping in and out of fads, and yo yo dieting, which takes a toll on the mind and the body.

Still, what does a lifestyle change really mean? In short, it doesn’t mean dieting, but rather adopting a diet that serves you. Sigh, right? When I was a teenager, I might have paused too at such advice. I was not that in to vegetables. And I avoided them like the plague. Being as thin as I was, I concluded that I was healthy enough and ate whatever I jolly well pleased when I was in control. Thankfully my mother was in control at least 80% of the time.

But when she wasn’t such as after cheerleader practice or on a field trip or during or after a game, I piled up on the fast food and so on. So what if an ice cream cone made my stomach hurt or a bag crisps (potato chips) spiked my sugar, putting me in a bad mood, not to mention some of the damage caused by fizzy drinks. But you couldn’t tell me I was not healthy because the thing about being unhealthy versus being ill is that the former has a way of creeping into the norms. You get used to it and only overtime does it become something more–illness.

So how do you snap out of it, adopt a healthy diet for you?

• Choose foods that serve your body with or without a chronic condition and stick with them. That’s food that taste good and is good! Not everybody can eat everything. For example, I don’t do much diary nor do I do any gluten.  But even if you don’t have any allergies and intolerances, healthy eating is still important.
  • And have I got news for you, according to Judit Ressinka, guest of Episode 2: Your Body Inside Out, it is all about the ingredients, using real, whole food from the four food groups. For on the go, tasty pizzas and burgers just go for the real deal, real meat and whole food ingredients—organic if at all possible.
• Focus on what you can eat, not as much on what you can’t eat. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. 
• Learn to prepare and cook simple and easy meals so they are available after school and so on.
• Choose wisely if fast food is the only option.
• Drink plenty of water and get those veggies in and fruit, too. I see their benefits now.
• And by all means, whatever you do, eat! Starvation has no place in a healthy lifestyle.

Adopting such an approach has made a huge difference in my life. Hardly ever will you find me dieting to lose weight. Admittedly, I have been there and done that and didn’t need to. But these days it is about getting the best possible fuel for my body most of the time.  And if I fall off the rails every now and then which inevitably I do, no need to search for a special diet. I already have one. I just need to revert to my chosen lifestyle.

So girls, about your diet…. What does it really mean? In short, a happier, healthier lifestyle now and in the future.