The Pleasure of Eating
There are two kinds of diets:
The prescriptive brand name diets - they generally provide a selection of foods to eat and foods to avoid.
Then there are the weight loss books that say "this is not a diet and diets don't work" (often quoting a statistic saying that 95% of diets don't work). However - dig deeper and it really is another kind of diet - it will "suggest" foods to eat and foods to avoid.
A Diet By Any Other Name
Every recommendation related to weight loss is all about controlling food intake to some degree - and it is that very thing that can ultimately undermine the weight loss efforts.Open a "foodie" magazine, and there's no mention of low-fat or diet anywhere. You see, there is a pleasure in eating, and the moment we attempt to control our food intake (call it a diet or healthy eating plan or whatever) - a degree of willpower comes into play.
Whether your willpower is strong enough depends on one question - Why? If the answer to that is passionate enough - then your willpower will be enough.
Why?
So Why? Why do you want to lose the fat? I've heard some men say "Because I want to have nice abs when I'm on the beach". If that statement is important enough to you - then willpower will be enough. For some this means forgoing the pleasure of eating as they embark upon a diet containing a restrictive or repetitive set of foods.It doesn't need to be so - life is too short to forgo all pleasures partaken when enjoying those "forbidden" foods. We need to make allowance in our eating plan for enjoyment - and in the whole scheme of things "nice abs" are fleeting.
All diet and no play makes Jack a thin and unhappy person.
Sorry, I don't subscribe to this. My life is much more pleasurable now that I have taken to a specific way of eating (and dropped 190 pounds) rather than what I was doing before. As for willpower, I had none and never will. What I did have was inertia. I knew I could last one more meal eating the way I was, and what do you know I did. One meal after another, and soon a week was gone, then a month, then a year. (never having cheated once) Not cheating is more about the avoidance of displeasure (guilt, failing, falling back) than trying to punish myself. As soon as I recognized that the morning trips to the gym were a lot more pleasurable.
Plus what more pleasurable meal could there be than a night at a Brazilian steakhouse with their limitless roasted meats displayed before you.
ReplyYour story is amazing. But what constitutes a "cheat" and why do we call it that?
ReplyI personally call a cheat a cheat for anything that exists off what I term acceptable. I am not into labeling anothers' diet as unacceptable or disloyal. For vegans, it might be a ribeye. I know what it means for me -- refined sugar, flour, and starches. I eat that stuff, and I know I am due for a bunch of negative reactions. As for the term, it comes out of loyalty or faithfulness -- no not like something important like marriage but like service to the military or your employer.
ReplyI would like to comment about the diet where I eat what is good for me. I found life is more pleasurable if I am careful about what I eat. So two years ago I started a website that lists what are inside foods. Take a look. www.foodb.com
ReplyAmazing post Kent. That's exactly how I'm succeeding now. I have been on my diet for a month now, and I realize I'll simply hate myself if I go off it, so I stay on. The weight falling off is just a nice benefit. I've lost 16 lbs in the first 30 days.
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