The basic tenets of a healthy diet are simple. But, simple is increasingly uncommon today. It is oftentimes easier to get your hands on packaged foods and fast foods than to find fresh, one ingredient, life-sustaining nourishment. Even diets and cleanses are complicated. Modern dieting refers to a time period of sacrifice, guilt, withholding. And so, when you participate in a cleanse or a diet, these oftentimes ask for you follow strict guidelines for a short time, after which, there is a relaxation of the requirements. Why is that the case? Why is the cycle of pleasure and punishment so attractive? Shouldn't your diet refer to the foods that you eat and enjoy day in and day out for your entire life? Any plan that asks you to only commit for a short period of time means that it either A) requires too much deprivation or B) requires too much prep time or C) requires both. Avoid the guise of a quick fix. Slow and steady wins every time. A diet should be the groundwork for a lifelong pattern of eating. You can view food and your health as a game, something that you must try to out wit. Or you can eat real, whole foods every day and spend your life eating delicious, satisfying, and amazing meals.
Emily Achin is a Health Coach in Lexington, Virginia.