Diet-- To Die or Not to Die?

My cousin inspired me to write today's post, (Thanks Monique!) and so I will give you my opinion on dieting and exercise.

There are two things that my parents enstilled in me and most of my siblings; first and foremost was a religious foundation, but the second thing they made completely clear to all of us was the importance of healthy eating (hence the subject). I am very grateful to them for both of these foundations.

Have you ever noticed that the word "Diet" begins with the word "Die"? Some of that may have to do with the fact that many people in our country associate the word with deprivation and starvation, when in actuality it is defined as "food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effect on health". You are what you eat. If you eat healthy foods moderately, you will have a healthy body. If you eat a lot of unhealthy foods, you will have an unhealthy body. It's not so much about being fat or skinny as it is being healthy. I know this now from my own personal experience. Shortly after my husband and I got married, I gained a bunch of weight. At the time I wasn't too worried about what or how much I was eating, but I thought it was strange that even though I exercised (more than needed) I just couldn't seem to shake off the weight completely. I hear things about metabolisms slowing down and such, but I was only 20! It wasn't until almost a year after I had Brooklyn that I decided to give the good old-fashioned food pyramid a try at mypyramid.gov. (guidelines and portion recommendations for ANY foods) I never felt like I was sacrificing any of my favorite foods, because I knew how much of what category I was allowed to consume for my age, height and weight. The important thing is to keep most of what you are consuming healthy, and limit the junk food and sweets, or as the food pyramid would call it, "extras". I've been losing weight at a steady 5 pounds a month from this and 30 min. of moderate exercise 3-5 days a week, and have found that I am still losing weight! All because I changed how I eat, not what I eat.

Moral of the story? You don't need to die to lose weight! It's really quite simple once you get the hang of it.