Today, May 6th 2015 is “No Diet Day”.
What does that mean, exactly? Here’s a quick description:
A day dedicated to raising awareness of how unhealthy dieting can be harmful, or respecting and accepting body types, and promoting healthy eating rather than dieting. No Diet Day aims to help to teach people to have a healthy relationship with food, and to ditch restrictive diets and the harmful results they often have, such as anorexia and body-type perceptions in the media. –source
This is a great day to consider why you eat low carb, and what you can do to become even healthier! I started out on this “diet” just wanting to lose weight, but quickly realized this was going to be a very positive lifestyle change for me.
When I noticed it was “No Diet Day” I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to discuss the topic. Everyone I’ve talked to either wants to lose weight, or stop being sick / feeling bad. That includes me. When I don’t eat low carb, my inflammation flares up and causes me all kinds of pain. Plus I gain weight like crazy. 😛 Neither of those are any fun! That said…
It’s entirely too easy to get obsessed with the scales and the pounds and the macros and the carb counting.
That’s no fun either. 😉 It really just causes unnecessary stress.
I love the concept of “healthy eating rather than dieting” and that’s exactly what I do. Not to say I don’t track my carbs & macros, because I do. I also weigh myself daily, every single morning. It’s part of my routine. But I don’t let it rule my life. I don’t let it become an obsession. That would be just as bad as the unhealthy relationship I used to have with food! 😛
What about you? Do you see this as a diet – or is it something more to you? Do you struggle with the obsession over food tracking and pounds/ounces? I have before, and sometimes I catch myself reverting back to that. It’s easy to do. But I know that I don’t want food and my weight to run my life, or to be my main focus anymore. I’m over it…
I want to focus on other things, and FEEL GOOD and be happy – and just ENJOY life! While taking good care of my health at the same time of course. 😉
It’s a fine line. A tough one sometimes…
Most of us had some sort of unhealthy obsession or unhealthy relationship with food – which transferred over into an obsession with something else (scales, macros, etc). It’s definitely a process of UN-doing. It has been for me.
Your thoughts?
~ Lynn
Yes I like the WOE. I don’t consider it to be diet, but a healthy way to eat. I track my food daily because if I don’t I do mindless eating.
I’m grateful for this new low carb WOE. I’ve spent a lot of money on diets, pills and the rest. I lost but never had to get away from sugar and watch carbs so I slipped back. I youo up and down but that’s my fault but it’s between 2-3 lbs. I get right back on track and stay motivated, have better will power than I’ve ever had in my life and I’ve never done it for this long. I’m excited!
Congrats, Joan – that’s awesome! I love to hear that you’re more committed and motivated than ever. 🙂 I feel the same way. I think it’s because eating low carb is so EASY. Especially compared to other “healthy diets”, many of which can be hard to maintain long term.
I prefer to think of this as healthy eating as opposed to dieting, also. I am a food addict. So when I think diet. I see die. Therefore, being a nurse I prefer healthy eating. It is the only way of eating (woe) that helps me lose and maintain a healthier me. I lost track of this so now that I am back on track I need this group, because we get too many negatives about this way of eating.
I agree Sharon! As for the negative comments about eating low carb – yes, I get tons of those too. TONS. See: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4943/when-people-dont-support-your-low-carb-diet/ 😉
I can’t look at LCHF as a diet. If I do, that tells some little part of me that’s curled up in a ball and rocking that, “Hey, it’s okay…you can have all that crap back again once she’s done with her diet! You’ll get it all back again!” 🙂 I should have kept doing this 15 years ago. But woulda, shoulda, coulda doesn’t help, either. 🙂 I can choose what I do NOW to help myself feel healthy, and anything else (weight loss, etc) is a plus. For right now, I have to be strict with myself, but I don’t see me sticking to the strictest confines forever unless it just becomes second nature.
Smart, Cricket – I treat it the same way. I’m at just over 4 years on low carb now, and it DOES become second nature, by the way. 🙂 I have my times where I eat this or that… but I always regret it. Ugh! I prefer the way I look AND feel eating LCHF consistently. 🙂
My husband is pretty skeptical still – he thrives on carbs, bless him 🙂 – but he can see that my energy levels are 1,000 times better and that I feel great, so he’s totally supportive…until he forgets or I say something like, “You have to taste this and tell me if it needs anything, because I can’t.” He doesn’t get that I’m being this strict with myself for a reason…if I taste a little here and a little there, I’ll be back to carbs again in a heartbeat. And like you said, LCHF is better all the way around! 🙂
I’m so glad he’s supportive – that’s awesome!! 🙂