To Diet or Not to Diet?

To Diet or not to diet, that is the question.   We've all seen it before, you go on a crazy diet for a few weeks, even a month and lose weight or not only to gain it back plus some a few weeks later. I see this and I think, "what's the point?"  Denying your body of valuable vitamins, nutrients and fats just to drop a few pounds quickly isn't worth it if the results don't stick. Well really it isn't worth it at all. Your body needs foods from all spectrums of the rainbow and all the food groups, even fats, in order to function properly. Without them it will start to break down muscle and bone tissue to get what it needs or go into shock if it can't get it. Which is the complete opposite of what I want to accomplish here. 

Yet at the same time I realize that eating the way I currently do isn't doing my body any favors either. Too much sugar and just plain calories is creating an excess or buildup as evidenced by my chubby exterior and probably the plague in my arteries as well. 

Discussing this with my sister, I decided I would rather exercise than diet. I love food and the thought of cutting out anything tasty and eating spinach or some such made my mouth curl up in disgust. But she made a good point. Both of us being a bit obese these days, not to mention my back injury, makes it hard to get out and start exercising. The embarrassment of working out in front of others, the pain of belly bulges as well as the added weight on your tendons and joints is just ripe for inciting injury. This is where The Nudge comes into play. 

The Nudge

"What is The Nudge," you curiously ask. 

Well I'm glad you asked. The Nudge is that little bit of weight you need to lose quickly to motivate you and get you off the couch. For in order to start moving you first have to get up. Not as easy as it sounds. Which brings us back to dieting. A most necessary step to get our bodies in action and tuned to our program. Working out with poor fuel is just a waste of time. 

The question then becomes how do I "diet" without cutting out valuable nutrients?  A good question and one I think solved by a diet my husband recently tried. 

Me being me I immediately scoffed with eyebrows raised and told him diets are unhealthy and a waste of time. Nevertheless he struggled on week by week for an entire month. And as I watched the things he was eating I came to realize that this diet was different. Yes it was designed to lose a grip of weight quickly as they all are but it didn't cut out any essential food groups or even deny you food. It simply varied caloric intake while teaching your body to adapt to more normal portion sizes and less fried fatty foods. He still got to pick what foods he wanted to eat within each food group and could even have a dessert or beer throughout the week. 

Perfect. Just what I needed. A way to gradually learn portion control and get myself used to eating healthier options while losing a good bit of weight in the process. 

Super Shred

Enter Super Shred, modified. Not trying to promote any particular diet here, just letting you know the one I am working with. Of course I plan to modify a few things here and there to fit my particular needs (i.e. Being a woman I plan to eat some red meat during or post menses) as should anyone else that has any special concerns such as diabetes, allergies, etc. 

I will post my meal plans daily on Tumblr for your perusal, but please make up your own meal plans as you will. During this diet I will be eating every couple of hours to boost metabolism and varying the amount of calories I eat each day to somewhat confuse my body so it doesn't plateau, a concept used a lot in weight training. I will also be staying away from fried and baked foods and eating more fruits and veggies or nutrient dense food.  As I don't drink all that much soda I will be cutting it out all together, but my sister, a die hard Dr. Pepper fan, will be including this into her meal plans.  

Well here's to getting healthy.  Until next time, keeping it real. 

P.s. I might need a hand getting up off the couch. Share some of your ideas/meal plans.  And remember the goal here is portion control and healthier options. Grilled or baked instead of fried. Fruit instead of candy, veggies for roughage, etc.