Part 3 : Why I don't believe in diets

We are a society taught to celebrate and cope with food, talk about “first world problems”, right? Your child wins their baseball game and you take them out for ice cream, your friends come into town and you go out for dinner, it’s a holiday and you gather around a gluttonous meal or you had a bad day and you totally deserve a pint of ice cream. I have seen the popular quote about not being a dog, so don’t reward yourself with food, I have even told people that but I don't always apply it to my life.

Case in point, my husband and I go out to dinner maybe once a week on average because I cook all of our meals and frankly, it gets old. I struggle with eating out for a lot of reasons but here are my top reasons:

#1. The food they are serving do not meet my ethical standards - at home we eat antibiotic free, organic, free range chicken and organic, antibiotic free, grass fed beef because I care about the welfare of the animal and myself

#2. The quality of the food is lacking and laden with sugar, salt and fat all things I can control if I cook

#3. I am frugal, cheap, conservative what ever - for what I spend eating out I can make two or even three meals at home

#4. My horrible and severe allergies and quizzing the poor server on every ingredient

Let me elaborate on on #4 there, do you know how hard it is to eat out on a diet? I am not on a fad diet, I am just unable to eat so many things it’s absurd. Being on a diet or counting calories and trying to eat out is not for the faint of heart. Did you know that the average salad on a menu at a major chain restaurant has more fat, sugar and sodium than the burger? I know there are establishments adding Weight Watchers, Gluten Free and low calorie sections to their menus to help us muddle through it but trust me, what you cook at home is always the better choice.

I really don't know how my mother cooked every night of the week but I know I thanked her for it as I got older and started to understand the struggle of what it actually meant to get dinner on the table seven nights a week. I have tried thinking of my cooking as my gift to my family, I have tried being creative and making new dishes, I have tried to force myself in the kitchen and just do it but some days, I just don’t want to do it and we suffer for it.

Alas, I am human. I am doing the best I can and no one is perfect, not me, not you, not your friend or neighbor who acts like June Cleaver, remember she was a fictional character! However, we all have the opportunity to change our eating habits for ourselves, our children and our world. As the obesity epidemic, type 2 diabetes and heart disease grows increasingly alarming, we need to accept that complex diets and cleanses are not going to change those issues, we are the ones responsible for our health. There is no magic pill, I am sorry to inform you. The answer is to consistently eat whole and nutritious foods and exercise regularly.

*steps off soap box*

Image: Fad Diets Link

(Part 1 available here)

(Part 2 available here)

#dietspart3miniseries