Guest blogger, Jessica Grote, is a fitness enthusiast (who recently completed her first triathlon!) and part owner of Southern Hospitality Events (S.H.E.)
The dreaded four-letter word: DIET.
‘Tis the season! With New Years only a week behind us, all my friends are doing it. But honestly, am I the only one who cringes every time I hear about the new diet craze? My current pet peeve is everyone buying gluten-free to loose weight. Do people not realize they’re merely replacing the wheat with corn and rice? The caloric intake is virtually the same. Unless you actually have a gluten problem like our friend Jessica (sorry Jessi!), going gluten-free is not going to help you much.
Tonight my husband told me about the newest fad: “The 8-Hour Diet.” The concept is you eat whatever you want but only between 9am-5pm, then let your body digest and rest in between. Um, ok:
1) There is no way that works and,
2) That sounds miserable! I love a 9pm bowl of popcorn!
I swapped my annual St. Patrick’s Day Brunch for a triathlon on 3/17/2012!
But wait! You could “lose up to 15 pounds in just 6 weeks!” I’m not buying it, at least not as a permanent fix. As part owner of Southern Hospitality Events (S.H.E.), I see a lot of people crash dieting leading up to their events. Sure it helps (sometimes), but the reason diets don’t really work is because they are a temporary fix. Diets may help you drop those couple pounds for the time being, but I have yet to hear of a “diet” you can do 7 days a week, 365 days a year, for the rest of your life.
Although discipline is very important when it comes to any type of eating, no one can keep up crazy dieting habits for that long. The closest I have seen to a diet that works long-term is Weight Watchers, and that is only because it teaches you a lifestyle of reading labels and watching your caloric intake. The more research I do on the correct way to eat, and discover all the junk packed inside our food nowadays, the more I realize Jessica actually knows what she’s talking about: eating clean does seem like the best bet!
I haven’t bitten the bullet yet, but I’m taking baby steps and getting close! It’s not just about losing weight. It’s also about having more energy, less medications, and feeling more satisfied and full when you do eat. Please notice it’s called “eating clean” not “dieting clean.”
So here’s my new great “D.I.E.T.” for your New Years resolutions:
To plan a fun (and healthy!) event, visit Jessica at www.SHEinvitesyou.com!
Discipline
Investigate your labels
Eat clean
Treat yourself
Lastly, the party planner in me must add: it’s still okay to splurge on special occasions – the key is moderation!
Let me know what you think of my new D.I.E.T. in the comment section below!
I love this post so much! I completely agree with your view on Weight Watchers. This how I lost a majority of my weight and it truly was because the program teaches you a “lifestyle” as apposed to diet.
9-5?? Good lord, I would be so ill if I did that. Eating clean is really the best way. Do I do it all of the time, no, but it is about daily decisions too. ;)
Have a great day!
love this! Keep up the great work girls :)
What a very wise person you are at such a young age! And you look really HOT!!!
Dieting is like camping…you can do it for a weekend and then get back to REAL LIFE or maybe even a week (in an RV)!
They don’t work or we wouldn’t have to keep doing them (and it has the word “DIE” in it…give me LIVE-IT anytime)
MAWBELL
Bella.. Love your DIET. Can I do the next triathlon with you?! That’s on my bucket list :)
Thanks Brandi, keep up the good work!!
Mawbell- I love you camping analogy!! Did ww teach you that?
Bethany! YES I would love to do another one with you! It was on my bucket list too. Guess I need to add “do two triathlons” to the list now :) I really want a “tri” sticker for my car but I think I need to do more then one to deserve it :)
I love this post and I share your outlook on diets. Listening to people talk about ‘cutting out carbs’ or ‘only eating 1200 calories a day’ makes me cringe. I love your diet acronym because I think it symbolizes something very important…BALANCE!
Great post! :)
Bella, love the post. I feel the same way about the gluten fad. It’s ridiculous. And you’re right. Skinny girls don’t diet. We just eat better for the most part and work out. Love your blog Jessi!
aw thx laura! hope you’re doing well!! :)
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