Isn’t it funny that when you look up diets, or even ask around for advice, everything is quick: 17 days, 21 days, 90 days. Really, it shouldn’t be a diet, but a life change. I need a life change when it comes to dieting. That’s why I am working on starting my 365 day diet.
The number of days shouldn’t matter, but the consistency. How many times have you done one of these quick fad diets only to go right back to where you started? For me, that’s every single time. Why do we do this to our bodies? Here are a few things these extreme diets do to your body:
- You become dehydrated
- Blood sugar runs amok
- Muscles break down
- Metabolism slows
- Malnutrition begins
- Brain suffers
Read all the details of these side effects here, but the facts are you don’t want to do a fad diet. I get it though, you have a trip coming up and want to get in that swimming suit you saw on Instagram. You hear about a magic drink that will drop the weight, pills that will halt your appetite. I have done this on more than one occasion and it’s time for change.
When you put on your pants based on which one actually fit you start to realize change needs to happen. That doesn’t do it for you? How about when a button breaks off your third pair of pants? Or the pants you wear are cutting into your sides. People, the struggle is real.
Picking up my kids the other day, we walked up the stairs and I had a difficult time breathing. What has happened to me? Never have I been the shredded guy that just felt like he could just take off his shirt at the drop of a hat, but I have been in much better shape; that’s for sure.
It’s interesting because I go to the gym every day. I feel like I am not completely out of shape and it just gets frustrating. You feel as a parent that it’s important to be healthy for your children. I don’t want to teach my kids that if they ever feel like they don’t look “perfect” that they can just jump on the fad diet that will get the job done.
Because of this, I will be working on improving my health and quit the diets. I want to show them that as you eat healthy, exercise and set goals for yourself you officially will be healthy. There isn’t a reason for me to cram an entire bag of Skinny Pop down my throat in one sitting. Maybe I don’t need to eat the entire box of cereal in one day.
How am I going to do this? Well, we learn about it from the very beginning of life:
- Portion control
- Watch calorie consumption
- Drink plenty of water
I know that as I do these things it doesn’t hold me back. I have done these things plenty of times, so what is going to make this time different?
Portion control has always been an issue for me. I eat until I am full, but as it takes your body around 20 minutes to tell your brain you’re full this is an issue. You put a pizza in front of me and I will eat it until it’s gone; always feeling sick because I have eaten way too much.
Because of this I want to make it so that I don’t fall into this habit again. When I connect with others on apps like Fitbit and MyFitnessPal I feel a responsibility that people are seeing what I am doing. I get very competitive and want to be at the top.
If you hold me accountable to something I do a lot better. Because of this, I will be writing down every single thing I eat and make sure someone is reading it every other week. Knowing someone is going to know my eating habits makes me not want to eat four king sized Butterfingers in one sitting.
Water has always been easy for me to drink plenty of, but how much should you be drinking a day? Yes, you can drink too much, but there is a simple way to figure it out:
Weight x 2/3 (or 67%) = Daily water intake (ounces)
Doing this for myself I will be drinking over 150 ounces of water a day (I’m not giving you my exact number because it’s ridiculous). I make sure I have a 52 ounce cup at my desk at work. Then I constantly keep it filled with water, but marking on my phone each time I drink it all. At first this became difficult because I was constantly in the bathroom, but after a while I didn’t care and knew it was for my health.
This isn’t going to be easy, but in the long run it’ll be worth it. My family needs a healthy husband and father and I can be that for them. Setting the proper example to them is what makes me what to make this change for the better. A 365 day diet it what I need in my life and hopefully you’ll join me on this journey too.
