Sep 17 2008
Are Diet Plans Right for You?
The popularity of diet programs is the direct result of people needing to be accountable for their behavior. If I eat a chocolate bar, no one needs to know and I can go about my life innocently. If I belong to Weight Watchers and eat a chocolate bar, I am expected to write it down in my food log and evaluate it in terms of either their points system or it being an exception on the Core program. I am accountable. If I must confess my dirty deed then maybe, just maybe, I’ll think twice before I do it again.
If I belong to a weight loss program where I am expected to purchase and eat certain foods provided by the program, well, that chocolate bar just doesn’t exist. I am accountable to someone else to decide what is allowed.
I’m not knocking these programs. I’ve been a willing and successful participant in them before. I just think the best course of action is to take control of my own health and nutritional needs.
It’s like growing from childhood to adulthood. First you start doing what you’re told and learning by example. Eventually you figure it out for yourself and take responsibility for your own choices.
That’s what I try to do - figure it out for myself.
One thing I’ve figured out - if you want to know what’s in the food you eat, you have to prepare it yourself. Cooking is a life skill that I highly recommend and will mention repeatedly in future posts.
