Written By: Jadyn Williams, ACAOF Associate,
Sept 6, 2022
When you hear the word “diet” what do you think? What do you feel? Do you turn away at the thought of it? If so, that’s understandable as I believe diets are a touchy route to take to reach your goal weight. In today’s society, there is no question that diets are what people are using to assist them in reaching their dream body and goal weight. According to Boston Medical Center, approximately 45 million Americans go on a diet each year and spend about $33 million dollars on weight loss products during that time all together. These diets range from strictly green to strictly meat diets depending on the individual's overall goal. To name a few popular diets that have captured the modern society’s eye are: The Keto diet, The Mediterranean diet, The Paleo diet, The vegetarian Diet, and the Pescatarian diet, just to name a few. The Keto diet’s goal is to help its users lose weight by lowering their carb intake, leaving room for more fat intake. The Mediterranean diet is a beautiful blend of dishes from Greece, Italy, and other countries that surround that region of the world. These meals tend to focus on fruits, beans, nuts, vegetables, seafood, and whole grains. The Paleo diet resembles this one almost exactly with exception for lean meats. The Vegetarian diet is plant based and offers various routes to take to allow its user to find all of the necessary nutrients from plants alone. The Pescatrian diet is extremely attractive as it allows for you to add seafood to your vegetarian diet. So while you cut out fats, carbs, and sugars, you get fish as your meat and vegetables which for anyone trying to lose weight seems like a win win!
How does this prove that diets can be a touchy route to take if the information provided above is nothing but positive in assisting one's weight and body goals? The inherent issue with “diets” is that while they do provide a helping hand in obtaining a physical goal, they don’t shift the mindset to instill permanent change of eating. After obtaining the weight loss goal, are people maintaining this “diet?” The answer is no. Researchers at ScientificAmerican.com performed a one meta-analysis intervention study on Americans looking to lose weight and keep it off. They found that about 80% of people who lose a large amount of mass will not uphold that weight loss within the span 12 months after losing it and that on average, dieters regain more than half of what they lose within two years. There is a solution however, dropping the word “diet” from our vocabulary and changing your eating habits! Instead of relying on a temporary assistant, take charge of your health by committing to eating smarter! That is one of the main purposes of AC Art of Food. It is to help its supporters eat delicious food that they would eat on the regular with supplementary options and portion control. Imagine eating yummy meals, but also learning discipline? Allow your taste buds to fall in love with the food you are consuming and savoring it at the same time. Eating is essential as well as health, so why not combine the two?
Revealing how we see “diets” as an auxiliary source to our lives rather than orchestrating it to feel like a normalcy is the gap AC Art of Food works to close. You deserve to eat, and to eat well, while also taking charge of your health. Let’s shift our view of food intake and adjust our eating habits so that we never have to use the word “diet” again. This is how to achieve true health and our desired body goals.
Sources:
Engber, Daniel. “Unexpected Clues Emerge about Why Diets Fail.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 13 Jan. 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unexpected-clues-emerge-about-why-diets-fail/.
Jennings, Kerri-Ann. “What Is a Pescatarian and What Do They Eat?” Healthline, Healthline Media, 10 Mar. 2017, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pescatarian-diet#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2.
Mawer, Rudy. “The Ketogenic Diet: A Detailed Beginner's Guide to Keto.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 22 Oct. 2020, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-101.
“Mediterranean Diet for Heart Health.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 July 2021, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801.
“Paleo Diet: Eat like a Cave Man and Lose Weight?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 25 Aug. 2020, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/paleo-diet/art-20111182.
“Vegetarian Diet.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://medlineplus.gov/vegetariandiet.html#:~:text=A%20vegetarian%20diet%20focuses%20on,single%20type%20of%20vegetarian%20diet.
“Weight Management.” Boston Medical Center, https://www.bmc.org/nutrition-and-weight-management/weight-management#:~:text=An%20estimated%2045%20million%20Americans,year%20on%20weight%20loss%20products.
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