Say No To Diets!
What does the word diet mean you? Throwing everything away and going extreme? Does staying on a diet make you miserable? Now, think about how many types of diets you have tried? And how many times you have SAID you were on a diet?
STOP putting yourself through this nonsense! SAY NO TO DIETS! Listen, if diets were sustainable and worked, we wouldn’t be making that same resolution every year or restarting the diet every few months. Diets leave you tired, hungry, grumpy, have no nutritional value and wreck your immune system, metabolism, skin, hair and nails. It’s a viscous cycle.
Doesn't it make more sense to learn how to make better decisions and choices instead? Looking at the bigger picture and learning balance just makes more sense.
Learning balance and to simply choose from better options, instead of looking at the negative and feeling restricted, can eliminate the need to count those calories and macros. Focus on how you feel rather than the number on the scale, . Eat nutrient-dense foods that make you feel energized and satisfied. Get plenty of physical activity. These are the things that help you make long-term lifestyle changes that will benefit your health.
It’s also important to practice self-care and body acceptance. It’s okay to want to make changes to your body, but it’s important to recognize that there is no “perfect” body type. It’s also important to practice self-care and to take time for yourself. Take a mental health day, go for a walk, or do something that makes you happy.
Saying “no” to diets will help you maintain a healthier lifestyle and a more positive relationship with food. So, if you’re feeling the pressure to diet, take a step back and focus on healthier and more sustainable lifestyle changes.
As you learn to select, prepare and eat nutritious foods, try new things. You might find you like fresh vegetables that are cooked in new ways, experimenting with seasonings. Find reputable resources to help you and guide you that don’t promote extremes. Personally, I think Health Interventions is great! (HeHe) I mean, being a Nurse Practitioner… might give me an advantage. But, seriously, as you learn and adapt to new things you will find many areas of your life will naturally improve as your health improves. Healthy eating can balance hormones levels such as insulin, estrogen and even testosterone. You will find you sleep better, you feel better, you have more energy and feel less stressed. Most disruptions in how we feel these days are from our food, inactivity, stress, poor sleep and toxins in our environment that you may not even realize are there.
It's not as hard as you may think to make changes. It's about one step at a time and having a positive outlook on it. Remember, slow and steady wins the race. Take a good look at where you are now and what might be interfering with your health, your weight or whatever you are trying to improve with your "diet". Then start with decreasing portion sizes and adding in the good things instead of taking away all of the things that you consider "bad". After that, it starts to all fall into place. You'll find new things that you like, you will find new habits and routines to build on. Hopefully, you'll never use the word diet again. You'll never fall into the trap of a restrictive, eating pattern or a labeled “diet”.
There IS purpose to these little blogs I write. The intention of Health Interventions is to educate you, help to keep you from falling for gimmicks and to make you aware of those hidden causes of poor health. I am a medical provider, this is not a “job”, but who I am. I have invested a lot of time and training into learning what it takes to achieve true health and into the resources I have created from that education to help my patients and others understand how to live better. Things are broken down into smaller concepts and action items through this blog, our Facebook Page and our website to keep you from getting overwhelmed with information. Since everyone is different and has different needs, there are multiple resources. We do have a Meal Service in association with Spring Valley Cafe, where we also offer Cooking For Health Sessions to help you learn how to make healthier meals and taste things you may not have tried before. During those sessions, we discuss the health benefits of the items we are preparing, how to make substitutions based on your needs, likes and that of your family while we cook. There is always a health topic that we go into more in depth. You are free to ask questions and try to get a better grip on this healthy stuff. The ultimate goal is to reach more people with a virtual cooking session that will provide you with a list of ingredients and recipe prior to the session to cook along with us as you listen in on our selected health topic.
Lastly, if you are looking for a provider to help you with balancing your health, hormones or weight, feel free to book with us. You have the option of in person at one of our physical locations (Spring Valley Family Care and Prestige Family Health Care) or virtually with NPClinicOnline if you are not local. Currently we have license practitioners in Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, so don't be shy. If we offer something that you've been looking for reach out.
If you have a topic of interest, please let me know! I have a lot planned over the year, including hormones, foods, that affect, hormones, foods, that affect immunity, healthy meals for the family, healthy meals for entertaining, activity, xenoestrogens, cancer, diabetes, cholesterol, fatty liver, vitamins, minerals, supplements, natural remedies. How to read labels, how to avoid getting taken advantage of with the “latest and greatest” products that are promoted. All of these subjects are going to be addressed from a scientific, medical perspective. Not fluff, hype or a narrow view. So stay tuned! Keep reading our blogs.