while i was surfing around today i found an article by bryan cooley that struck a cord with me. everything he says in this article is so true that it hit home with me as well. so many people that i encounter throughout the day think that i am on a diet, or that i am going through a “phase” in my life. little do they realize that i have made a change, a life change. i have chosen to take care of my body for life, not to just do a fad diet or exercise program. this is something that will be life long for me, it is the new me.


so everyone that is overweight has to be on a fad diet right? forget the fad part, why must i be on a diet? what is the first thing you think of when you think of the word “diet”? i am guessing low fat, low calorie, only eating a few times a day. eating meals that are bland and taste like crap. am i right? if you are thinking of a new fad diet you might be thinking of bacon, butter, steak, pork rinds, and eggs. so is that what i am eating? the simple answer is no. i eat 6 meals a day, i eat a balance of carbohydrates and protein with portions of vegetables. i eat chicken, lean meat, potatoes, wheat bread, broccoli, cottage cheese, basically food that is healthy. there’s a new word, “healthy”. no, not pre-processed, pre-packaged, industrialized food that comes from a manufacturing facility. this is real food, some of it organic, and all of it healthy.


ask 10 people on diets why they are dieting and i bet none of them answer “because i want to be healthy”. so then why do people diet and why do people think i am on one? well they probably think i am on a diet because they don’t see me as a fit person. i am a big guy and i am over weight, i will be the first to admit that. no rippling abs here, not yet anyhow. is that really a reason to think i am on a diet? no, not really. so why do people diet anyhow? that’s an easyone , they want to lose weight and they want to get into those pants they bought 5 years ago that no longer fit. basically they want to look better. so whats wrong with that? absolutely nothing, except that most people diet, get into those pants, and then celebrate their progress by returning to their old self. they just stop cold, they don’t watch what they eat any more and they certainly don’t exercise. basically they reached their goal and don’t see beyond that. i know quite a few people like this, and to be frank it disappoints me. why does it disappoint me? look at them 6 months after they are off their diet and they are back to their old body weight. what happened? thats simple, they set no goals beyond those pants, and they never decided to eat “healthy”, they just were on a “diet”.


wait a minute, dieting is healthy right? if i were asked this question i would have to say no. most people don’t realize what their body needs to be healthy. vitamins and minerals are the building block of everything in our body. our body is made up of these nutrients and the only place it can get them from is the food we eat. yea yea, i know, you learned that in high school health class right. so did you really learn anything? if you had i bet you wouldn’t be feeding yourself what you are now. that coffee, pizza, hamburger, or even that diet cola you are drinking. that diet food you were eating, sure it said it was “fat free” right? did you read the label to see what was in it? how did they get rid of that fat? in one word, sugar. there’s no fat in sugar, just pure unadulterated carbohydrates. but wait, there are something like 5 high carbohydrate diets on the market today, so they have to be good for you right? wrong, carbohydrates have a great byproduct when eaten in abundance, it is called fat. that’s a nice vicious circle we created - fat, fat free, sugar, carbs, fat.


now i am getting really off track, sorry about that. another reason people think i am on a fad diet is that i don’t eat the things they are eating. as soon as someone sees that, they instantly say “diet”. it’s so ingrained it is sickening and really pisses me off. they think it feels good when they say that to me, and it does right? no, absolutely not! i have to many goals and have changed my life forever in to many ways to be on a diet. i don’t belong in that neat little category of the over weight and underfed trying to fit into those 5 year old pants only to fail once i have reached that one goal. i have dreams that i will achieve, i have goals, and when i reach those, i have goals after those. my changes are a lifestyle, not a diet.


so i told you what i eat and how much of it i eat. i don’t eat when i am not hungry and i don’t over eat. if i am full i stop eating, why stuff yourself, because you paid for it right? hehhe … yea, that’s the ticket. i balance each meal to make sure my body is running at optimal levels and i complement my healthy eating with an intense exercise program. is this different then what you are doing? if yes, then i must be on a diet right? well what are you on? you eat 3 meals a day, you eat foods that are high in carbohydrates and fat and low in nutritional value. then you wash them down with soda. yep, your on a diet all right, on a diet to make your body as out of shape as possible. don’t worry, i used to be on that one as well but i decided to make a change. which one sounds better to you? a lifestyle that gives you energy, helps you lose weight, keeps that weight off, and helps fight off disease and colds. or a diet that promotes sluggishness, short bursts of energy that leave you run down, you gain weight and keep putting more on, and you are sick a lot. i know which one i want, your choice is your own … just do me a favor, and don’t ask me how my “diet” is going.


but that’s just my opinion, for what its worth …


if you are interested in reading more about my lifestyle change you can check out what i have to say or you can get it from the horses mouth.