I was inspired to write this post as coming to a cross-roads on exactly what is the right way to go about dieting the body. During all of my time keeping the weight off and yo-yo-ing, I’ve come to settle on either calorie counting or atkins/paleo diets. Each diet has a clear-cut line on what you can eat, and what you can’t. Though, the diets are very different.
For calorie counting, one can eat…whatever! It’s just a matter of calories in and calories out. The shock and awe of many fad-diet veterans usually leads to utter excitement. They say – “You mean, there’s a science to this after all?” and “We’ve uncovered the secret of weightloss?!” The answer is yes. It has always been right in front of us. I can’t recall what show it was, but I once saw an interview with Denzel Washington, where the host asked how he stayed so fit. Denzel calmly replied that it was all about “eating less.” That’s it. Just “eat less.” I’m not saying the Denzel is someone of dieting authority, but he summed up everything so perfectly. He then went on to joke about what happens when people eat ice cream. They rationalize. Oh, just a bite here, a bit there, oh, oh, that chunk right there. Soon enough, half the little Ben and Jerry’s container is gone and the person starts eating around the side of container, trying not to make it look like too much has been consumed. THEN, the person FLIPS the ball of ice cream over to get at the semi-melted-precious ice cream on the bottom. Soon enough, the container is back in the freezer with one or two bites left. This kind of leads me to why people may switch to primal/ paleo eating from calorie counting.
Calorie counting actually turns out to be somewhat of a difficult task. It takes some time to start to get-to-know how many calories make up what foods. But even then, sometimes you’re stuck with a group of people going to a place to eat and you have NO IDEA how many calories are in a sauce, how many calories are in this salad, how much does the turkey weigh in me sandwich?? Arrgh!! It gets frustrating. Now enter Paleo diet. Seemingly the diet that solves EVERYTHING. No need to count. Just make a clear-cut and THICK red line down the middle of your kitchen pantry and fridge. Grains on one side, everything else on the other. Now, take those grains and tell them goodbye forever. That’s it. It took two sentences. No numbers, just a small rule to obey. This is what I was getting at with Denzel’s theory. Calorie counting is the “eat less” principal. It is the METHOD. But Paleo’s method is the grain vs. everything else natural thing. However, it LEADS to the “eat less” principal. Denzel’s remarks about the ice cream is what gives Paleo the scale-tipping factor on which diet to embark upon. Grains cause insulin spikes and cravings. It’s like you’re fighting your own human survival desires. However, Paleo, once having done the diet for some time, eliminates cravings and keeps people full. It’s supposedly the fail-safe for accidentally eating too much on the diet (remember, the science is still calories in vs calories out).
What lead me to this post was a new issue. And it’s not “Paleo is too hard in this world.” No. It’s food boredom. Paleo can really get boring quick. It’s expensive to do right. And, as creative as I think I am, it’s really tough to beat that boredom. Also, if waist-line is truly the real indicator of health-related diseases, then why exactly does it matter what I’m eating as long as I can stick by the “eat less” principal?
This leads me to a possible new diet phenomenon. Forget everything. Now, just keep ONE thing on your mind. Eat until you feel satisfied. After eating half of your meal (or snack) – ask yourself – “Am I still hungry?” Get to know the FEELING of being satiated. Live by that feeling. Don’t mindlessly snack. You aren’t snacking because you’re hungry. You’re snacking because it’s salty-fatty-carby-goodness. Eat when you feel HUNGRY. Stop eating when you are no longer HUNGRY. I’m not saying to live by this, but in a world where you need to either cut that waist-line down to a healthy ratio or keep it there – “eating” less really is the true goal.
Why jump through so many hoops to eat less (calorie count, cut out foods, etc)? Get to know your body and just eat less or whatever you want. Go by the satiated principal and see how that goes.
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