WHAT TYPE OF D.I.E.T. CRUSADER ARE YOU?

If you’re anything like me – and I know you are – you overhear (OK, eavesdrop in on) other people’s conversations in restaurants. It seems that I can’t go ten minutes without hearing declarations of someone’s personal eating style. These are typical statements I hear —

“I’m a vegetarian – I’ve been one forever! I haven’t had a beef burger since January.”

“I’m a vegan – I just found a totally vegan rice krispie treat recipe … you want it?”

“I’m 100% raw! I only eat raw foods and would never touch anything cooked. I’ve got some great chocolate date honey brownies in my purse. Can you believe they’re raw? I have ‘em for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!”

“I’m into macrobiotics – my local store doesn’t carry much that I can eat, so I just buy the same three things over and over. I don’t mind the monotony. I’m getting used to it.”

“I’m gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, processed foods free, grain free, chemical free, animal products free, and I track each item I eat for it’s individual energy footprint. I’m wondering if my diet has any relationship to my patience as a DMV employee?”

To hear them tell it, you’d think that most people have a handle on the “what they should eat” question. If we only heard the conversations about diets, we’d think that everyone must be in great shape since they “know” how to eat. But, look around. What we see is disturbing evidence to the contrary. As a human population, we’re more out of shape, more un-cared for, and more confused than ever!

So, what’s the deal?

It’s like this. The world of eating is like a big pendulum. We swing too far to the “junk food” side of things. We eat only processed foods, fast foods, quick-to-prepare frozen meal foods … then we get unhealthy, probably fat, and definitely sick!

To avoid our current maladies, we swing the pendulum far to the other direction. We become vegetarians (for example). We stay away from animal products and things that make us sick. But, as we do more research, listen to friends, and read magazines, we find ways to make the vegetarian lifestyle more like what we’re used to – fast and familiar. Bean and cheese burritos are vegetarian, right? Bingo! The pendulum begins to swing back toward the place it started from.

Have you ever heard of junk food vegetarians? Well, they exist … as do junk food vegans, and junk food raw food enthusiasts, etc. You can avoid animal products, food made from bees, cooked foods, foods that don’t fit into the macrobiotic or ayurvedic food charts, but when it’s all said and done, that’s not what’s important.

Here’s the take home point:

It’s not about what you don’t eat – it’s about what you DO eat.

What’s on your plate every meal? What do you eat most often? Are you enjoying a treat now and then or do you have them every day (which, by definition, is no longer a treat)? Welcome to where the rubber meets the road. This is where to begin the journey of breaking through the confusion about what to eat.

For starters, you need to know what foods work best for you. Check out your Nutritional I.D. HERE for FREE. You can look at this resource to find out exactly what foods are best for you – and then take it from there.

Got questions? Let me know!