A key aspect that you learn in most nutrition classes, at least at a basic level, is that moderation is key. Any food can fit into a healthy diet that isn’t spoiled, rotten, or dirty. But, I know that dieting is often one of the hardest life changes that somebody can make. That is why it is much more attainable to make small eating habit changes instead of going on a “diet.” There is nothing wrong with fitting in some of your favorite, normally categorized “junk food” into your eating patterns, as long as it is controlled and in good moderation. In nutrition class, instead of unhealthy food, we like to call them “sometimes foods.” There is no reason why if you are living a healthy lifestyle and have a healthy diet you should feel guilty about eating a piece of cake on your birthday. That is such a common misconception, now. It leads people to be so discouraged and it snowballs into the common, “I already ruined my day because I ate this piece of cake, I might as well splurge.” The goal is a diet that fits your lifestyle and keeps you healthy. It will never be, and doesn’t have to be perfect but what does succeed is simply being consistent. You have probably heard the saying, “One piece of cake doesn’t make you fat just like one salad doesn’t make you skinny.” That is true! Whatever your nutrition goals are, this applies to. If you are trying to lose weight, being consistent and making sure that you are in a comfortable calorie deficit is key, and that is more attainable with low-calorie foods, but there is nothing wrong with fitting in a high-calorie dessert in moderation. Or if you go over your calorie expenditure for one day, it is okay as long as you are consistently under. The same goes for gaining weight and even just trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
I know that this was a shorter one but I think that I covered a lot of what I was trying to say in my previous fitness section of this series. These two topics fit together really well and in hindsight I probably should’ve just combined the two, but we will roll with it.
See you for the next post!