What are your plans for New Years goals or resolutions? Do you plan on hitting the gym more, starting a new diet, or eating clean next year? Where did you find your diet to follow for the next\u2026.(you determine the how long your diet will last)\u2026..?<\/p>\n
Who would you refer to for financial advice? An accountant or someone who is rich or projects good financial know-how? Hopefully you said the former. The internet and popular culture are teeming with dietary advice and plans from the widest variety of authors. They may include medical doctors, wellness experts, nutritionists, personal trainers, someone who lost weight, a registered dietitian, someone who wants to lose weight, or your neighbor. What\u2019s their expertise? Sorry to say that many even self proclaimed nutrition experts and doctors really have no scientific or sufficient training to provide sound and effective methods for eating healthy. So why lean on popular and unfounded nutritional advice\/diet from something that hasn\u2019t been proven to be healthful or at least not harmful? If\u00a0 you seek dietary advice from a reputable source, you\u2019re at a much lower risk of harming yourself in the process. Both physically and emotionally.<\/p>\n
All the time, I hear friends try popular diets that force them to adopt totally new eating habits and often require eating \u201cperfectly\u201d. I also hear them lament about how insanely difficult it was to persevere through that diet. Now, I\u2019m not one to shun a challenge. We can all do hard things and doing so does wonders for our self-esteem. But if you\u2019re forced to eat all these vegetables that you hate, what\u2019s the beneficial challenge in that? How likely are you to continue said eating and like those previously hated greens? Fully knowing that you hate them through the process.<\/p>\n
So\u2026. how to avoid this trap? Ditch the \u201cperfect\u201d diet mentality because really, where\u2019s the joy in following the \u201cperfect\u201d diet? Besides, what actually constitutes that perfect diet? Popular diets are pretty diverse. Do you have to run for the hills when confronted with gluten, soy, sugar, milk, animal products, and artificial sweeteners? News flash, if you do all this all you\u2019ll probably be able to eat is grapefruit and water.<\/p>\n
Time and time again, after talking to friends about diet, I see them following restrictive & in my professional opinion, not very helpful guidelines. This even happens often after we\u2019d just talked about how such diets aren\u2019t sustainable. Why? I don\u2019t get it! I am totally willing (and would actually love talking to you about a healthy diet), it\u2019s my passion and I can\u2019t contain it!<\/p>\n
So, when you\u2019re deciding what to do in this new year to make dietary changes, look for references. If a blogger doesn\u2019t back up their guidelines or meal plan, run for the hills. Or ask a registered dietitian. And remember that a nutritionist does not equal a registered dietitian. I struggle with being called a nutritionist, as on one side, it explains what I do, but on the other hand, I\u2019ve been properly trained and others who call themselves nutritionists may not have.<\/p>\n
Here’s a great list of blogs written by registered dietitians (aka: great sources of nutrition information) http:\/\/www.nutritionblognetwork.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n