Forget Diets. Think Healthy Eating.

SJ (VP of Customer Engagement)

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Diets are a very common tactic used by people when they’re trying to change their weight. While diets are followed by those trying to gain muscle or weight, they are most commonly followed by people who are trying to lose weight. In fact, weight loss diets have an entire section to themselves in most fitness and health literature and conversation. They make for a very common practice.

But are diets and fad diets effective? More importantly, are they safe? To be able to answer those questions, we first need to understand what a diet really is.

What is a Diet?

The dictionary definition of a diet would tell you that it covers all the food and drink that you consume. However, for the sake of this article, we are going to use the more commonly understood meaning of the term which is to change your intake, temporarily. If you’re following a diet, then you go back to your previous or original eating habits once a certain time period has lapsed. In most cases, the end result desired is weight loss.

Some diets focus on removing or restricting carbohydrate intake, others focus on restricting calories. Some diets focus on completely removing certain food groups from your meals or only consuming a few food groups. Some diets even tell you to limit your portion sizes to a set amount of food per meal.

Many times, these diets come under the title of ‘Fad Diets’. Fad diets are nothing but diets that are in vogue at the time. They are marketed extensively as a way to lose weight quickly. Fad diets change often with one fad diet being popular for a while, before another takes its place.

However, at their very crux, they only change your eating habits for a period of time. In fact, most diets are supposed to be implemented over a certain number of days or weeks.

So, the million dollar question here is: Do diets work in helping you lose weight?

Do diets work?

It is possible that the elimination of unhealthy food groups from your meals leads to some weight loss. But one thing that often gets overlooked is that all diets, however different, have one thing in common – they are based on restriction. They restrict the foods that we eat and aim to help us reduce weight by elimination. And they do so within a set time period.

That is why, no matter what diet you follow, at its end, you return to your regular eating habits.

These habits may be what has caused you to put on excessive weight in the first place. Returning to these habits after a period of restriction often leads to binge eating – you tend to eat more of the stuff that was harming you because you feel like you’ve lost weight and won’t put it back on. However, if the food was harming you once, it will harm you again. And you tend to put on back the weight you’d lost, and then some.

Another point is that in the long run, you will find it increasingly difficult to maintain the restrictions that you are imposing on yourself. It is a lot easier to give something up for a short while, especially if you know that it is temporarily. But if you were to believe that you were giving something up forever, it may be more difficult a goal to achieve. Furthermore, giving up certain food groups forever is not necessarily healthy. All food groups are essential, and need to consumed in a healthy and moderate manner. Hence, continuing a diet for a prolonged period of time may be more unhealthy than healthy.

Simply put, a diet is not sustainable over the long term. What, then, is the option?

A healthy eating plan

The option that more and more people are adopting is a healthy eating plan.

There is growing awareness of the fact that the meals we eat need to be healthier for the body to be able to absorb the right nutrients. This is where a healthy eating plan comes in. Such a plan focuses on improving health by improving the quality of food. It does not focus on elimination or restriction, but looks at developing knowledge on how different foods affect your body. This allows each individual to come to his own decision about which foods to eat, which to eliminate, and which to reduce. The meals you eat are, therefore, a result of your informed decisions.

Like diets, healthy eating plans can also result in foods being eliminated from your diet. But this is not a short term event. And the elimination is a result of the poor nutritional value that these foods posses.

To summarize, a healthy eating plan focuses on eating well, so that you too can feel well from within.

The question that arises, often, is how can one distinguish between the two, especially if they share common practices such as eliminating some foods. Diets and healthy eating plans have very marked differences, as seen in the section below.

Diets vs. Healthy Eating Plans: The Difference

Identifying the difference between a fad diet and a healthy eating plan is easy. Simply consider five criteria when deciding to change your eating habits:

  1. Time period – Is the new meal plan a short term or long term thing? Short term would mean that you’re following a diet, whereas long term would translate into a healthy meal plan that focuses ore on knowledge than instructions.
  2. Holistic approach – A healthy eating plan will also incorporate overall lifestyle changes and habit alteration while a fad diet will focus on nothing but your food and drink intake.
  3. Focus on end or focus on means – A diet will focus on the end result, often expressed as, “lose these many pounds in ten days.” A healthy diet plan, on the other hand, will focus on teaching you about food so that you can make the journey to good health in an informed, measured manner.
  4. Balanced meals – A healthy eating plan will include a variety of food groups and will teach you how to maximize their nutritional effect by altering eating habits. A diet, on the other hand, will focus on altogether eliminating or allowing specific food groups.
  5. Gimmicks – A healthy eating plan will be clear on the fact that there are no shortcuts to good health and that this goal is achievable through hard work, knowledge, and informed decisions. On the other hand, a diet will entice you with a gimmick that will make it seem like you are getting a great result for little effort.

Now you know how to distinguish a diet from a healthy meal plan. But how exactly do you follow a healthy meal plan?

Designing your healthy meal plan

A healthy meal plan does not rely on restrictions or complete eliminations. It is based more around increasing nutritional, natural foods, and reducing processed foods. While a healthy eating plan can be designed by understanding how food groups affect your body, you can use the following points for reference on a general basis:

  1. Choose a variety of foods – Not all benefits of every food group have been completely identified. By eating a variety of wholesome, unprocessed foods, you will ensure that you are getting a variety of nutrients, all of which will be good for your body.
  2. Eat more produce – Fruits and vegetables, especially those that are rich in fiber, should be an integral part of your daily meals. Legumes that are high in fiber can be counted as part of your daily produce requirement – around four cups – but they are slightly higher in calories than fruits and vegetables. You can opt for canned fruits and vegetables too as long as they are unsweetened, and definitely choose full fruits over juice for the fiber content.
  3. Eat more whole grains – Whole grains include wholewheat, barley, and oats. These possess all the good nutrients and fibers of grains because they retain bran and germ. Choose breads that are 100% wholewheat or whole grain or that at least include any of the three main whole grain categories as primary ingredient. In the case of the latter, however, keep a check on the amount of white or refined flour and added sugar, and choose those options with fewer of those ingredients.
  4. Avoid refined flours and sugars – Refined flours and sugars should be avoided not just in breads, but overall. Regular pasta, white breads, and other common snacks tend to have more of these refined ingredients and very little actual nutritional value. Foods with added sugars, such as sodas and candies, also contain too much fat and calories and very little nutrition. Hence, keep an eye out for foods that contain refined ingredients or added sugars and substitute them with easily available healthier options.
  5. Avoid liquid calories – The liquids you intake contain calories. This is true for milk and juices too, which have always been considered healthy options. However, these do contain nutritional value too. So it is perfectly alright to enjoy juices in limited quantities. However, sweetened beverages such as sodas contain sugars and calories, and zero nutritional value. As such, it is best to avoid these calorific and sugar-filled drinks.
  6. Be mindful of your Calcium and Vitamin D intake – These nutrients are primarily responsible for bone health. Ensure that you eat foods rich in them as absorbing Vitamin D from sunshine can be risky. In certain cases, you can turn to supplements for these nutrients, as long as taken under the care of a physician to avoid an excessively high intake of Calcium or Vitamin D.
  7. Increase Potassium, reduce Sodium – A high sodium intake increases blood pressure and the risk of diabetes and heart problems. On the other hand, an increased potassium intake leads to reduced blood pressure. Hence, focus on increasing potassium and reducing sodium intake by eating more bananas, potatoes, beans, citric foods, and yoghurt.
  8. Opt for lean meats – Animal fat from red meat or processed meats cause higher intake of bad cholesterol. Hence, choose lean meats instead and get your required fat intake from nuts, vegetable oils, and fish.
  9. Increase healthy fat intake – It is necessary for your body to take in healthy fats. These can be found in nuts, fish, avocados, and healthy vegetable oils. These foods are high in unsaturated fats and even in calories. Unsaturated fats help in keeping the body and joints healthy and foods that contain them can also act as healthy substitutes.
  10. Avoid cholesterol-rich foods that also contain saturated fats – Cholesterol has always been looked at a big no-no if you desire good health. But cholesterol found in foods like eggs and shrimp does not have a high impact on total blood cholesterol. It is safe and even recommended to eat these foods. What one must avoid, however, are foods with trans fats and saturated fats, which adversely add to the total cholesterol levels of the body.
  11. Stay away from trans fats – The only foods you should strongly avoid are those that contain trans fats. These include processed foods, junk food, and commercially produced sweet treats. The trans fats in these foods raise the bad cholesterol levels of the body and lead to heart risk and other chronic problems.
  12. Controlled alcohol intake – Alcohol is not the worst, but only if consumed in moderation. What moderation means is dependent on the age, health condition, and physical fitness levels of the person consuming the drink. While the occasional drink can have health benefits, it is better to consume alcohol in limited proportions due to the fact that no two people react the same way to the substance. Sometimes, it may do more harm than good.
  13. Control portion sizes – The easiest way to get off of your healthy eating plan is to overeat due to a large portion size. Pay close attention to portion sizes, especially when eating out. Split meals with a friend or order entrées instead of main courses. Additionally, keep an eye on the portion sizes contained in packaged foods so that you correctly calculate the ingredients and contents.
  14. Learn to enjoy your food – The most important part of healthy eating is to enjoy your food. Chew your food and focus on it as you eat. Not only does this correctly tell your brain and body how full you are, it also allows you to absorb all the nutrients. Furthermore, enjoying your food as well as cooking and preparing it will ensure that you develop a good and healthy relationship with food, which will reflect in your food choices, eating habits, and health.

The above points tell you what to consider when planning your meals. However, there is more to healthy eating than simply watching what you put in your mouth. Healthy eating can only be sustainable if it is supported by a healthy lifestyle.

What constitutes a healthy lifestyle?

Healthy lifestyle habits

Losing weight or being fit is the result of the combined efforts of good food, exercise, and healthy habits. The following are some healthy habits that every individual should attempt to incorporate in life towards their eating and other habits:

  1. Don’t skip breakfast – Skipping breakfast could lead to you throwing off your schedule and result in binge eating.
  2. Exercise – Try to get in an hour of exercise, three to four times a week to keep your body healthy and mind sharp, and to remain happy and deal with stress better.
  3. Don’t skip out on weekends – Don’t change your food habits and eating schedules just because it is the weekend. This can throw your entire week’s groove off. Have fun over the weekend, but keep your health first.
  4. Monitor your weight – Keep tabs on your weight to ensure that you haven’t put on or lost too much weight, and to ensure that you are maintaining the right weight, and right fat and muscle percentage for a healthy body.
  5. Focus on good and healthy food – Keep your food preferences and eating habits clean and healthy and try not to deviate too much from your plan to ensure that you remain healthy.

One aspect that is very important when trying to establish a healthy eating plan and healthy lifestyle habits is support. The right support can help you stay strong at each step of the way, not make mistakes, and keep you motivated. Making massive changes to your eating habits and lifestyle can be difficult. Furthermore, you may end up making incorrect choices due to having limited information. In such a case, an expert who can also act as your support structure is the ideal solution.

Dietitians and Nutritional Therapists

Dietitians and nutritional therapists are experts who have studied the science of food and the effect of eating and lifestyle habits on our bodies. They can guide every individual towards his/her own personal health goal by:

  • planning their meals
  • teaching them how to work around hectic schedules
  • teaching them how to make healthy choices
  • teaching them how to live a full life but with healthier options
  • teaching them how to build a positive relationship with food
  • teaching them how to remain motivated and on the path to good health
  • teaching them what is suitable and unsuitable for them in food groups and lifestyle habits

However, the main problem that people face today is finding the right dietitian – one who understands clients’ requirements, limitation, strengths, and weaknesses. The solution is to work with a personal nutritional therapist. In fact, working with a personal nutritional therapist and dietitian comes with a host of benefits that are integral to making your journey to good health much easier.

Benefits of a personal nutritional therapist

Some of the benefits of opting for your own personal nutritional therapist include:

Individualization – A personal dietitian will work with an individual as per his abilities, health targets, and goals. He will consult with his client and incorporate any and all medical history into the proposed workout or routine. This ensures that the routine is addressing points of concern as well as working towards specific goals that the client wants to achieve to regain his good health.

Customization – A nutritional therapist will customize a client’s meal and eating plan on the basis of his taste preferences and targets. He will also work with the client to understand what is working for him and what may not be, consequently making changes to ensure that the eating plan remains as effective as possible.

Personal attention – Relying on a personal nutritional therapist means receiving his undivided attention. The dietitian will work with only one client at a time, and focus all his attention on that client. This means that a client gets continuous and focused attention which allows him to stay focused, motivated, and supported to make the necessary eating and lifestyle habit changes.

Comfortable pace – Unlike with a group, working with a personal nutritional therapist means that one can go at his own pace. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses and moving at their own pace can ensure that a client can overcome weaknesses that limit his ability to make necessary changes, and build on strengths to create a new and healthy lifestyle.

Informative guidance – A nutritional therapist will always guide clients with his extensive knowledge and experience. He can apply all his training and expertise to ensure that clients truly understand the science behind decisions taken to design a meal plan. This ensures that the client is eating right while also obtaining the knowledge necessary for him to take informed decisions at his end.

However, one problem that continues to persist is that people are bogged down by the many responsibilities and chores that occupy their waking hours. That is primarily the reason they choose to go for faster, but unhealthier, food options too.

Then how can they take time out to work with a dietitian, even if it is a personal nutritional therapist?

Personal dietitians available at clients’ convenience

The answer to that question lies in finding personal dietitians who are available at hours convenient for the client, on any day of the week. While finding such a nutritional therapist may have been difficult once upon a time, that is no longer the case.

Sites like LocalMasters.com aim for complete customer satisfaction by bringing services that they require right to their doorstep, at the time and on the day that is convenient to the client. LocalMasters.com keeps client convenience at the crux off all operation, and aims to combine this convenience with the provision of exceptional service.

The nutritional therapists registered with LocalMasters.com have extensive experience not just in their field, but also in training professionals from varied backgrounds. This means that whatever your lifestyle and its nature may be, they will be able to design a plan that fits right in. They bring a very specific set of skills which can help every individual trying to establish healthy eating habits, lose weight, gain muscle, and get fit. Some of the benefits that the personal nutritional therapists registered with LocalMasters.com being include:

  • detailed knowledge of the lifestyle of a varied clientele
  • detailed understanding of the limitations and problems associated with varied lifestyles
  • detailed knowledge of food groups and their effect on the body
  • years of experience in the field of health and wellness
  • a combination of knowledge of diet, healthy habits, exercise, and fitness
  • experience in working around the busy schedules of professionals to enable them to include good eating habits in their daily routines

In fact, the personal nutritional therapists registered with LocalMasters.com are some of the best in their fields. Furthermore, being registered with LocalMasters.com, they bring additional benefits that make it easy and fun for even the busiest of people to establish a healthy eating plan and a healthy lifestyle. Find out more about these nutritional therapists here.

Benefits of getting your nutritional therapist from LocalMasters.com

LocalMasters.com is all about making health and wellness convenient. For this purpose, they offer a host of services that are fulfilled with maximum efficiency by industry experts. Here are some of the many benefits you accrue when you find your personal nutritional therapist from LocalMasters.com:

  • Highly competitive pricing – Pay the most competitive rate for guidance from experienced and renowned dietitians
  • Money back guarantee – LocalMasters.com offers a money back guarantee which means that dissatisfaction with a session means a complete refund
  • Free consultation – Clients get to start off with a free consultation to see if the nutritional therapist is a good fit for them
  • Any location – Clients get to opt for sessions wherever convenient – at home, studio, office, or a nearby community center or studio
  • Timed to client’s convenience – Sessions can be booked on any day and at any time that is convenient to clients so that no hectic schedule can stand in the way of good health

LocalMasters.com and its many personal nutritional therapists make weight loss and healthy living an extremely achievable goal, regardless of your schedule, work, lifestyle, and habits. To know more about the amazing personal nutritional therapists at LocalMasters.com, click here.

In fact, these personal dietitians have helped clients achieve much more than just weight loss. They are extremely adept at dealing with numerous problems, and have helped clients achieve varied health targets.

The types of clients served

LocalMasters.com offers the services of many local diet and nutrition experts who can help clients achieve a host of health and wellness targets. Some of these include:

  • weight loss
  • muscle gain
  • increased internal wellness
  • overcoming lethargy and feelings of being low brought on by unhealthy food
  • managing meals better and in a healthier fashion
  • overcoming obesity
  • overcoming unhealthy eating habits
  • overcoming addiction to junk food
  • family health plans for a fitter family
  • overcoming childhood obesity
  • management of chronic problems with good eating habits
  • daily meal plans for individuals

All one needs to do is set a health target. Then, opt for any of the experienced nutritional therapists at LocalMasters.com and begin your sessions as per your convenience. These dietitians will aid their clients in achieving their targets with step by step guidance and support along the entire way. Their services will include not only the specific focus to achieve the set target, but also the knowledge of healthy habits that one can incorporate into daily life. This will reduce the adverse effects of today’s hectic lifestyle that make healthy eating difficult, and keep people healthy, happy, and at their desired weight targets.

Be unhealthy no longer – visit LocalMasters.com today and opt for any of the numerous methods in which eating right is made convenient. Click here to know more.

Need some inspiration to get started?

Read the inspirational story of Cindy who recognized her addiction to junk food and made the difficult, but much needed, choices to become healthy and happy! Click here to read her story.

You can also read the amazing story of Catherine who worked very hard to find the right balance between eating too much and eating nothing at all. Click here to read the story of how this woman overcame the ‘all or nothing’ mindset found so commonly in cases of persons who attempt to change their eating habits.

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