Why Eat Healthy?

Every year thousands of americans "commit" to changing their eating habits, sadly only a small fraction of these people (about 5-8%) are actually successful in making a lasting change to their diet. So why do people struggle so much with losing and maintaining a healthy weight? Is it because healthy eating is a loosing battle? Or do most people simply lack the special skills needed to improve their health? Truth is, its none of the above.

Photo Source: http://www.the-food-guide-pyramid.com/

I believe that most struggles with weight loss come not from a lack of skill or discipline but rather from a lack of perspective. While the notion that outlook drives our ultimate success is not a new idea, it is one that is often over looked and rarely implemented in to modern diets. Part of the problem is that people are stuck believing that the only way to loose weight is to jump on a strict eating regimen which often neglects, or severely limits a single macronutrient (i.e. low-fat or low-carb diets). While such diets can work in certain circumstances, they can be a daunting undertaking for the average person just beginning to change their eating habits. Even the phrase diet is a bit ominous (die-t !? doesn't sound like a good time to me at all!). More times than not, programs like these result in a brief period of rapid weight loss fallowed by an eventual weight gain after completion leaving one in the same place they were and perhaps even a bit worse off* This frustrating cycle of loosing and gaining weight can easily lead people to give up entirely on healthy eating and weight control.

In order to create lasting changes in one's eating habits, a shift in this paradigm of dieting is essential. That is, when following a strict diet most people claim they "can't eat" this or "have to" eat that because they need to loose weight or stay on their diet. The problem with this outlook is that it positions eating as a chore, an unpleasant means to an end. Is it surprising that when we hate eating diet foods so much we often stray to less nutritious food or give up all together? Of course not! Eating should never be chore it should be an enjoyable, social activity. Instead of the rigid "I have to" view, we should take a more enjoyable "I want to" stance. That is, we should eat nutritiously not because we are told to, but because we want to nourish our bodies and feel good with wholesome, balanced foods. Daniel Pink describes this as "intrinsic motivation" or "motivation 3.0" in his book Drive. Eating good food should be a rewarding activity in it's self instead meaning that we do so because we enjoy nutritious food as part of a healthy lifestyle. As Pink explains, "extrinsic motivators", or expected rewards such as a specific amount of weight loss, can actually can make us despise the task of eating healthy and fixate only on what we can and can't eat. So don't chain yourself to a diet, instead decide why you want to eat differently and how you can change your current eating habits to support a happy, healthy lifestyle. A great way to get started is to write down why you would like to eat more nutritiously. Don't write "to loose ten pounds", instead keep your reasons to a more general, meaningful purpose such as: "so I can feel great on my morning runs". What ever your reason to eat healthy, write it down and clip it to your fridge (or where ever you grab food from and tend to eat the most) then next time you find yourself faced with the choice between a bowl of ice-cream or a cup of yogurt don't tell yourself you have to eat one over the other, just remember why you want to live a fit lifestyle in the first place.

*(When weight is lost rapidly without regular exercise, a good portion of what is lost is often muscle mass. Therefore if weight is gained back as fat the person will have an even higher body fat percentage at the same weight making it more difficult for them to loose that extra weight again.)