Forget diets, think healthy lifestyle change

As usual this time of year, a whole new crop of diet books have appeared on bookstore shelves. I’m seeing lots of newspaper articles and news reports talking about these “new” diets.

Well as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing new about any of these diets. Like all the diets I’ve seen in the past, this new crop is full of restrictions, bland meals, and lots of rules and regulations.

Here’s my prediction. Millions of people will try these diets — many will even lose weight in the short term — but in the long term most of them will get sick and tired of being restricted and go back to their old eating habits.

How can I be so confident of my prediction? Because the same thing has been happening year after year, for decades and decades. In fact, as far back as 1956 McCall’s magazine featured an article titled “Why Fad Diets Fail.”

Now, more than 50 years later, there are more diets out there than ever before, and guess what? We’re fatter than ever before. I think this pretty much shows that diets just don’t work in the long term.

So if diets don’t work, what is the answer?

Quite simply, it has to be a permanent healthy lifestyle change instead of a temporary diet. And the only way that most people will ever make a permanent lifestyle change is if it’s enjoyable.

And that’s the main reason Trudy and I have been able to follow a MediterrAsian lifestyle for well over a decade — because it’s so thoroughly enjoyable. The fact it keeps us lean, healthy and full of energy is just a very nice bonus!