Why is dieting so hard?

Adult and childhood obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and it tops the list as one of the leading causes of many health related life threatening conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer, so it's no wonder dieting has become a billion dollar industry. From a marketing standpoint "diets" are a lose win situation; you lose the battle and the manufacturers of these fad diet foods drinks and supplements win... Your money!

It's this frustrating devastating and in many cases life threatening losing battle that has inherently raised the universal question, why are diets so hard?

I have never had this sort of weight problem so I can't speak from the experience of a formally obese individual, but I can answer this question using the invaluable knowledge I've gained through my own health related trials and tribulations over these many years.

So why then are diets so hard? Because most people see the word "diet" as a verb instead of a noun. Diet, as a verb, consists of unattractive rules and seemingly unachievable benchmarks; especially when one has an overall unhealthy diet (noun). If you look up the definition of diet (as a verb) you will find such phrases as "watch what you eat", "cut back", "fast" and "starve yourself"; all of which paint a nice rosy picture... On the other hand diet, as a noun, simply means your overall nutritional intake and consists of the foods and drinks you consume on a daily basis.

I have said this before and I stand by it with everything I believe in, if you maintain a healthy diet (truly healthy) then your body will maintain a healthy weight; exercise is of course part of the equation. And by healthy diet I mean one that consists of mainly fresh organic fruits and vegetables and natural whole grains and legumes with any beef being grass-fed, poultry and eggs being free-grazed, and fish wild caught. You MUST reduce the amount of processed foods to no more than 10% of your diet, and those that are MUST be organic; the less ingredients the better.

Now at first glance this may seem a bit "Eat those vegetables or you're not getting any dessert" rather than "I'm an adult and I can eat what I want", but the truth is my wife and I have been eating this way for some time now we eat better tasting more creative and much healthier meals than we ever did before; and this is with a soy and diary allergy. You would be amazed at the diverse menu you have to choose from when you make the shift from that processed out-of-the-box boring and extremely unhealthy diet you have now to home-made meals using the freshest healthiest ingredients available.

A healthy weight starts with a healthy diet and the possibilities are endless!