I was recently browsing some diet/health headlines…in one of the opening blurbs to a post I read the following words “vegetables that are ALLOWED on this diet…”
Allowed?
When was the last time you were in a position to have an allowance? Maybe when you were 8 year old.
The idea of having things that are ‘allowed’ vs things that are ‘forbidden’ is a dangerous concept promoted by most extreme fad diets.
This type of thinking can lead to psychological barriers and issues associated with food when people end up eating something that is ‘forbidden’…and we all do no matter how strict we’re trying to be on any diet.
This is a dis-empowering position to be in as you’re blindly following rules set out by someone else, and in most cases for no good scientific reason (see blood type diet, GI diet, atkins diet for a few examples of nonsensical food category restrictions).
Many of these diet recommendations can do more harm than good as they can seep into your consciousness and you eventually believe you’re a bad person for eating things that are not ‘allowed’ by the latest diet you’ve tried to follow.
Keeping a positive mental and emotional state is far more important than giving yourself a star every time you do as your told and eat what is ‘allowed’ and avoid what is restricted or forbidden.
We’re adults and should be treated as such. Being free to choose food you like to eat and keeping your total calories in control is the key to losing weight and maintaining your weight without feeling like a total failure every time you stray from the acceptable food list someone has arbitrarily written (let me repeat, most of these good and bad food lists are not grounded in science).
Eating a variety of foods, and keeping your calories in control is the driving force behind weight loss, weight maintenance and preventing diet associated disease.
A little common sense is all it really takes.
John
