Food Is Not The Enemy

Those following Plainbellied's blog will know that she and I are on the South Beach Diet. I've been going for three weeks and have lost about 10 pounds. It seems to be working, and I'm not really jonesing for Ho-Hos yet. I think I'm getting over the hump.

There is something about dieting I don't like, though. I don't like considering food an enemy, and I don't want to demonize any particular kind of food. To hear others on the SBD tell it (Plainbellied excepted), "carbs" are the devil. Well, I don't like that attitude--and I really hate saying "carbs." I think this is a misunderstanding of Dr. Agatston's overall message, which is that we need to revise our understanding of the food pyramid. Rather than treat them as the enemy, I think we should instead think of them like a friend at work. If we spend too much time talking with them, we get in trouble. So we need to control how we interact, but it doesn't make them bad.

This is my attitude toward dieting: It needs to act as a transition, rather than an interlude. I'm at a stage right now where my metabolism has changed, and I worry about my long-term health if I don't change my lifestyle. That is where the diet comes in (that and the fact that I need to lose about sixty pounds. . . well, fifty now). More than just lose weight, I want to make sure my heart remains healthy, and one way to do that is to control my eating habits. The next step will be increasing my exercise. If I can make the change and have it stick, then I'll stay healthy.

I promise not to dwell too much on this topic in future posts, but I thought I'd share my ideas on dieting.

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