Think Strategic Eating, Not Strategic Dieting

Jenny Craig. Atkins. Weightwatchers. Low Carb. No Carb. Low Fat. Low Calorie. High  Protein. We live in a dieting crazed society, in which everyone is looking for the latest way to shed pounds without preventing them from indulging in the foods they want so desperately. Our country’s people want to be thin and skinny, but they’re not really interested in being healthy. That’s why the diets all fail. My solution? Let’s start looking away from dieting and towards strategic eating.

What fit people know is how to get the nutrients they need to satisfy their body and hunger without packing on the extra pounds. Our society is full of people who have forgotten that junk food is called “junk” because the calories from it are very low quality for the quantity of food being consumed.

Recently, a NY Times article, “Adding Food and Subtracting Calories” claimed that eating more of some certain foods will actually lower weight and calorie retention. In fact, cayenne pepper and pureed vegetables are organic sources of appetite suppressant!

The article explains, “While hot red pepper has been studied before as an appetite suppressant, this study was notable in that it compared people who liked spicy food with those who did not. At various times, diners were given a bowl of tomato soup laced with a half teaspoon of pepper, plain tomato soup, or plain tomato soup with a supplement of red pepper in pill form… adding red pepper to the soup was associated with eating an average of 60 fewer calories at the next meal compared with when they ate plain soup.”

While cayenne pepper and pureed veggies are NOT miracle diet drugs, they are certainly a more natural form of diet suppressant than diet fads are. I encourage all of us to take a serious look at the strategic diets that we are buying into. What are the consequences of these diets? Instead of strategic dieting, let’s all engage in strategic eating. Eat healthy foods in moderate portions, at regular mealtimes. Eat more veggies and grains than you do processed foods, and you’ll have the healthy and fit body that you’ve been paying lots of diet drug money for!

Reference:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/adding-food-and-subtracting-calories/?emc=eta1