Monday, February 23, 2015

Better Health: What It's All About (and the answer isn't dieting...)

Sorry to be so absent. Busy, busy.

I thought it would be worthwhile posting a link to this article, "What if we all just stopped trying to lose weight?", yet another article that skillfully decouples health from weight loss.

The basic idea is that weight loss is a possible side-effect of healthier habits, but that "dieting"--in other words, the conscious reduction of calories or strict adherence to a special way of eating (no sugar, paleo, etc.)--is not, in of itself, a healthy habit. I think, in fact, that the boomerang effect of acting as your own "food police" often causes a lot more bad than good. For the vast majority of people, dieting is akin to holding your breath. Eventually, you have to take in some oxygen, often in great gulps--sort of like bingeing after restriction.

If you're interested in good health, WALK, SWIM, EAT FRUITS AND VEGGIES, LOVE YOUR FAMILY, MEDITATE, TAKE A TRIP TO PARIS (hmm, I know someone who's going to do that pretty soon...). And let the weight settle where it wants.

3 comments:

  1. Great perspective that resonates with me! I've recently restarted my focus toward being healthy and so far (50+ days) the focus has been on healthy body and mind vs. just going on another diet. Thanks for the post.

    -FogDog's Weight Loss

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great points! These are my exact plans, after I managed to "make weight" for last week's mini-dream vacation to Costa Rica... (Yeah, I'll get some photos posted soon!)
    Best wishes, Val

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi just came across your blog and wanted to say thank you for the detailed information on your knee replacement. I will need one sooner or later, and you provided more info than any of the people I've talked to so far. Also, I like and agree with your two posts written this year. I wouldn't mind reading about how you're doing with your knee now😀

    ReplyDelete