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Problems With Your Diet

Updated on June 21, 2011

Problems With Your Diet

There's nobody that I have ever known who could come out and say that they had the perfect diet. I would never tell anyone that I only consume healthy food. For the most part, when it comes to junk food, most people understand that it can't be eaten all the time. The thing that is often problematic is the fact that "junk food" is not always properly defined. To give a basic definition, junk food is anything that the body has little or no use for.

To be honest, most of the food in the grocery store isles can be classified as junk food. There are the obvious things like cookies, candy, and chips which accredit no contribution to a healthy diet. While America seems to have an obesity epidemic, there's also been a rise in dietary concern. Since people are bombarded by statistics, there are more people wanting to eat healthier. 

Responding To The Consumer

As a result of rising concern for health, big name companies have responded to consumers with "healthy" options. I put the term in quotes because companies like General Mills, whose cereal is seen to the right, have responded by putting the label of whole grain on most if not all of the cereal they produce. Not to say that the cereals don't have whole grain, but cereal loaded with sugar isn't exactly what parents should look to for a healthy option.

One of the biggest responses I've seen from companies, is to offer less food for more money. The "100 calorie packs" have gained enormous popularity. The issue outside of the fact that those 100 calories are from junk food is the fact that the old "you can't eat just one" philosophy comes into mind. There comes a tendency to pay more money for a box of mini bags that will go just like one big bag, causing the company to make more money than they would've before.

Some practices have considered the fact that many people shop for visual appeal. Visual appeal is why honey is typically the nice golden color and not the nutrient-rich dark color it should be. A friend of mine from overseas came to America and was accustomed to having apples that had a brownish color to them, so when he saw our shiny red apples he thought they'd be amazing. Reaction..."the worst apple I've ever tasted.

There is also the addition of sodium nitrate into meats to preserve pinkish color, which many say isn't enough to cause harm, but considering sodium nitrate's harmful long-term effects, it shouldn't be used at all in the food supply.

Eating Healthy vs. Being on a Diet

Many people decide they're going to improve their health by going on a diet, which is usually to lose weight. There's no question that people have had success going on diets and lost weight as a result, but then you have the ones who try 50 different diets a year and don't know what to do.

The difference between eating healthy and going on a diet is the fact that eating healthy is a lifestyle choice, where going on a diet is more of a phase or fad. Take for instance a 350 pound man who doesn't eat healthy and wants to lose 75 pounds. Let's say he eliminates certain foods for awhile and successfully loses the weight, then goes off the diet. Chances are that he'll gain all of the weight back if not more.

To make a lifestyle choice about eating healthy, means more than saying "I won't eat this" or "I won't eat that", it's saying what you will eat instead. For instance I may decide to eat fruit instead of candy or eat grilled chicken rather than fried, drink water rather than soda, whatever choices need to be made.

When a person decides to eat healthy, he or she decides to include wholesome foods into his or her diet on a daily basis. They don't neccessarily make super strict decisions like never eating dessert again, but it's about those habits occuring less often. Many people think they're doing themselves some good by eating junk all the time and eating healthy sometimes, but it should be the other way around.

Not Just For Weight-loss

When it comes to eating healthy, people think it's to prevent unneccessary weight gain or to lose weight, but forget the fact that some people need to gain weight. Rather your weight is too high, too low, or just right, everyone needs to eat healthy.

A problem with thinking about weight when it comes to eating is the fact that many people include unhealthy things in their diet as a means to avoid excess calories and weight-gain. One of the key antagonists is artificial sweeteners, which have been shown to cause adverse health effects in many. The fact is if something's created in a lab and not a real food, it probably has no place in a healthy diet.

I can't stress enough how water is the only zero calorie thing that should be in your diet. The best concept for eating healthy is to put fruits and vegetables high on daily food consumption, which for me means taking out the juicer at times. After fruits and vegetables should be lean meats like chicken and fish.

With all that said, I would be intrigued to know how you eat healthy, please feel free to leave your comments and feedback.


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    • fit2day profile image

      fit2day 6 years ago

      Thanks Mike, I'll have to look you up.

    • DrMikeFitzpatrick profile image

      DrMikeFitzpatrick 6 years ago from Sandpoint, Idaho

      hey Fit, love your stuff. glad you are in the "know". btw, we have a "perfect" diet. thanks for the follow. keep up the great work and writing! Dr. Mike call me sometime? you can google me and get my number. sandpoint, idaho

    • fit2day profile image

      fit2day 6 years ago

      I think the 100 calorie packs are genius marketing ideas, but I wish people paid more attention to what's in them.

      Thanks for reading RedElf, I'm glad you found it informative.

    • RedElf profile image

      RedElf 6 years ago from Canada

      You comments about the 100 calorie packs are spot on - how foolish of us to want to pay more for less! Thanks for all this solid info.