Diet is a Four Letter Word

Luxe: The Daily Fix 

Diets are meant to be broken. The word diet suggests a time period in which you are going to change what you eat so you can reach your goal of becoming slim and sexy for some reason or another. A diet does not suggest a change for a lifetime, but rather a time when you are going to restrict all of the "bad foods" out of your life until you see a reflection of yourself that you might be ok with. Then within 2 weeks after you have reached your goal and that chocolate cake presents itself you decide that maybe just this once, after all you have worked so hard and avoided every temptation up until now, you will indulge. That chocolate cake all of a sudden becomes the best thing you have ever tasted! Then after a fight with your boyfriend, you decide to go out to dinner with a friend and the waiter suggests a spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer. Damn it, you deserve it right? After all you have been bawling your eyes out for the last two hours and nothing sounds better than the cheesy goodness of spinach artichoke dip! You indulge again. Slowly but surely your emotions win every time and you start consuming more deliciousness, because you deserve it, and less and less physical activity. Soon you find yourself right back where you started, at the bookstore trying to find the diet book you can "live with" for the next 3 months. 

I've been there done that and I by no means am close to my ideal body, however, I have found the perfect book that helps you to alter your way of life, without depriving yourself of those wonderful luxes that makes your dinner, date, or party worth while. Who can enjoy going to a wedding reception and not eating the cake or even half of the meal because it's not on your diet? Even if you're on a diet and you have been depriving yourself up until the wedding and then you decide to give in and eat the meal and cake too, you not only feel guilty, but you also remember everything that you have been missing and eventually will fall off of your diet. The book I found doesn't promise weight loss, but it does provide healthy habits for good nutrition. If you have been eating poorly and you develop these habits then you are sure to lose weight. Losing weight is about the number of calories you put in versus the number of calories you burn. There are many calorie budgets online you can find that you should abide by and a number of calories you should burn each day in order to lose a healthy 1-2 pounds per week. Check those out at www.self.com. If you are eating the foods that are good for you and developing good habits, while still allowing yourself to indulge every now and then, then you will lose weight successfully, keep it off, and not have to think about it again because you have made eating healthy a habit. The book is called The Daily Fix by Alexa L. Fishback, a writer for Women's Health magazine.  

In this book she talks about what might be stopping you from losing weight in your daily life; daily soft drinks, too much sugar and cream in your morning coffee, or not enough exercise. She helps you sort out all of the "little" things you might be eating on a daily basis that are keeping you from your goals. She suggests that you develop a weekly routine and stick with it 5 days a week. When you go to work resist the candy sitting around on people's desks, bring fruits and vegetables to snack on, so you always have something to grab when you just want something to do or eat. She recommends that everyday you shoot for 5 fruits and vegetables. Trust me, when you're busy trying to fit in an apple, orange, carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli into each day you find it easier to turn down those 5 chocolate kisses that used to whisper sweet nothings into your ear. Soon you will notice you have more energy, better skin, and you can sleep better when you are replacing sweets with vitamin rich nutrients. Another good tip she suggests is besides drinking your morning coffee, drink water for every meal and in between meals. Don't drink any other caloric beverage the rest of the day, just for the 5 days a week. The best part is those other two days, the weekends when all the fun happens, you can have fun and treat yourself. Don't go overboard and know that when Monday comes you are back to The Daily Fix.