Overweight or Tofu

60 pounds overweight or eating nothing but tofu again. Some people say that any diet works if you work it – if you don’t cheat, if you follow the guidelines exactly, etc. I disagree. I do not want to even try the “all air” diet or the “all grapefruit” diet. I doubt they’re healthy for me. Nor do I want to take up the McDonald’s challenge as depicted in a recent documentary, for reasons I’m not going to go into, just in case their lawyers read this. The real problem with diets is that they work only for as long as you are on them, and then they stop working when you stop doing.

There’s some middle ground between “I’ll eat everything in sight” and “I’ll eat only this very strict and regimented program”. Give yourself permission to eat whatever you want – but stop eating when you’re full. If you don’t know what full feels like, experiment. Why not? You’re going to eat anyway, and what’s a diet, really, except an experiment someone else suggested to you?

Yes, red meat is worse for you than tofu when it comes to fat content. Does that mean you should have tofu instead of red meat? Not if you don’t like tofu. Which I don’t. I don’t eat it. I also eat very little red meat. However, if I want to eat red meat, I do. If I want to eat ice cream, I do. But I also pay close attention to what I really want and what’s convenient. Sure, drive by fast food is convenient, but when I stop and really think about it, about how I feel afterwards, about what the food tastes like when compared to home made, it’s not always my first choice.

I also make healthy stuff as convenient as possible. It’s better for me to eat the skins on carrots. I know this. It’s cheaper for me to buy carrots by the bunch rather than buy the skinned baby carrots. But you know what? I don’t eat carrots by the bunch. I do eat baby carrots. They’re easy and convenient. Do I get as many vitamins and nutrients as I would if I ate “adult” carrots? Nope, but I get more than if I didn’t eat carrots at all.

I buy frozen foods that are healthier for me than other frozen foods. That way, when I don’t feel like cooking, I can just grab something from the freezer and make it quick. I have access to plenty of marinade recipes. I use bottled marinade. Why? Because I know me. I know I’m not going to make home made marinade. I don’t like cooking that much. But, I do enjoy making a quick stir fry, which is something I can do with a bottled marinade. Or mix it into burgers. Or mix it into some otherwise plain rice. I use white rice. Why? Because it’s easier than brown rice. I also like the taste better. Does that mean that I’m not eating healthy? No, because I do use this rice in making easier healthy dishes than I would if I tried to force myself into using brown rice. I wouldn’t use the brown rice, just like I don’t use that half a bag of beans sitting in my cabinet because I don’t like the taste. Would eating beans be healthier for me than eating turkey, yes. But eating turkey is better for me than eating red meat, and I will eat turkey. I don’t care for beans – at least not those.

You don’t have to eat everything that’s bad for you, but you don’t have to deny yourself everything you want. There is compromise everywhere, a middle ground that you can reach. Some people may taunt you when you order a diet coke with your fast food burger. Screw them. Little things add up. Make small adjustments, and if the jerks say “I don’t see a difference”, remind yourself you’re not doing it for them. You’re doing it for you right now and you in the future, and that’s what matters. You.