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The good mood diet

I opened my computer this morning as I was drinking my coffee and came across this headline on MSN.com (my homepage).
The Good Mood Diet
I decided to go on my 25 mile ride before diving into this article but as I was riding my bike I thought about what the article might contain, without reading it.
Here are my thoughts:
Certain foods make you feel good.
Other foods make you feel bad.
If you eat these foods you will feel good.
If you eat those foods you will feel bad.


Does there really need to be a diet plan that assures that you will be in a good mood by following this plan? Or maybe, just maybe, we could call it "healthy eating" and just eliminate the word diet all together.
There is no reason to stick to a plan (aka DIET) when trying to lose weight, get in a better mood, or try to tone up. Eating is a way of life people! Get with it!
Ok, so I'm not mad. I don't like to get upset, angry or furious when I read things on the internet or hear about them on the news. Obviously, researchers are out there studying days and nights to come out with something ground breaking that people will believe that the "new thing" will work for them. Once day coffee is good for you, the next day it will cause cancer and then the next day coffee will prevent cancer?
I believe that we must prioritize food. I have said this over and over again but eating shouldn't be complicated. There was a time that I measured food, weighed food, read food labels for carbohydrate grams and compared calories....of HEALTHY food. That doesn't seem right. Now I want to look at food labels for the best food to help me with my training, the best food to keep me satisfied at a meal, the best food to give me vitamins and minerals and good nutrients and most of all, the best food to keep me in a good mood.
It is no surprise that if you don't eat for a few hours, your blood sugar will drop. You will get moody, shaky and/or extremely hungry. Same thing will happen if you "bonk" during training. Food should not been seen as good or bad in terms of weight gain or weight loss. If you eat this you will gain weight, if you eat this you will lose weight. It is all about controlling what you eat so that your hormones are under control, your brain chemicals are controlled and most of all your strong muscles are properly fueled.
I just don't believe that a diet plan will put you in a good mood. After reading through the article, it plainly states that eating protein will help with mood and eating every few hours (a carb snack before and after meals) will also help with mood. I don't have a PhD but I could have told ya that...and I do!
I'm not upset at the author my any means. I am just concerned about the many people out there who struggle with weight, energy levels or depression due to poor eating habits from confusing articles, books and studies.
If I could suggest one thing about eating healthy it would be to prioritize the best food so that you can finish a meal feeling good about what you ate. Ultimately, eating healthy will put you in a great mood.