→You recently watched a documentary and you are convinced vegan is the right diet for you.
→You've been following the recent health and fitness trends on social media and you are convinced that carbs are evil and keto is the way to go.
→You are ready, more than ever before, to get your diet under control and to get yourself back into good health. Starting tomorrow, you will eliminate all dairy, gluten, sugar, sodium and processed food.
If you are considering a change in your diet, you are not alone. Whether it's for weight loss, body composition changes, health, self-confidence or mental well-being, you may feel that a significant change in your diet is exactly what you need right now in your life.
Unfortunantly, a healthy and well-balanced diet is not something that can be rushed. For long term success, quick fix diets are not the answer. In such a food and body obsessed society, dietary extremism seems like the norm. Radical, overnight changes often stem from misleading pseudo-scientific claims and empty promises. At the cost of your health, well-being, time, energy and money, I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions before starting a new diet.
- Is this diet practical for my current lifestyle, health needs and activity regime?
- Does this diet fit within my food, health and athletic ideologies?
- Am I choosing this diet for health/medical/ethical reasons?
- Am I choosing this diet because it is popular/trendy and/or I need a quick fix?
- Do I need to seek nutritional assistance from a dietitian before making changes to my diet to ensure I do things correctly so that I don't negatively affect my health/performance?
- Can I realistically maintain and committ to this style of eating for the next 6 months?
- What changes will I need to make to my lifestyle to make this a sustainable style of eating so that it doesn't negatively impact my health and/or performance?
- How will this diet impact my social life, family, relationships, work/career, physical abilities and/or mental well-being?
- Does this diet negatively impact the environment/planet?
- Is there well-supported scientific research and long-term studies to prove that this diet is effective, safe and health promoting in the long-term?
- How will the "off limit food list" impact my physical, mental and emotional well-being?
- What aspects of this diet will help me with my unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits (ex. emotional eating, overeating, poor sleep habits, don't like to cook, etc).
- Is there a chance that I will become fixated with this style of eating and risk an unhealthy, obsessive relationship with food?