Find What Works for You

In today's society there are many different diet plans available and lots of opinions on what is healthy and what is not. I will give my opinion (I do have lots of them), but I am not here to advocate for one or the other. I am here to say, figure out what works for you.

There are some things that just about everybody agrees on. First, everybody should be eating more vegetables. I know that some people are picky and will say that they don't like vegetables, but I say you can always find a way to increase your intake. My husband is particular about his vegetables. He will only eat raw veggies with ranch dressing (with one exception). Now, I grimace a little about the ranch dressing, but at least he will eat the veggies. His exception is Brussels sprouts. We like them sauteed with onion, bacon, and butter. The other thing that I have done is to put some boiled veggies in the blender and use the resulting mush in the place of tomato sauce in things like chili. There is some debate about the nutritional value of boiled veggies, but if you are using the water that you boiled them in you should be getting what you need.

Second, reduce your intake of refined sugar. I have never heard anybody say that white table sugar is perfectly healthy for you and you can include it in you health plan. Some plans, like "The Paleo Solution" by Robb Wolf, allow natural sweeteners like honey, agave, etc. Some plans will tell you that the artificial sweeteners are okay. The point is that nobody has anything good to say about straight up sugar.

Third, drink more water. I have trouble with this one. I prefer tea (I drink it straight unsweetened) and orange juice. I have noticed however that if I do drink more water I tend to do better, even on the days that I have cheated on my diet.

So, beyond these three things, how do you know whose advice to take? I know people who will only do the three things listed above and have great success. I will just say, you people frustrate me. I wish that was all that I had to do. I have found, however, that grain is not my friend. I personally try to follow The Paleo Solution, with some modifications. For instance, the strict plan doesn't allow dairy, but I still eat cheese and drink milk. I am obese, with a pre-diabetic condition and major pain issues. The elimination of grain and processed food from my diet lessened the pain, severely inhibited the amount of sugar and carbohydrates I was eating, and actually helped me lose weight. This particular plan was recommended to me by a doctor who follows it himself. I highly suggest that you check it out.

This is the really the only plan that I actually have any sort of knowledge about. There is another popular book out there called "The Skinny Rules" by Bob Harper. I have some family members who are having some success with this. The thing is, that I don't believe that there is one thing out there that works for everybody. God made us all unique. It might take some trial and error, but figuring out what works for your health needs is step one to living life to its fullest.

P.S. The recipes that I post will be geared toward The Paleo Diet, but hopefully will work on any diet plan with very little adjustment.