What is a diet?

Before we talk about reasons to diet, it is essential that we define what a diet really is. The diet industry wants you to equate the word diet with two things: weight and a product or method. And, while we have seen a small shift in perspective from pure weight loss as a goal to health and weight loss as mutual goals, there still is an apparent lack of attention paid to health as the goal of dieting.

So, what really is a diet? A diet is simply what you eat and how you eat it. Everyday you are technically on a diet. You know this because when your health practitioner asks about your "diet", he or she is not asking you what diet you are on, he or she is asking you what and (sometimes) how you are eating so they can assess if your eating lifestyle is affecting your overall health.

A good diet is one that provides you with a way to reach your optimal health levels. It provides you with more than weight control and it is a way to ensure long-term health, such as resistance to disease, prevention of premature aging and a strong body. Each of us has a responsibility to ourselves to look at who we are as an individual and figure out what we need from our diets to be healthy.

The "Weight" Issue

The number one reason people choose to eat in a particular way (i.e. "dieting") is to manipulate their weight. Most people assume that means to lose weight, but this is not always the case. In fact, one critical step that is often missed by many dieters is assessing the different "weights" that compose your body and how each can be manipulated.

For example, fitness enthusiasts and sports enthusiasts often see their body not as a single weight measure, but as a "composition". They measure both their muscle weight and their fat weight, convert into an overall body composition ratio and then tailor their diet and exercise habits to achieve the ultimate ratio for their particular lifestyle.

This line of thinking should not be limited to enthusiasts. All of us need to start viewing our bodies as made up of more than "weight" and pay it the respect of understanding its variable composition. For example, you have two women who are each five feet six inches tall and who each weigh 165lbs. According to a simple assessment of weight, these women would be considered slightly "overweight". However, if you were to take each individual woman and look at her body composition, you would see a different picture. Woman A, does strength training and cardiovascular exercises 5 times a week. She eats a diet that is intended to help maximize her physical performance and reduce the storage of fat in her body. Her muscle to fat ratio is 80/20. Conventional measurements of weight alone say this woman is overweight. More appropriate methods say this woman body composition, diet and health are optimal and that no weight loss is necessary.

Woman B on the other hand registers a muscle to fat ratio of 60/40. She rarely participates in regular exercise and does not maximize her diet for any particular health goals. This woman would be a candidate for "weight loss". But, here is where we need to work away from the diet industry standards. It is true that she needs to lose weight. But she also needs to gain some! This woman needs to lose fat weight and gain muscle weight. The process of both directs her towards more permanent weight and body composition stabilization.

From here forward, think of "weight" as an umbrella description that is shorthand for fat mass, muscle mass, organ mass and fluid mass. It is not a single number, but a compilation of numbers, two of which can be directly influenced by adopting a specific dietary approach.

Why "Diet"?

Here are some common reasons to adopt a particular eating lifestyle:

• Lose fat
• Convert muscle mass
• Increase physical performance
• Prevent or manage disease
• Improve superficial (e.g. skin, hair) appearance
• Religious, ethical or personal reasons
• Specific sports training
• Improve mental and emotional health
• Increase physical and mental energy
• Reduce severity and frequency of digestive problems and food allergies

Diets are numerous and multifaceted. More than likely you identified with one or more of the reasons to diet listed above. It is important, that before you choose to adopt a particular diet, you review your priorities and reasoning for choosing a particular diet. Build your eating lifestyle around what you want to accomplish and start tracking your success. This is an important step that many people forget. It is important to document your successes and failures as well as the changes that take place in your body over time. We here at Nutrispot built our HYPERLINK http://www.nutrispot.com/takeatour.html Nutrition/Exercise/Health/Allergy Trackers to help you accomplish this.