![The (Diet) Story of My Life [Oh, It’s Tuesday]](https://fierceandnerdy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/scale.jpg)
The (Diet) Story of My Life [Oh, It’s Tuesday]
I remember one of the guys I dated when I first moved to California expressing surprise that I ate so much processed and fast food. Most California girls, he insinuated, did not eat that way.
Being fresh out of grad school – where I’d maintained a daily eating regiment of a large cup of coffee for breakfast, Hostess cupcakes for lunch, and a pizza slice for dinner — I sniffed that I wasn’t like these West Coasters with their (pwah!) healthy food and their (eye roll)( eschewing of trans fats. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted it, however I wanted it.
A little over a year later, I went on my first diet. There were a few reasons for this: it’s hard to skate roller derby if you’re only eating junk food — you need those good carbs, my formerly rock-hard metabolism started to peter out in the form of fifteen added pounds, and after a year of transfatless food that cost more than $5 per order, I began to honestly enjoy eating cleaner food. You can really taste the difference, and really there’s no easier or yummier place to eat well than California.
So after the “Roller Derby” diet, came the unintentional “Break-Up” diet, then a year later, the “Oh No, I’m in Love, and Have Gained So Much Weight” diet, then the “Wedding Dress” diet, then the desperate “Having Trouble Conceiving Diet,” then the three-month “Must Lose this Baby Weight” diet, then the much more reasonable year-long “Seriously, Let’s Shed This Baby Weight/Book Tour” diet.
Now, I’m on a new-new diet, one that could be described as the “Enh, Why Not Shave Off Ten More Pounds” diet or the “Because I Always Go on a Diet After Our Summer Vacation” diet or the “God, I Must Be a True Californian, Because I Obviously Don’t Know How Not to Diet” diet.”
In any case, it’s bizarre to think that I’ve been on one diet or another since 2004 and even weirder that these diets do a pretty good job of summing up my post-grad school life so far. But I’m throwing this back to you. Do your diets tell the story of your adult life as mine do? If so, tell us the (diet) story of your life in the comments.
featured image credit: alternakive
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I feel like dieting is the story of my life until I hired a dietician. Then it became clear to me how bad diets are and how good it is to think of how you grew up and how to change habits. So much easier said than done, but when I go to the grocery store now my go to items are so different. I’d say 60% of my cart is fresh produce, than things like lean proteins and quinoa or beans. And the biggest thing that the dietician taught me was to not be scared of fat. Olive oil yes! same with Avocados. Portion control is a whole other story…
we are opposite. these days i’m all about the lean proteins, quinoa, or beans. I’ve pretty much given up on eating my vegetables. There are so few that I like. My mom didn’t really cook much growing up, so just eating stuff that doesn’t come out of a box, can, or package at home is half the battle. Also, exercise. I’m hoping to make this last diet a way of life as opposed to a diet-diet.
Aah yes…the grad school diet! I know it well. I knew it was wrong so I countered with new exercise regimes (enter yoga, jogging, express gym classes). Then I started my new “big girl” job and spent/d more time sitting on the computer (or in meetings) than anything. Time passes at an insane pace so coffee, peanut M&Ms, and cheez-its are quick and within reach to prevent passing out! Then I realized that the “within reach” diet doesn’t make it easy to maintain a pant size so I started the exercise-to-counter routine again. Recently, I decided to maximize my technology and have fallen in love with two sites/apps: Runkeeper and Myfitnesspal. They have provided some accountability (for over/under eating and exercise goals) and constant companionship. The past few months have gone pretty well.
starting my first big girl job is what got me in trouble, too. and i’m all about the apps. i’m going to try yours, and meanwhile I can’t rave enough about the tap and track, which allows me to easily monitor my calorie intake, even when I’m on the road.
F diets!! It’s a lifestyle change that finally changed my life :) I was a yo-yo dieter forever and as of 2 months ago I’ve made “lifestyle changes” to my diet (i.e. what I put in my body).
I’ve never felt better… cut out meat, coffee, lessened alcoholic and sugar intake, replaced ‘junk foods’ with ‘healthy junk foods’ – I’m telling you… it CAN be done. (Read ‘Skinny Bitch’ – it wasn’t the end-all-be-all, but it helped me a lot)
yes, i’m trying to think of this latest diet as more of a lifestyle change than anything else. I can’t cut out meat, b/c my MIL does all the cooking, and being a mom doesn’t work without coffee, but I have cut sugar all together. I do string cheese as opposed to luna bars, and I only have 4 oz of red wine a night, unless it’s a Saturday, in which case, I can eat whatever I want. I’m hoping to make these eating habits a permanent change in my life as opposed to only keep them until I lose another 10 pounds.