One of my awesome clients Lesley gave me a really interesting article to read the other day from The Costco Connection. Yep, I didn’t know Costco had a magazine either.
The article was titled “Dieting versus healthy habits” by Dr. Sandra Aamodt. The main idea was questioning why doctors always recommend dieting for their patients when it has not been proven to improve health in the long term.
The most telling quote in the article is where Dr. Aamodt says, “For health, the most important habit is daily exercise. No matter how much people weigh, physical activity predicts better health. People who rarely get off the couch are more than twice as likely to die prematurely as people who exercise moderately, whether they are normal weight, overweight or obese.”
Two stats that stood out to me are: low fitness is responsible for 16-17% of deaths in the US. Obesity is responsible for 2-3% once fitness is factored out.
That’s not to say you should not watch what you eat. Healthy eating will make you look, feel, and perform better so it is always a good idea!
The main point is to choose a lifestyle change over a diet. It is a clue that diet has die right in the name!
Become more active more often. Ditch processed foods, practice portion control, and cook/prepare more whole foods rather than going on a diet.
