A Few Thoughts about Dieting

A new year has started and just like every other year, numerous people have made the resolution to go on a diet and lose weight. Dieting is difficult because it’s a change of life-style, not just something you do for a while and then forget about. My purpose in writing today is to mention a few things that you may wish to consider.

After brushing their teeth most people don’t want to eat and get their teeth full of food again. So, why not make this a part of your diet plan? Whenever you feel the temptation to eat, why not try brushing your teeth instead? That nice clean feeling in your mouth just may discourage consuming those not-so-necessary calories. I mentioned this idea to my dentist and he thought that it was a great idea. Of course, being a dentist, what else would he say?

I don’t know if tooth brushing is the reason, but obesity is far less prevalent in the east than in the west, especially in the United States. Many researchers have studied diets in Asia and come up with all sorts of explanations. Is it the oils that they use? Is it the vegetables? Is it the seasonings that they use? Is it, is it, is it…

Well, I too have studied dietary customs in Asia and come to a very different conclusion. I didn’t focus on what they eat, instead, I thought about HOW they eat, namely…CHOPSTICKS! Have you ever tried eating with chopsticks?  It might be a nice gesture when dining in an Asian restaurant, but try eating that way all of the time. No wonder they stay so slim! I’ve tried it, but within minutes I toss them over my shoulder and grab my fork. So, if you want pizza, cut it into small pieces and grab your chopsticks. Hamburgers? Cut them up too. Chopsticks might be the answer for you.

The variety of foods available to us is another problem. Consider a buffet for example. You may not want to eat any more, but then you see an entirely different dish and suddenly you’re eating once again. The more variety we have, the more we tend to eat. Our ancestors ate meat, bread, some butter, eggs, onions, potatoes, and so forth. Have you ever been watching TV and suddenly have a craving for boiled carrots and potatoes? The variety of foods to which we are accustomed is a blessing…and a curse.

If you wish to make this work for you, eliminate the variety of foods you have. You might try eating the same thing every day, for every meal until you simply can’t do it anymore.

“The amount of food we eat is inversely proportional to the effort required to consume it”.

~Albert Einstein

OK, OK, he didn’t say that I just made that up, but it is true. Convenience makes it too easy to eat too much.  It’s very easy to go to the kitchen and grab a bag of snacks, or go to the freezer and get some ice cream, but how much would we eat if every time we wanted to eat we had to chop, slice or cook it first? That’s why we eat more peanuts when they come from a jar than from a bag where we have to first remove them from the shell. 

One final note. According to the CDC, about 13.2% of American adults take anti-depressants with women being 2.5 times as likely to being prescribed them as men. Furthermore, the usage of anti-depressants has increased 35% in the last 6 years, and since 2020 usage by young adults and teenagers has increased 64%. I mention this because studies have shown that these drugs may cause weight gain. So if these drugs (which are combinations of chemicals) can cause weight gain, what about all of the flavor enhancers and artificial ingredients in our food? Everything on this planet is made of the same 118 elements, including food and poison. Maybe additives and preservatives are also making us gain weight? Has anybody looked into this possibility?

It's something to think about.