In the beginning.....

I have always hated the word "diet."  The only thing it ever made me think about was starving myself to lose weight and then gaining it back when I started eating normally again. I felt like I was living my life restricting myself on what I could and could not eat because I was always dieting to lose weight. 

Then I went to school for nutrition.  I learned that a diet isn't about restricting yourself and feeling hungry, a diet is your eating lifestyle.  Our eating habits are considered our diet not what we restrict ourselves from eating.  There are so many different ways of eating though.  I call these lifestyle diets.  These are the eating habits you pick up and use for life. 

Currently I am on a "see food" diet.  Basically whatever food I see I eat.  It is not a pretty thing and my waist would tend to agree!  So I decided I need to do something about it.  First step change the way I eat.  I want to get away from the "western diet", lots of processed foods, lots of sweets, and red meat.  I want to have a much healthier diet and cut out a lot of the foods I am eating now. 

My dilemma is how to get to that point.  There are so many different types of eating lifestyles that I don't even know where to begin, and if you ask someone they will instantly tell you what they like and what worked for them.  That is great, I am so happy it worked for you but that doesn't mean it will work for me.

So I came up with a plan.  I am going to choose 8-10 lifestyle diets and try them out for a few weeks.  I know I will not get the full result of the diet but I want to just see what it is like so I can compare them.  I am looking at several things when I try these diets. 

1. Is it easy to do? How much prep work is involved for each diet?  I have 3 children and a very busy household.  I don't always have the ability to spend a day grocery shopping and meal prepping.  Half the time I am lucky if I get a shower before 8 pm!  So I am looking for something that is easy on my time and doesn't really take me away from my family.

2. Is it expensive? I kind of feel that when ever you start something new there is going to be extra cost in the beginning.  Changing your diet is no different.  I know there will be specialty items and lots of fresh foods but I don't want to be breaking the bank with my grocery list.

3. Is it family friendly?  Are my kids going to eat this food?  I don't know about your kids but mine are picky and I don't cater to their wants.  I know these diets won't consist of peanut butter and jelly, and pizza but are the foods still ones that my children will eat?

4. Do I feel healthier?  I understand that I am only trying these diets for a short time but I believe you can feel results pretty quickly.  So I want to see if I will feel better, if I will lose weight, and if I feel less bloated.  

5. Do I like the diet?  This is a big one because if I don't like what I am doing or what I am eating I probably won't continue to do it.  This is a lifestyle change so I want to make sure I am in it for the long haul. 


Here is a list of the lifestyle diets I will be trying.  They may not go in this order but these are the ones that interest me.  I am not set on these 10 diets and am willing to try others if suggested but these were a few of the top diets.

• Mediterranean diet
• Clean Eating
• Paleo
• DASH
• Vegetarian
• Vegan
• Mayo Clinic
• Weight Watchers-using information that was given to me.
• Flexitarian
• Volumetrics

At the beginning of each diet I will talk about what the diet is, create a weekly meal plan, create a grocery list, and come up with an overall game plan.  Throughout the two weeks that I am eating from each diet I will daily instagram my meals, this will be my food journal.  I will also be blogging and vlogging about my experiences.  I can't wait to get started and see the difference in my life. 

Join the diet debate.  Let me know the different diets you have tried and what you have liked.