Fad Diet vs. Lifestyle Change

5,4,3,2 … 1 … HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The turkey has gobbled its last gobble, Santa has returned to the North Pole, and the majority of Americans have gained 5 pounds during the magical holiday season. But don’t be discouraged, for the Times Square Ball has dropped and 2013 is upon us! A new year has arrived. And with it comes that infamous New Year’s Resolution.

Roughly one-third of the U.S. population will make it their 2013 resolution to lose weight. The question is: How will YOU do it? Will you follow Jessica Simpson and Kirstie Alley down the magical Yellow Brick Road that leads to extreme yo-yo dieting? Will you model not only your fashion sense after the Kardashian sisters, but also your choice in weight loss supplements? Or, will those infamous late-night infomercials lead you to draining your bank account on the hottest new workout system that inevitably stays in its box tucked away in the closet?

No matter how you go about setting your mind to losing weight and getting in shape this year, there is one important question to ask yourself: Are you on a fad diet OR are you making a lifestyle change?

From forcing down apple cider vinegar every day to burn a little extra fat to gorging yourself on grapefruit for a week to fit into that itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini, we have all heard the stories of the “Miracle Weight Loss Solution” or the “Secret to Losing 10 Pounds in a Week.” The real question is: Are these weight-loss solutions healthy, or will you end up looking like Jabba the Hutt after you finally get enough of choking down vinegar and want to vomit at the sight of grapefruit?

Your skinny jeans may be fitting nicely lately, but the reality is that most of the inches lost using quick weight-loss solutions are heavily due to a reduction in water weight. And it just so happens that those inches miraculously reappear as soon as you decide to eat something other than crackers and water. Not to mention, that pesky little friend of yours—Mr. Metabolism—seems to go on a bit of a hiatus whenever your body feels like it is starving itself.

We may live in a fast-paced world where we expect weight loss to be on a par with the speed of our Internet connection, but the fact is that slow and steady wins the race—just ask the tortoise and the hare. There is no getting around the fact that exercise and healthy nutrition are the two main ingredients to looking like a Victoria’s Secret model … OK, bad example. But it is the key to a healthier you.

Living in South Louisiana, we are used to huge bowls of gumbo, overstuffed seafood po’boys and everything so delicious that just one serving is not an option. A main component in incorporating healthier lifestyle changes is portion control. It just so happens that portion control is a problem that plagues not only the good ol’ South, but also places where salt is pretty much the only spice that is used. There are a few easy ways to visually identify healthy serving sizes. For example, a typical serving size of meat should be about 3 ounces, or the size of a deck of cards. A standard serving of grains or raw vegetables is about the size of a tennis ball, or your fist.

We all remember our parents saying, “A happy plate is a clean plate!” The reality is that the average dinner plate is enormous. A great trick to making a happy, yet still healthy plate is to throw your gigantic dinner plates aside and eat your entrée on a salad plate. This little trick not only helps with portion control, but also psychologically makes you feel fuller while consuming less.

Whether your diet plans mimic the tortoise or the hare this new year, just remember: This is a fresh start. Make it a new you, too.

Emily Melancon, marketing consultant for The Weekly, has been known to hop down the Yellow Brick Road with the hare from time to time.