We Are What We Eat: The Keys to a Healthy Diet

Welcome 2016!, and how are those New Year resolutions going? We're still in the "honeymoon phase" and I'm sure many of you are still crushing most of the goals you set. But the fact that we set similar goals most, if not every year, means that our resolutions can lack staying power. We’ve all had more "new leaves" turn back than we’d like to admit We’ve all had more "new leaves" turn back than we’d like to admit, and the usual suspects have something to do with diet and exercise. These failures are understandable because physiological and nutritional health get sold to us as a shrink-wrapped, easy solution you can gulp down in one easy shake a day. It's obviously more complicated than that. It isn’t realistic to find time, instantly, in our busy schedules for exercise, purging and fasts, just because our calendars say January 1st. It really needs to be a life-style change, which sounds like a cliché because it's true. Consider the weight of that phrase. We have to change the way we look at life, priorities, dependencies, the future; all sorts of elements that go far beyond the ingredients on the wrapper of a candy bar.

There are some very successful approaches to this in book form. David Zinczenko’s Eat This Not That comes at the problem in disguise. As the title suggests it's very tactical and focuses on "in the moment" decision making up front. It's a great book full of alternatives to unhealthy foods we know and love. However, though Zinczenko breaks down calorie counts, dangerous ingredients and more in order to help steer you towards a healthier diet, he does so in tiny decisions, not huge concepts that doom us to failure on January 2nd. The power of the book is in the cumulative effect of these little decisions.

Another hit diet book that really comes at re-thinking our diet from the lifestyle angle is Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman’s Skinny Bitch. Putting resolutions aside, it's a very funny read; a no-nonsense romp full of attitude and sass, packed with really great dieting advice. My dad and I both really enjoyed this, not just sister and mom. It contains tons of advice about health and how to get the body you want (just don’t expect it to hold your hand.)

There are some uniquely successful books that approach our well-being by concentrating on things other than food. In Your Body’s Many Cries For Water by Fereydoon Batmanghelidj outlines that eating right isn’t the only facet to good nutrition. In fact, staying hydrated can fight off many adverse health conditions like, asthma, arthritis, fatigue and more. Hydration is a great way to fix the base on which to build a healthy, well-fed body.

Each of these titles share a few common threads. The road to health doesn't have to be unpleasant...The road to health doesn't have to be unpleasant, but there is no short cut. Also, there are some big changes you can make, before you get to the food that passes your lips that will set you up for dietary success. Bookmark this blog, come back and read it again in 2017 and tell me how you did.

Read more by Serge Cruise