Imagine you are on a diet. Lets follow your thread of thoughts: 'don't think about food', 'I cannot eat that', 'I must try and like this, as it is one of the few things I am allowed to eat', 'I am really hungry, but I've already had my quota for the day'. And so it goes. You start to obsess about food, food is becoming the alpha and omega of your existence. Food is literally in the fore-lob of your brain. Now if my name is not 'Monkey' and there is no such thing as logic, ain't that the exact desire you are trying to avoid: to become obsessed with food?

So dieting is not the solution? If you focus on other aspects of your life you will allow food its rightful place in your life: a means of nurturing your body to carry on living a healthy life. Where to start? Start focusing on creating a healthy lifestyle, with healthy habits, ie like exercise. Going and watching that brainless Soapie after work does not help, neither does those ad-breaks that leaves you with just enough time to run to the fridge and stuff some convenient, comfort food down your pie-hole.

A diet is a temporary brainwash state you go into convincing yourself that 'even I can loose weight and look good'. But you cannot keep it up: it is too hard, it is too little, it is too damn short. Stop fooling yourself: the answer is not in the food. It is in the body that craves the food.

What's next? Look at your daily routine with a severe critical eye. How much evidence of discipline is there, is there any trace of healthy habits? Or is it extremely monotonous and boring and you are craving for some stimulation, maybe a hobby or two. Start with baby steps, discipline yourself by changing one day, even fortnightly versus weekly if you wish. Healthy habits does not have to mean gym or some kind of extreme sport where you challenge your body to the utmost, and sweat buckets. It can mean taking up yoga, salsa or pole-dancing classes focus on active fun that interests you.

And finally, the domino effect. Once you have an active, healthy lifestyle everything else falls into place. You have found outlets for your frustrations, stress and maybe creativity. You will start feeling enriched. You have shifted the emphasis of your daily routine (time) to variety and quality rather than monotony and quantity. And all of a sudden you have less time to think about FOOD. You are not eating with your head and emotions anymore, but listening to your body's needs. An active, busy and stimulated body craves a variety of healthy and nutritious food to keep it that way. Stop dieting. Increase healthy habits!

Learn more about this author, Sussa Bailey.
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