The "Durbin Diet"

Random Thought:

As I was grading assignments for one of my nutrition courses, I had a pseudo-revelation.  For the assignment, students have to research fad diets and provide descriptions and evaluations.  Many of those diets give a detailed plan for food including what to eat, how much, and when to do it.  I got to thinking.

What if I made my own diet plan and patented it?  

In many diet plans, followers are given sample diets to follow.  For instance, in the Scarsdale diet, a sample day could include 1/2 grapefruit and toast breakfast, tuna and a salad for lunch, and roasted lamb and a salad for dinner.  http://www.everydiet.org/diet/scarsdale-diet

The problem is that most "fad" diets don't meet recommendations made by the USDA.  Each person has a different recommendation based on height, weight, gender, age, and activity level.  Most fad diets are one size fits all for lack of a better word and aren't individualized like they should be.  No diet works for everyone.

Furthermore, I HATE the word diet lol.  The word in and of itself insinuates short-term change.  Everyone gains the weight back after they fall off the band wagon regardless of which diet they follow and then quit.  The key isn't picking the diet per say; it's sticking with the healthy change.  That's why I like the words "lifestyle change" better than diet because it's easier to deduce that you have to eat healthy and not stop if you want to keep the weight off.

What if I were to create sample diet plans according to USDA standards? 

Too late.  It's already been done lol.  If you go to http://www.choosemyplate.gov/myplate/index.aspx, you can type in your information and see what healthy recommendations are for you.  If you don't want to think for yourself and need people to tell you what to eat, here you go: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/Sample_Menus-2000Cals-DG2010.pdf.  There's a sample of 3 day's worth of food that meet guidelines for a 2000 Calorie diet.

I've had people tell me things like "I'm eating cottage cheese because my diet tells me to, but I hate cottage cheese".  Really?  Honestly, if you don't like a food, then don't eat it.  Find foods that you enjoy, and you're bound to stick with your healthy changes - plain and simple.

So, what's the Durbin Diet?

1. Find out what your recommendations are for food groups and Calories from choosemyplate.gov
2. Eat foods you like to eat that fit into your recommendations in the right amounts
3. Don't give up your favorite unhealthy foods, but watch your portion sizes
4. Don't stop. lol Even if you have a few bad days, don't allow yourself to quit altogether

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it?  Then why isn't everyone healthy?

• Time
• Effort
• Planning
• Consciousness
• Sometimes more money (but let's not get into that)

If life were simple, we'd all be healthy.  But then again, I'd be out of a job, so I probably shouldn't wish for such things :)