The Lie of the Junk Food Diet -- with an Alternative

According to MSNBC and Allure, the junk food diet is taking off as a way to combat weight gain. Taking cues from the dieters who complain that it's just too hard to stick to a diet of fresh fruits and veggies, and that it's just too hard to make exercising a priority in this busy world, junk food dieters substitute the "bad" for the... chemical. Fake sugars and zero or low calorie items fill the supposed need for sweets. The theory is that people on the junk food diet will not sway from their diet, since it has enough good tasting stuff in it.

However, junk food is called that for a reason. Even with no calories, the artificial sweeteners can cause dieters to overeat. In part this is because they believe that they deserve some calories at the end of the day, since they saved everywhere else, but it's also because eating sweets makes your body demand more sweets. After my daughter was born, I struggled to lose the baby weight. It's still a struggle to keep the weight off. My metabolism, once quick, has slowed to a screeching halt. For me, eating sweets isn't an option. I've read too many studies on artificial sweeteners to make that route desirable. My taste buds also expose the lie: artificial sweeteners leave a nasty aftertaste that sugar just plain doesn't.

After some attempts at the old fashioned route, I stumbled upon a website that made everything wonderful. Sparkpeople.com touts itself as the every person's dieting website. With the idea that healthy eating really isn't that hard, the creators set up an entire website revolving around counting calories and mutual support. Using this website, I lost the last 10 pounds that just wouldn't go and now have goals to lose even more.

More than just a yo-yo diet, Sparkpeople's dieting resources really aren't that cutting edge. Portion control, don't eat on the run, make sure TO run (or at least walk) and don't consume more sweets than you're willing to work off. It sets up weekly diets to follow, which is useful when you first get started, and individualizes exercise plans based on when you want to exercise and how much you'd like to exercise. Broken into stages that allow users to move up from the couch and out into the world, Sparkpeople does what all healthy diets ought to do. Weight is lost gradually and the habits built keep the weight off permanently.

The other part that Sparkpeople relies upon that has worked so well for other diets, like Weight Watchers, is the notion that people are more likely to stick to a diet if they have support. Message boards and "Spark Team" abound, and there are many different options. If you're interested in running a marathon or if you're interested in gardening, there are people on Sparkpeople willing to keep you motivated, as long as you do the same for them.

Best of all for those of childbearing age, Sparkpeople's sister site, Babyfit.com, offers nutritional advice for pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers. The idea is pretty much the same, only the individualized plans take into account that people in those situations need more calories and pregnant women in the later stages can't do the same exercises as some others.