I`m doing good...i`ve posted something every day for four days! wow :) I`m impressed.
Well, today i`m going to talk about another experience I had here in the US: dieting. Of course I`ve been on a diet before, but not the way I did here.
When I lived in Brazil (or even in Italy), when I used to day I was on a diet, that meant that I was trying not to eat foods that were too fattening: I wouldn`t eat chocolate, sweets, fried food, Mc Donald`s, and this sort of things. But I would keep eating other things, such as cheese, vegetables, fruits, yogurts, etc. I`ve never really followed a diet, not a very strict one, at least. Once I remember Alex and I were trying to lose some weight by eating more healthy food and eating more frequently (every three hours)...it was sort of a diet, but rather than telling you what to eat, they would give a list of things not to eat and some examples of what would constitute a good meal.
Americans' experience with diets seem to e quite different. As I wrote in my last post, I had a month of South Beach diet with my American host mom. The South Beach Diet is pretty popular here and is also known (elsewhere) as the protein diet. This diet though, doesn`t tell you to eat a whole chicken in a weekend, and is particularly attentive to fibers, vitamins and vegetables in general. I have to say that, if you really stick to it, this diet works. In fact, you can eat fats (the ones that are good for you), proteins (turkey, chicken, eggs and cheese, mostly) and salads (any kind with lots of lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, but no carrots). You eat practically no carbs at all!! According to the author of the diet, this first phase (that should last two weeks) is meant to detoxify your body from cars, especially the ad ones that would be responsible for your gaining weight. I have to tell you, when I started the diet, I thought: that shouldn`t be hard! You just have to stick to what the book says (and you have exactly what you have to eat every day for 15 days). The first days are hard as you start feeling weak because you are not eaitng any "energizing" food. Then you really get used to it, and you really stop eating carbs. And, most important, you don`t have any desire of eating them.
When I started the diet, I did good for the first three weeks (phase 1 - the hardest- and a week of phase 2) but then I started opening too many exceptions in the diet and I finally gave up. Now I`m trying just to e more mindful about what and how much I eat. I try to eat only when i`m hungry. I like eating my meal in peace, nobody rushing me. Finally, I try to prefer fruits and vegetables to sweets, cookies and pastas. I think eating healthy is already good :) You don`t need these crazy diets if you just try to be mpre conscious aou the food you consume.
Well, today i`m going to talk about another experience I had here in the US: dieting. Of course I`ve been on a diet before, but not the way I did here.
When I lived in Brazil (or even in Italy), when I used to day I was on a diet, that meant that I was trying not to eat foods that were too fattening: I wouldn`t eat chocolate, sweets, fried food, Mc Donald`s, and this sort of things. But I would keep eating other things, such as cheese, vegetables, fruits, yogurts, etc. I`ve never really followed a diet, not a very strict one, at least. Once I remember Alex and I were trying to lose some weight by eating more healthy food and eating more frequently (every three hours)...it was sort of a diet, but rather than telling you what to eat, they would give a list of things not to eat and some examples of what would constitute a good meal.
Americans' experience with diets seem to e quite different. As I wrote in my last post, I had a month of South Beach diet with my American host mom. The South Beach Diet is pretty popular here and is also known (elsewhere) as the protein diet. This diet though, doesn`t tell you to eat a whole chicken in a weekend, and is particularly attentive to fibers, vitamins and vegetables in general. I have to say that, if you really stick to it, this diet works. In fact, you can eat fats (the ones that are good for you), proteins (turkey, chicken, eggs and cheese, mostly) and salads (any kind with lots of lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, but no carrots). You eat practically no carbs at all!! According to the author of the diet, this first phase (that should last two weeks) is meant to detoxify your body from cars, especially the ad ones that would be responsible for your gaining weight. I have to tell you, when I started the diet, I thought: that shouldn`t be hard! You just have to stick to what the book says (and you have exactly what you have to eat every day for 15 days). The first days are hard as you start feeling weak because you are not eaitng any "energizing" food. Then you really get used to it, and you really stop eating carbs. And, most important, you don`t have any desire of eating them.
When I started the diet, I did good for the first three weeks (phase 1 - the hardest- and a week of phase 2) but then I started opening too many exceptions in the diet and I finally gave up. Now I`m trying just to e more mindful about what and how much I eat. I try to eat only when i`m hungry. I like eating my meal in peace, nobody rushing me. Finally, I try to prefer fruits and vegetables to sweets, cookies and pastas. I think eating healthy is already good :) You don`t need these crazy diets if you just try to be mpre conscious aou the food you consume.
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