So many people struggle with their weight. People diet, deprive, binge and yo-yo. I've seen people go on extreme diets, severely limiting caloric intake and possibly compromising their health. Certainly not aiding long term weight loss, which is, of course, their goal. And we all know that being obese or very overweight puts us at risk of disease and shortened life span.

I am writing this because from time to time I hear women (and men, though they don't seem to care as much) struggle with their weight and diet. "Diet" doesn't mean restricted food and calories. "Diet" means what we live on for food and sustenance. I would love to see people throw the notion of "diets" out the window and instead refocus on feeding their bodies healthy food. 

I am not here to discuss "health food" or vegetarianism, raw diets, gluten free or whatever. Don't eat things you dislike or make you sick. However, I would like to espouse the theory of us going back to the good old days when we prepared food from scratch. We bought whole foods at the store: meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables and grains- and made meals from them. Throw out the notion of eating pre-packaged foods that are thrown in the microwave. When you prepare your food yourself you know exactly what ingredients are in it. 

You will never have to "diet" again. Retrain your way of thinking: instead of seeking out the comfort food that will fill you up and make you feel good, or worrying about cutting out carbs, instead focus on stuffing as much fresh produce down your gullet that you can every day. Colorful produce is full of the vitamins and antioxidants that our bodies need to fight disease. 

Don't deprive yourself of foods you love, just limit the unhealthy ones to 10% of your diet.
Cook your food in a healthy manner: grilling, baking or sauteing in olive oil or other healthy fats. Deep fried foods will not only clog your arteries, but also create acrylamides, a substance that may increase your risk of cancer. http://www.livestrong.com/article/440500-why-frying-food-is-unhealthy/
Trade in the Doritos for fresh or dried fruit and nuts. Try to eliminate sugar. After 10 days of detoxing off white flour and sugar your cravings will subside.
Don't drink your calories. Soda is just not good for you, diet or otherwise.
Move, move,  move. Yeah, you've heard it said before, now listen. Park far away from the store. Do isometric exercise while driving or sitting at your desk. Maximize your movements everyday, every little step adds up. Dance to the music. Dancing in your chair is great for your abs! Have sex.
Eat a well balanced diet. Eat high fiber, you burn more calories simply digesting it and it will boost your metabolism. High fiber foods have 2 grams or more of fiber per serving. 
Read your labels and ingredients. Look at the calories and fat and pay attention to the serving sizes.

Make your changes slowly. You didn't gain 50 lbs in 1 month so don't expect fast results. Let your taste buds change gradually, too. The more healthy food you eat, the more you will crave. 

Appreciate the beauty of the whole foods you buy and prepare. Eat the rainbow. Your dinner plate should not be full of brown and beige. Don't eat neutrals, eat color.