So Long 2020

Getting rid of the shape that I have created for myself following a year in quarantine is not going to be the easiest of tasks. I look back on 2020 and wonder why I was not more productive in the health and wellness area of my life. I mean, I had almost an entire year to get back into the beachbody scene. I could have been hanging out with Shawn T or Tony Horton and running around saying “heyyyy” when I look in the mirror. But noooo, not me. Why would I want to waste almost an entire year off of work by killing myself with some Insanity or P90x? I hadn’t been off of work this much since 2013 when I decided to step back to part time. I did focus on my fitness back then though. Like, 3-5 hours a day focussed. But not in 2020. This was going to be the year of fun. Now here I sit, 20 pounds heavier, contemplating 2021 and another year of getting back into those size 9 jeans that I spent way too much money on. So to start, and probably the most important part of getting back into those jeans, I need to dump the sugar and put something less toxic in my body. Here is a look at the top 5 diets that I found trending today.

1. The Mediteranian diet - Now this doesn't surprise me. The Mediternian diet is a way of eating healthy without knowing you are dieting. I personally had eaten like this while trying to lose weight from 2009 - 2016, without even knowing it was a diet. I only knew that I couldn’t eat more than 1600 calories per day (according to my trainer) and the food on this list ensured that I would stay well under that number while feeling full. The food on this list includes fish and chicken (your white meats), along with pretty much all of the veggies you can eat. This is where my love affair with brussel sprouts started.

2. Flexitarian diet and DASH diets - These two are tied for second but I have to be honest, I have never heard of either. I had to look them up on Google and I found that the Flexitarian diet is basically being a flexible vegetarian and a lot like the Mediteranian diet but you only eat meat when the urge hits. The Dash diet is focussed on your health and lowers you overall numbers, like blood pressure and cholesterol.

3. Weight Watchers - If I have to explain this one then you really have been living under a rock and need to get more acquainted with Google.

4. MIND Diet - This diet is a combination of the Mediteranian diet and the DASH diet. Notice a common theme here?

5. Ornish, Vegetarian, and Nordic Diets - These three tied for 5th place and are basically the same thing. These diets eliminate either meat or processed foods. I'm assuming that replacing both can really add some health benefits if you want to go the rest of your life having to give up one or the other. I personally don’t like being told no so these are not the diets for me.

So after all of my research, I have determined that what I need to be doing is to stop being lazy and get back to the Mediteranian style of eating. It's a pretty easy one to follow and you can cook or not cook your food any way you want... except fried, don't do fried.