After a month (or two, maybe even all year) of nonstop eating from Thanksgiving to Christmas and New Year, everyone ends up feeling just a little guilty. Which is exactly why many of us make food-related resolutions during the New Year.
Whether it was to eat healthier, exercise more, or become a vegan, paleolithic, fruitarian, cotton ball, we all make resolutions. Here are food resolutions that even if you didn’t already make, you can try committing yourself to now.
1) The Default
Most people opt for the classical “eat healthier and exercise more” option. It’s a pretty solid option for most people because it incorporates everything that your doctor and parents tell you to do, but never end up doing.
2) The Rebel – aka The No Diet
If you’re one of those people who don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions, or think that there’s no point in making one if you’ll end up failing at it in the end, then this one’s for you. Just YOLO, where you do you and be the rebel that you are. Here’s why maybe you shouldn’t go on a diet.
3) The MIND Diet
Purported to be one of the easiest and best diets to follow. The MIND diet is a mix two other great diets, Mediterranean and DASH diets, but highlights foods and nutrients that work to fight the risk of Alzheimer’s and promotes brain health. Perfect for students whose brains are fried from what feels like constant finals.
The Mind Diet aka the “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay,” emphasizes eating from 10 brain-healthy food groups: green leafy vegetables, all other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine.
Avoid foods from the five unhealthy groups: red meats, butter and stick margarine, cheeses, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food.
Aka just eat everything that is healthy for you and eat nothing unhealthy. Simple enough right?
4) Vegetarian/ Vegan/ Pescatarian
The classics. Nothing can go wrong in trying one of these diets on for size. I’ve always wanted to try doing one of these but my love for KBBQ won’t ever let me.
Starting out can be hard but once you get in the hang of it and move past the countless friends tempting you and teasing you are lunch and dinner times, especially if you’re vegan or vegetarian, but it will be worth it in the end.
5) Paleo
Aka the “caveman,” diet. Seems pretty crazy right? So many delicious foods that have been developed and refined through years of culture and stomach aches. Why go back to eating like a caveman?
The basic premise is that modern health problems like obesity, diabetes and heart disease are caused by civilization and modernization, so we should return to a simpler diet when such illnesses didn’t exist.
6) Fruitarian
The famous diet of the late and great Steve Jobs, whose fascination with fruitarianism supposedly inspired his company’s name. Similar to the Paleo diet except sans meat, proponents believe it to be the original diet of mankind and strive to not to kill anything, including plants. Supposedly, Leonardo da Vinci and Mahatma Gandhi followed the plan for six months in the early 1900s.
7) The Juice Cleanse
Ah, the infamous juicing craze that stormed social media and Instagram this year. The basis is to drink nothing but juices and liquids for 2-7 days depending on how intense you are and how much cleansing you need. The main goal is to lose weight and gain missed nutrients from fruits and veggies. Drink in moderation.
8) Ice Cream Cleanse
Now this is something I can get behind 1001%. In fact, I’ll probably start tomorrow and should have started a few years ago.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the traditional “ice cream,” like my beloved Ben & Jerry’s, that you’re thinking about. This ice cream diet was started by Kippy’s ice creams which are organic, raw, and coconut-based, and non-dairy, and is more of a “cleanse” than a diet.
People who have tried this cleanse actually lose weight instead of gaining it, surprise! However, scientists say it might not be that healthy for you in the long run. What else should you expect from a diet named ice cream diet?
9) Atkins Diet
A pretty well known and controversial diet, developed by Dr. Robert Atkins, this diet limits carb and sugar intake in order to compel the body to burn fat and protein to lose weight.
Grains and some legumes are a no-no, but eating more meats, eggs, shellfish and cheeses are A-ok. Experts worry about the increased consumption of saturated fats and cholesterol, as well as deficiencies in important nutrients or fiber.
Now if you’re just plain crazy, or bored, take a look at these crazy diets. *Warning: these diets are not condoned and probably should not be attempted at all*
There are things like the ice diet, cookie diet, cabbage soup, and baby food diet. What are people thinking of these days?…
Cotton ball Diet
This just sounds like a horror story/trapped-at-home-with-no-food story gone wrong. You eat up to five cotton balls dipped in orange juice, lemonade, or a smoothie in one sitting to make you feel full. Um no thanks, I’ll stick to cotton candy or try these healthy alternatives instead.
Baby Food Diet
Unless you’re a baby, and even then, you probably shouldn’t be eating baby food as a full grown adult. I guess maybe smoothies are like the adult version in a way. But don’t go stealing the proverbial “baby food” from a baby just to lose weight.
Anyways,
Whatever you choose, hopefully the safe and healthy options at the top, set some goals for yourself this year to work towards. It is always good to start with a plan and try to carry it out towards a healthier and more active you.
It helps to have friends and family join in so that you can help keep each other accountable. It’s also more fun to try and encourage one another or brag about how much healthier you are.
For now, I will stick to the same food diet I do every year – the real ice cream diet, with my friends Ben & Jerry, sitting on the couch watching Giada try to convince me that salads can be tasty and not evil.
But maybe I will try one of these, that MIND diet looks pretty promising, and let you know how it goes…