Like this:

Everyone is on a diet, it seems.  It’s an annual ritual for most Americans to start a diet the minute after the New Year’s Eve kiss and the dropping of the ball in Times Square.

Nothing wrong with a diet, per se, but why is it so hard for everyone to keep up the good resolve and actually lose the weight and get fit?

Here’s what I think.  Diets often put us off balance.  We don’t plan for our food.  We get hungry and irritable.  We set goals that are too high.  We don’t plan for a plateau.  We don’t know that diets are only part of the equation.

I’m a runner – marathons and more.  Last summer I did a 50 mile run.  For most people, that’s just nuts.  For me, it’s a must.

As a runner, though, I have to pay a lot of attention to nutrition or my body will shut down.  And, along the way I’ve discovered that balance is the most important thing.  So, now I have protein, I have carbs and I have lots of liquids.  Lots of water, because my brain needs water as do the rest of my systems.

There’s something about carbs that can be very comforting.  Our bodies like the feel of carbs and the energy that we can absorb.  But, like everything, balance is the key.

So, if you’re officially on a diet this month, look at curbing your carbs rather than cutting them completely.  There are lots of ways to do that, but none better than low-carb flatbreads that can be filled with great roasted veggies, cheeses, roasted red-peppers for awesome flavor, wonderful herbs and spices, a little EVOO and balsamic and your tastebuds, and your body, will love you.  It’s easy, it’s simple…love those carbs…a little at a time.

Here’s to your fitness in 2009!

Ed Mafoud, www.damascusbakery.com

Soundoff about your diet and send me a comment…

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