Small Steps

by Marian Klatt

I don't know about you, but I was somewhat relieved to hear the death knell of the Atkins diet. A life without carbohydrates never made sense to me, and I have been baffled by the number of normally sane people who decided they wanted to live this way. The Atkins Corporation filed for bankruptcy a few weeks ago, and that can mean only one thing--yet another useless diet fad has passed.

I know it won't end completely. I understand that some people truly have changed their lifestyles for the better by eating these high-protein, low/no-carb diets. The vast majority, however, have merely further clogged their arteries and will gain back more weight than they lost.

I can only hope that this will help lead people--especially women--to realize that fad diets simply don't work. When I say this to people on strict diets, they often roll their eyes at my thin self, and say, "Sure, but you don't have to worry about it." They're right, I don't have to worry about it, but here's the secret they don't get: neither do they. And neither do you. Here's my worry-free advice for massive life change:

Be just a little more patient with your body and its so-called flaws. Your hips, your thighs, and your belly are all part of the experience of womanhood. Look at the ideal body types of Renaissance nudes and ask yourself if they could be appreciated by today's fashion market. Ask yourself if they are any less beautiful. Think of your own body as a work of art.

Eat just a little more nutritious food. Sure, throwing out all your junk food this weekend would be a healthy life decision, but it's also difficult to maintain such grand inspirations for betterment. Try making small changes instead, like replacing one bag of chips with a favorite fruit or vegetable (mangoes, anyone?). Or try switching from white bread to wheat. Imagine, if you make just one healthy change every month, your diet will be completely revitalized in a year.

Exercise just a little bit more. Take a walk one day a week. Ask about trial classes at a martial arts center. A lot of my friends are hooked on Dance Dance Revolution, a video game that makes you get up and move while you play. You don't have to commit to an intense fitness routine to add more physical activity to your life. The more various the activities you try, the more likely you are to find what feels good for your body and mind, the more likely you are to keep movement in your everyday life--and the more likely you are to see changes in your body that won't vanish with the end of the next diet fad.

Commit to doing just a little. It can change everything.

The Author

Marian Klatt is an aspiring freelance writer, an aspiring electrician, an aspiring personal organizer, and an aspiring sailboat bum. In practical matters, she works as a full-time nanny while she takes conversational Italian, the very last class she must finish before receiving that lovely piece of parchment.