Exercise for Cancer Patients by Virgil Anderson

Welcome to the blog and this post is a special one. We have a guest blog by Virgil Anderson who has some insight on how exercise can be helpful for people who are battling various forms of cancer. Thank you to Virgil for offering this article to my blog and I hope everyone can learn from the information offered.



Should Cancer Patients Be Exercising?

Being sick means you need rest, right? Yes, rest is important, but researchers are finding more evidence all the time that everyone, including people fighting a difficult cancer like mesothelioma, can benefit from physical activity. A cancer patient may not be training to run a marathon, but guided workouts with limitations in mind can provide a whole range of benefits.

Exercise Boosts Energy and Beats Fatigue
One very important reason to include exercise as a component of overall wellness is to battle fatigue. Cancer patients are vulnerable to severe fatigue that makes it challenging even to get out of bed in the morning. While exercise may be the last thing on a patient’s mind, getting in some physical activity can help reduce this fatigue and provide a surge of energy. In fact, in some studies, cancer patients exercising regularly experienced up to 50 percent less fatigue than patients not exercising.
Cancer Patients who Exercise Have Longer Life Expectancies
As with healthy people who work out regularly and are physically fit, cancer patients can benefit from exercise by increasing their lifespans. One study found that breast cancer patients who worked out for at least two and a half hours per week were at a 67 percent lower risk of dying than similar patients who did not exercise. Other studies have found similar results and found that exercise also helps reduce the risk of a recurrence of cancer after remission.

Physical Activity Boost Mood
Cancer patients are understandably susceptible to depression, anxiety, stress, and other negative emotions, which can become overwhelming and difficult to live with. Exercise has long been known to have a positive effect on mood, reducing feelings of anxiety, depression, and stress, and helping people to feel more relaxed. Cancer patients can use exercise to help mitigate these negative feelings and as a healthful way to cope with them.
Exercise Helps Maintain Fitness and Weight
Regular physical activity keeps bodies strong and helps people maintain good cardiovascular fitness, while also helping people stick with a healthy weight. For cancer patients all of these are especially important. Being sick with cancer can cause fitness and muscles to deteriorate. Some patients may even gain weight. Regular exercise can help reduce the loss of fitness or build more strength, which in turn helps patients recover better. Maintaining a healthy weight has health benefits, but also helps cancer patients feel better about their bodies.
Exercise is not something to be taken lightly for someone living with cancer. If you have cancer, talk to your doctor before trying an exercise routine. You need to know what your limitations are. Once you do get started with fitness, consider working with a trainer who can help you meet your goals, safely.

Getting in physical activity is now recommended for most cancer patients as a way to improve overall health, to increase mobility, to boost mood, to fight fatigue, and to generally feel better about living with this illness. Fitness is important for everyone, but thanks to research we now know just how crucial it is for those of us living with cancer.
- Virgil Anderson

The Reveal aka My In Progress Photo Update

A very long overdue post. It's not a final one, just a progress report, but I've wanted to share some of the success I've had in the last year+. I waited because of reasons involving family, who hadn't seen in in over a year and didn't know the changes I'd made. Now, however, I am posting online again. Just hadn't posted on the blog. This is also the first time I'm posting pictures of myself on here. May have more in the future but not very often. For other pics, check out my instagram account @fiction2fitness where there is me, other stuff and of course, cats.


Starting off with the picture that I took back in September 2014 to use for my updates like this one. I started on the little journey weighing in at 211 lbs (not my heighest), which was pretty heavy for being only 4'11.5" in height. The picture wasn't right away, so the weight had dropped a little to 209. I tended to fluctuate over the years between 205 and 220, so it wasn't unusual but I did make the decision to try and eat a bit better and add some exercise to my life around that time. And yes, there is a lot of laundry soap because of sale prices plus coupon. ;-)

I also put together a progress photo from two family events. The first image was taken back in 2011 at my older stepsister's wedding in DC. I weighed around 220 and the dress was a size 22, though was more of a size 20 and had issues with my capri pants being too big on that trip. We had a great time out there. What I remember most is dancing with my grandma (grandpa passed away a few years beforehand) both slow and fast songs, and hoping she didn't really know what some of the lyrics meant. It was fun. May not like some of the photos of me but the memories are better. Things were a little different in 2015 for younger stepsister's wedding, but not by much. We were in Colorado at a small place, in November with the ceremony outside (it was not that cold, at least). Being around family was the best and we had a good time. My dress was a size large from the junior's department and I still don't like pictures taken of me. Either way, time with family was great, I was just a little smaller.

And this is just me from the gym with my struggling posing attempt (might work on that in 2016, lol). Over a year later, from 211 to around 140 lbs. I've fluctuated between 136 and 140 since before the wedding to now, varying during the months. However, in those months I also managed to lose inches in waist, hips, and chest during as I measure once a month.

Summary: That is me. Still working hard and gyming in 2016. My stomach still sticks out some but I'm making slow progress. I'm working on getting into the 120's and will go from there once I make it as I'm taking the slow route. Have some plans for fun things, new adventures, maybe some filming and of course writing.

Stay tuned for more blog posts about both fiction and fitness.

A Weight Goal Achieved

Yep, I made it to one of my goals and am dedicating a post to a little scale victory.


I don't know how many of the followers will remember, but back in May of 2013, I took part in a health blog hop and talked about weight goals. Link to Blog Post


That was over 2 years ago. My goal at the end of that post was to make it to 160, which was still obese for my height. However, it wasn't a final, that is the lowest I could ever attempt, type of goal, which I had to clarify in the comments. It was an interim goal since the lowest I had been as an adult was 179 and it was hard to picture lower.

I now weigh even less than that goal.

I reached 160 on April 18th. As I got closer to that weight, my goal changed to then make it to 150 because that marked the line at my height for overweight instead of obese.

On July 20th, I reached that goal too. In fact, I now am at 143 and still slowly losing weight. Have a ways to go in order to reach what is deemed a healthy weight for my height, but I can see it more now. When I weighed over 200 it was hard to imagine even weighing 150 let alone much less. As I make my way down this path, I see things a bit more now. I don't have a final goal range just yet, and I may even one day do a bulk (purposefully gain weight at a very very slow pace in order to gain muscle), but for now, things are going well. I will reach the year mark from when I decided to be more active in a couple of weeks and have lost over 65 lbs. Even better than that is the things I can do and the activities I want to try doing in the future.

I can jog 4 miles and hope to soon increase that number. I also can squat 160, deadlift over 180 and bench 100 (all in lbs for either 3 to 5 reps).

I still have many goals, which still includes novel writing, as it's not about the end but the journey it takes to get there.

Goals for Fall and Beyond

My goals for now and all the way up to summer 2015.


Summer is over here. Yep, it's now September and so much has happened over the past few months, yet I forgot to blog a good part of the time. Oops. Anyways, here is a quick run down and then fall goals type of blog post for you to enjoy.

I turned 30 recently, which ended up being tame and not as stress inducing as I thought it might be. My mom came to visit, so we went to the beach on my birthday. It was a very nice day too, so we managed to get to the ocean after struggled attempts finding a place that would actually be easy to get to from the parking spot. Also saw a light house, got some nice ocean pictures, looked around little shops, got salt water taffy and ate fresh sea food by the ocean. Very nice day overall. Didn't panic or anything even though I'm not where I'd thought I'd be at 30, but I'm at a good point to make some changes and work towards my life goals.

On that end, I have many fall and winter projects to work on and need to get to busy to accomplish them.

Organize:
Apartment and belongings - My mess is mostly just unorganized stuff. So need to get it all organized and put in appropriate locations: paperwork, clothes, etc. Get rid of some, donate some and put in better spots for the rest. Would make cleaning easier too.
Pictures - Cat ones need scanned and combined onto cds. I also need to write on the backs of all the other pictures I have that are mine for when I can't remember who and such anymore.

Write:
Finish novel draft
Write a couple stories
Query letter

Edit:
TT needs the final edit done
Standing Ground needs started with the edit
Adult novels need rewrite or edits, but those will wait for other decisions

Blog:
Post in blogs
I have adsense on one so that needs content posted at least a few times a month. I need to write several posts in advance, have like a blog day or two a month, then schedule them so other days I can comment on people's blogs.

World Build:
Need to prepare for NaNoWriMo by world building Epic Fantasy.

Exercise:
Walk 2 miles once a week, starting out, and increase activity from there.

Health:
Watch calories consumed and track on myfitnesspal
Lose 10 lbs by NaNoWriMo (aka November)  this is starting at 211, which was what I had on the myfitnesspal

I weigh 209 now. So, my basic goal is to get to 200 soon. My overall goal for summer 2015 is to lose 30 lbs, which would equate to weighing almost 180. It's not an ending point, but a good reach that I can visualize and from there and I can visualize the next steps. Maybe even some day a swim suit. We'll see. ;-)


November will, of course, be NaNoWriMo, so I'll write at least 100,000 words that month. But I've also got work and trying to make more money, along with crafts I want to do, painting and sewing, etc. So much to do this fall/winter.


What about you? Are you ready for Fall/Spring?

Meal Planning

Speaking of planning, since last post had to do with my summer novel plans, now might be a good time to talk about food.

I have been thinking about this for a while. Okay, by while I mean nearly all year long off and on. It's something that I think is a good idea, but haven't taken the time needed in order to execute said plan. That is: I want to plan my meals in advance. I have been trying to eat healthier but those many days where for a meal, I'm sitting around going "what should I eat" make it difficult because it's usually times where I'm tired or limited on time so don't wanna make the effort to cook then clean, plus my food supplies are on the minimal side at this time. The last minute need food can be difficult on the healthy eating cause there aren't always good options present and so much tasty not so healthy foods are quick.

Thus the idea that I should plan meals out in advance. While I like sometimes to have the option to mix things up, in the long run, it seems like having a plan would help.

I have been eating a little better this month, even though the scale hasn't changed. Drink water every day now, even though still drink a small soda most days. But I drink a few bottles of water each day, so that's good. Also, consuming more fruit and veggies than before. I would eat some veggies, that wasn't too bad, but I didn't really get much fruit. Earlier in the year, it was more like 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a month. So, that's a good increase, though I still eat a little too much candy and cheap, fast items that require just the microwave. But I'm working on it, so that's good. Hoping that if I keep going then some good results will show.

Anyways, back to the planning topic. I would like to plan ahead more but each time I say that, then I do nothing. I have notebooks, calendars and even a dry erase calendar. Plus, I would probably be able to budge better with a pre-planned set of meals. It's something I think I'm going to work on for the rest of summer, putting together plans ahead of time and just eating what is planned. It will take some determination and restraint, but that's the plan for now.


Do you plan meals ahead of time?

A Stall in Progress

This happens from time to time. I'll be really productive some months (crazy in others, like nanowrimo) but on the flip side of that, there will be weeks or a month where not much gets done. Everything just stalled for the past week or so. But that's okay.

Actually, part of the reason for my recent stall (no blogging, editing, writing, reading) was due to a cold. For the past week, all I've done is work, sleep, go through kleenex and now cough. That was all kinds of fun, let me tell you. *note: sarcasm*  So, that is my "excuse" for not getting much done lately. I felt up to nothing, not even reading a book. My daily writing went to over a week of 0 words per day. So, May is a slack month in progress wise. But now that I'm on the mend, I hope to make the second half at least somewhat productive.

I will admit, I don't feel that bad about not getting stuff done. Sure, it's a set back from some of my goals, like the editing, but at times things happen. Okay, I did feel a little discouraged seeing all those gray zeroes on my writing worksheet. But then I reminded myself that it's okay. I can still keep going and it's not the end of the world to miss a week of writing.

Sure, if things come up all the time and you don't find a way to work around them to get writing and such done, then it might become an issue. But an occasional set back, don't let it get you down. Things happen that get in the way of progress, projects can stall.

I also bring this up because I help moderate a writing web site and now there is a forum where Monday we post our goals for the week (5 days) and Friday we post the results. It's not many days, and some people get a bit ambitious. Honestly, I wish we did 7 day goals but that's a different story. Back to my point... Some people, when posting their results get very discouraged when they "fail" at what they had wanted to achieve. The post is a "woe is me" and "I'm so awful cause I didn't do what I wanted to do" types that start to get defeatist in tone. But try not to do that. I don't make many goals and some of them, I just don't achieve. Instead of getting discouraged, I just evaluate how things went, then figure out my next set of goals and keep moving forward.

This isn't just for writing either. Health and fitness comes with setbacks. Being sick affected how I ate and such for the whole week. Colds are tricky for weight too, for me. Cause I consumed mostly chicken noodle soup, orange juice and sprite, the scale shows a 2 lb loss. Which would be good but once I got back to eating regular food, I usually just gain in back in a few days. Because I can finally eat something besides soup. And it wasn't a healthy loss to being with because it's from eating only like 1000 calories a day and over half of it being liquid form. Plus, this stalls any exercise due to the fact that I slept when I wasn't at work.

Health, fitness, fiction, it all can stall from time to time. The question is what do you do after the stall to pick yourself up and get back to a level of productiveness.


Have you stalled on a project lately?
What do you do to get back into the swing of things?

Vegetable Options

See, I promised something not writing and here it is. Vegetables!

Okay, really this is partly cause I had some veggies in freezer, not well kept and didn't notice and got a tad sick from eating it... So, first thing is first. Take care of your vegetables properly. And just because they are frozen doesn't mean they last forever. Especially if bag is opened and not closed well while in the freezer for months.

But on to the rest of the topic. There are three main options when it comes to vegetables: fresh, frozen, canned. All three work in different ways and have different results to varying degrees, pending the vegetable. And my preference varies depending on said vegetable.


Fresh
The big one. Fresh, as you can imagine, is awesome and useable in so many ways. Can be eaten raw, barely cooked, cooked in many different methods, so much possible with this. However, you don't want to overbuy because you might end up wasting cause they don't last forever as shelf life varies. There are also some I just don't like in the uncooked form in general, while a few others I quite like raw or prefer to start off fresh before cooking. Brussel sprouts, while I have frozen bag in freezer, I prefer to start from raw and cook them. Broccolini is great when bought fresh. Also enjoy carrots, spinach, on rare occasion lettuce, and many other veggies when purchased fresh. And of course squash, mmmm squash. However, I am not the best at cooking right away nor do I grocery shop often in part to having very little money for food. So, I really like buying fresh but it doesn't always work out well at this time.

Frozen
This can be a good and often times affordable option. There are some small bags of frozen veggies available for under 1$ where I shop. They can be added to soups, casseroles and many other dishes too and last much longer than most fresh veggies will. If spending a bit more, like a few dollars, there are ones with sauces or recipe inspired available nowadays in many stores. Some taste better than others. I haven't had the best luck with frozen spinach. However, frozen broccoli, corn and such have been easy additions to use. Frozen green beans are okay but I prefer canned or fresh. Carrots are okay frozen, for stew and such but eh, I'm not big on reheat and eat from frozen but they are okay. But frozen is a great option minus my small amount of freezer space and keeps for longer, which is good. Next need to find other uses for them, sneak veggies in anything I can so I eat more.

Canned
Canned is another often affordable option. These can also be found in some places and sizes under 1 dollar and they have a rather long shelf life. They add well to soups and casseroles but can also be heated up and consumed on their own. Some work out better than others. I'm more of a fan of canned green beans (french style cut in particular) than say eating a can of peas, but they are okay. I haven't tried all the canned ones. I see asparagus but it's usually more than the other veggies and I like fresh more anyways. Canned corn is okay but I'm not big on creamed corn. Carrots are okay but almost too soft yet I like starting fresh and getting them soft... I dunno. I have canned baby carrots, instead of slices. That will be interesting. So, in general I do kind like canned or jarred (don't see much jarring but if I had pickle stuff I'd try to make it like my great grandma's.


So there are a few options in the way of vegetation.

Do you have a preference?

Guest Post - Healthy Trails to You

Today we have a nice guest post from Mike Manning from mikemanningmusings.blogspot.com. 

He has health tips for people who travel. Enjoy.

Healthy Trails To You

Traveling can be fun and exciting, and it's often tempting to throw all of your cares out the window for the duration of your trip. However, if you decide to skip the healthy habits you've worked so hard to establish, you're not doing yourself any favors. If you're able to get around the minor inconveniences and disruptions in routine presented by travel, you should make every effort to maintain physical activity. Here are some ways to facilitate that.

Pick a Healthy Hotel

You can make things a lot easier on yourself by being choosy about your accommodations. A lot of hotels available today cater extensively to the health and fitness crowd. Most hotels now boast fully-stocked gyms, indoor jogging tracks or even fitness classes. Make sure to do some research before booking a hotel. On a recent trip to San Francisco I used a travel site/app called Gogobot in order to get a list of hotels in the San Francisco area that I could scroll through and see what amenities were offered. There is sure to be something for everyone. Before you book your reservations, find out about their menu as well. While many serve a free breakfast, not all of them have healthy options. If the hotel offers a reasonably healthy menu on top of their exercise facilities, you can save a lot of time and effort.

Portable Workout

If there are no ideal health-friendly hotels in your location or price range, then consider bringing your own gear along. Some basic, portable items like resistance bands, yoga mats and small dumbbells enable you to work out at any place and time that's convenient. They're also great for when you just don't feel like leaving the hotel room. Items from around the room, such as chairs and tables, can also be useful.

En Route

If you're driving to your destination, you'll likely feel the need to get out and stretch occasionally. If you see any roadside rest stops, these can be a perfect fitness opportunity. Many of them possess hiking trails that run through appealing woodland areas. Besides getting some much-needed exercise, you'll also be able to enjoy the fresh air and beauty of nature.

Take Advantage of the Airport

With more airports recognizing the health needs of their customers, some have made impressive additions. San Francisco International's Zen room and Minneapolis International's walking paths provide those waiting for their flight with a healthful way to spend their time and pent-up energy. To get the most out of your workout, consider hauling your luggage with you.

Pack Some Good Shoes

To many people, the best piece of fitness equipment to have is a pair of dependable running or walking shoes. Even if there are no fitness facilities in your hotel and no hiking paths nearby, you can always use the sidewalk or a bike path. A twenty minute walk or a ten minute jog keeps your body and mind in good working order, plus it keeps the extra weight at bay.

Thank you Mike for the information.

How do you stay healthy when traveling?

Get Healthy Bloghop

Howdy and welcome to my post for the Get Healthy bloghop. Make sure to check out the other entries:   blog hop link.

I had a hard time coming up with a topic, I must admit. It's partly because right now my weight isn't going down. I've been distracted with car troubles and money lacking so even with the walking and such not seeing much on the scale, but that's okay. I'm still working on getting things set in my life and it will fluctuate. So, I needed to pull deep to try and figure what to talk about for the bloghop on something that has affected my health in a positive way. And here it is...

I have found that it helps me to understand what equals a realistic goal.

Sounds easy enough but it's not always so. I used to be in Weight Watchers and lost 40 lbs there but it was hard in a way as I never made a final goal weight. We are supposed to do that near the beginning but even a year later I didn't really have a final goal. Trouble is that for my height (4'11.5") the top amount allowed (the higher weight for during older age) is listed in the lower 120's according to BMI, which is what WW follows. I just could never visualize myself at 125 even, let alone less than that. Not being able to visualize the goal made it difficult to see as possible. I have a pretty good imagination but it just wasn't working for me.

So, I have figured out some goals that are realistic for me. I'm not a marathon runner. I'm not a size 2 type of gal. And I think that's fine.

I am a fiction writer with fitness goals that will help with my fantasy writing.
I would like to be in a size 12-14.
I have a goal of weighing 160.

And I feel better.


What about you?

W is for Water

(image link)

Water is a good step when on the road to healthier living. One of the first suggestions people make when asked about steps towards losing weight or general health, often times that one suggestion is to drink more water.

Benefits of Water:
1. maintain body fluid levels - since our bodies are about 60% water. The liquid/molecules are used in many different processes such as digestion, circulation, nutrient transportation, and many more.
2. calorie control - replacing calorie filled drinks with a glass of water is an easy way to cut back on a daily intake.
3. energizes muscles - without liquid balance the cells in the muscle start to shrivel and leads to muscle fatigue. Drinking water when active, during and after exercising in particular, is recommended.
There are other benefits too. Check out this source for more information: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/6-reasons-to-drink-water

How much to drink per day:
These numbers are still debated even though there are some general recommendations. The numbers also vary based on the individual, along with different factors like location, humidity, gender and such. I still remember the 8 glasses with each one that is 8 oz per day. Other recommendations include 9 to 13.5 glasses of water a day.
http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm


I try to drink water but some days I don't get enough. But I'm going to try again in May to get enough per day.

Do you drink water?
How much do you drink on average?

V is for Visitor

Visitor (aka Guest) Post by Melanie Bowen

http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/melanie/ 

 Social Interaction and Exercise Helps Cancer Patients

The U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Health Institutes reviews how a person is physically and emotionally affected by cancer, both during treatment stages and during remission stages.  In an online publication, the organization addresses the benefits exercise can have on people who are facing side effects of the disease and treatments for the disease.  Some of the most beneficial results exercise provides to people going through treatments for cancer include increased muscle use, stronger bones, healthier circulation, more energy and decreases in pain and inflammation.

Does Exercise Really Help Cancer Patients?

Because exercise can seem like such a simple solution to bring about so many positive health results for cancer patients, many people are skeptical if it really works.  Numerous universities and cancer research centers have found time and time again that physical activity does indeed play a significant role in helping to alleviate pain and improve a cancer patient’s health in a variety of ways.  The amount of results that are experienced will be greatly dependent on the stage and type of cancer a person has, the person’s current physical shape, how often the individual is able to exercise, and how rigorous the cancer treatments the person is going through.  

One thing that has been proven repeatedly in people who have cancer and who have chosen to adapt to a physical activity lifestyle is many of these people have experienced positive results almost right from the start.  The benefits of exercising while a person has cancer include being able to sleep better at night because the oxygen if flowing better in the blood stream due to exercise and higher energy levels.  When more energy is gained, fatigue is reduced and the person is able to gain enough physical strengthen to continue with important treatments that are vital in defeating the disease.

Combine Exercise and Socialization for Maximum Benefits

Socializing while exercising also provides intense emotional relief from mental and physical stress a person may experience when going through cancer treatment stages.  Socializing with family members or friends while visiting a park, playing badminton, or going for a walk on the beach, helps fight against depressed mood swings that numerous cancer patient’s experience.  Mingling with friends while getting exercise is also valuable to the person so he can unwind and connect with loved ones while having fun. So whether the battle is with breast cancer or mesothelioma, exercise is an essential part of the process and should be started as soon as possible.

- Thank you Melanie Bowen for the information. I appreciate the guest post.

H is for Health

An important topic on varying levels. We have our own health to worry about, those close to us and even our characters health to take into consideration.

(http://hr.utmb.edu/ehp/)

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. It is sometimes viewed as the general condition of mind and body. Thus we all are striving to have a healthy life to one degree or another due to its impact on our daily lives.

I'm trying to live a healthier life. It's a hard adjustment because I have to agree with some comedian I don't remembers name, Taco Bell is delicious. I don't even care what is in the things they call food, it is just easy and tasty. And mmmm candy. I've done a pretty good job at cutting out soda but drink it on occasion, now to cut down the rest of the unhealthy stuff.

I need to work on my character's health too because while you don't want to add things to the story that doesn't move the plot forward, at the same time, if it's a long story over time how can someone not have a health issue at all during that time? Like really? Plus a little health issue can add conflict. Make it believable though and consistent. Don't have someone break an arm and then a few days later voila, it's all better because you accidentally forgot about the broken arm in reality. Unless it was by magic but even then, string it along a little. Make things complicated for the character so they have to struggle.

We take into consideration our health, so why not our characters too.

Sources involving health:
http://www.health.gov/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/HealthyLivingIndex/HealthyLivingIndex
http://www.naturalnews.com/health.html
http://www.health.com/health/


Do you use health as part of the character's conflicts?
What about your own health are you focused on?

D is for Diet

Yep, I said it. Diet!

It has become a scorned word these days as diet programs work to be called lifestyle changes in order to keep up with the preferred lingo as they try to peddle their plans to the masses, but is it necessary? Does diet really mean something that one does for short time then quits or fails? I'm not so sure. Why is it so bad to be on a diet? Let's look at the word and consider it.

Definition of Diet

Noun
1. The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.
2. A legislative assembly in certain countries.
Verb
 1. Restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight.
Synonym
nutrition - nourishment - food - regimen - dietary

The verb is the one we most know. It's the one people talk about all the time. It's what makes people buy different products, join groups, or eat celery. Noun 1 is the second most common, I'd say, nowadays and I am certain Noun 2 is the least common. I hadn't even really known that little fact until I did my research for this post.

The term diet has become negative in connotation to a degree because of the number of products and programs people start, try, quit, retry and quit again all in the name of dieting to lose weight. They fail and become an obsession for many. Here is a list of diet plans by US News, (though as for quality of diet even though it lists them as the best I don't guarantee or recommend any of them), to see check out the link: http://health.usnews.com/best-diet.


However, if you think about it, the word diet will always relate to our food consumption in the noun context. Even those not losing weight have a diet, the food they eat on a regular basis.

But here is my question: Does the verb have to pertain to only the restriction or type of food used to lose weight? Can't a diet contain the basic foods consumed to maintain loss? Seems like that would work considering the noun version, but I'm not the decider of the dictionary definitions.

My Point

Diet doesn't have to be that dirty word, something we quit and start in this ever persistent battle to lose weight. Diet has other purposes and can in fact just relate to the food we eat on a regular basis, whether healthy or not and the approach we take to the type of diet we maintain is more important than whether we use the terms "diet" or "lifestyle change".

Do you diet?
What is your diet like?