The dieting industry is notorious for great marketing schemes. Their cut-calorie approach or restrictive calorie dieting has been a staple in our society for decades. You don't even have to change what you eat, just the amount. How is it possible to eat the same foods that got you to where you are and truly believe that it will be a permanent fix? To be successful with permanent weight loss or better health, you must create new habits, bottom line.

So what's so wrong with the traditional dieting approach?

Have you been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes? Have been told to cut down on fats and eat lots of healthy fruits, vegetables and whole grains? What if I told you that approach is a recipe for continued health problems, not only with diabetes, but for heart disease as well? Skeptical? Then keep reading.

Did you know you can completely control your diabetes if you know what to eat? Let’s take a look at what type of diet you should be following to keep your blood sugar within normal ranges without any medication.

With Type 2 Diabetes (once known as adult onset or non- insulin dependent diabetes) your body is resistant to the effects of insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into your cells — or your body doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain a normal glucose level. If left untreated, the consequences of Type 2 Diabetes can be life-threatening.

Not only is today the day after Thanksgiving (which gives me SO much content for a blog) but it is also the first blog I am writing for this SUPER COOL website that I have been working toward for YEARS! I have decided there are a few things I need to share with you, about me, before we begin.

• I am going to write on whatever topic I feel like writing on including personal experience, events from the day, suggestions from you, fun things I've cooked, seasonal ideas, controversial wellness/food/diet topics and anything else that comes to mind.
• I'm going to do my best to share ME with YOU.
• I'll never lie to you.
• I may be hard on you.
• I will do my best to help you in any way I can.
• I hope to inspire you, educate you, be there for you and make you laugh.

I'm sure there are other things I should tell you right now, but this is all I can think of:) at the moment.

I want to mention one more thing before I get into this evening's "words of wisdom" and that is...BeWellCooking.com is like NOTHING you have, or will ever, experience. We're working on the final details and the site will become more and more live over the next weeks. Trust me (I'll ask you to do that a lot) when I say that I wouldn't have agreed to be part of this if it wasn't going to be the very best idea for a food and wellness-based website. There are SO many out there and I refuse to get lost in the mix so prepare yourself to be amazed!

OK...on to some serious thoughts.

I have been doing a lot of Holiday related speaking over the last four weeks. It IS that time of year so it's to be expected. I've been opening my presentations with a question and I want to ask you the same. "How many pounds does the average American gain between now and January 1?" You've heard this statistic a million times so go ahead and answer...5, 7, 9...maybe even 10, right? That's what "they" have been saying. Well, guess what? "They" are wrong.

I want to tell you a secret. Our diets (more specifically our weekends) have been getting so bad that the actual statistic is 1 pound. Yep...1 stinking pound. If you ask me, gaining one pound is almost an accident. Drink enough water and you'll gain a pound. Eat too much salty food and you may gain a pound. Miss out on your "morning ritual" and you could gain a pound. You see, what I'm telling you is that a normal weekend, these days, is a weight gain and the holidays aren't that much more of an indulgence any longer.

We, as Americans, need to put things into perspective and buckle down. We need to let go of the excuses and realize that our lives...more importantly...our HEALTH is worth the effort. We need to be reminded not only when someone we love passes away but DAILY that life is too short. We need to pay more attention to how we treat ourselves both physically and mentally and let me say...FOOD impacts BOTH of those things every time we decide what it is we are going to eat.

The statistic you want to be true, the one that says it's OK to gain 5-10 pounds over the Holiday's because "that's what is expected of you" is a LIE. It is not a statistic but a built in excuse to feel less bad when the scale reflects not only a regular weekend of indulgence but EXTREME HOLIDAY indulgence. It is not a statistic but a safety net so you feel less guilty IF it happens. It is not real. It is not what you SHOULD, NEED or HAVE TO DO. It is not what you think.

This is your life to live, your life to enjoy and these are your choices to make...Happy Thanksgiving!
Shana