Having a good diet is extremely important, but it shouldn’t be confused with starvation. Dieting doesn’t mean that you deprive yourself to lose weight or eat only a certain type of food for x amount of days until you’re the perfect size. The term diet actually refers to your eating habits, which is why you hear “bad diet” when you’re not eating healthy and a “good diet” when you’re health conscious. It’s not a matter of which method will shed the most pounds in the shortest time.

My reason for choosing this topic is because I personally have struggled with maintaining a good diet. Contrary to the many advertisements in our media today—-showing petite women as a figure of beauty—-starvation is not a good method to lose weight. I am a reformed anorexic. During my high school years I’d convinced myself that I wasn’t skinny enough, sexy enough, or good enough to be appreciated by any of the boys in my school. Now that I’m an adult I realize that skin and bones is not an appealing look--at all.

Beginning a good diet doesn’t only apply to those who want to shed a few pounds. Being health conscious is important for everyone. You don't even have to deprive yourself of you favorite snacks, but you should limit how much you eat of those snacks and try to replace them with healthier, yummy substitutes.

So, how about a few basic tips to get you started? When you’re staring intently at the beautiful art in our community and your stomach starts to grumble, instead of grabbing that Twinkie and coca-cola try to get fruit and water instead. Or if you’re not big on water, some juice.

There are so many delicious, healthy snacks you can enjoy while browsing deviantART, here are a few examples:

Apples
Pears
Bananas
Oranges
Grapes
Strawberries
Beef Jerky
Carrots
Celery
Almonds

These will take two hands, so it may be slightly more difficult to browse and snack.
Pistachios
Yogurt
Lean Meat Sandwich (i.e. Turkey,


Hand-in-hand with good nutrition is proper hydration. While browsing artwork can be extremely captivating, depriving yourself of your daily fluid intake can be devastating. Have you ever noticed that groggy feeling you get after browsing for a long time and not drinking anything? It’s not only exhaustion from browsing, but your body is slowing down to conserve the water it has left.

The human body’s weight is made up of approximately 75% water—this percentage varies by age, weight, and gender. Every exhale, sneeze, cough, and restroom break depletes that precious water, so it’s important that you replenish your fluids. On average you should drink 8 glasses of water a day to combat the various methods that your water gets expelled. Depending on your other activities you may need more than that, but 8 glasses is a decent starting point.

For more accurate water intake requirements based on your activity and diet, you should speak to a medical professional who's able to evaluate you. This article is intended to make you aware, not give you all the answers. If there’s nothing else you take away from my articles, please remember that “quick diets” are not good for you. There is no such thing as a healthy, quick way to lose weight.

Now for a little art from around the community to help this all sink in:
Yummy Healthy Snacks


Foods you should try to limit--not eliminate--in your diet


Expressive images about personal appearances:
(You're as beautiful as you allow yourself to be.)


I hope that this article will help you defeat devious discomfort. And that you're able to turn the focus onto yourself so you're able to be healthy and hydrated to continue creating your beautiful art for years to comes. Wishing you all the very best.


-LK

Where I got my facts for this article:
_{Courtesy of Google Search Engine}
Dehydration Article by Dr. Benjamin Wedro, MD, FAAEM
Water: How much should you drink every day? by Mayo Clinic Staff

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