Why Try to Perfect Dietary Habits?

In the world of personal development, it seems as if one has not reached dietary enlightenment unless you eat a vegan, or even completely raw, diet. Steve Pavlina, an avid raw foodist, enjoys cracking jokes at those who happen to cook their food, eat anything processed, or consume animal products. I think the way he pushes this issue is a little overbearing, and frankly ineffective in convincing others to give it a shot.

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to improve my diet more, but I think I stalled because I assumed that taking things to the next level would require the adoption of rigid, inflexible habits that clash with those of my friends and family. But I recently realized that this is completely unnecessary.

Very few areas of personal growth are feasible or desirable to actually pursue perfection in, and I believe this is the case with dietary habits. Why should dietary routines be all-or-nothing? Instead, there’s nothing wrong with sticking to your desired diet the majority of the time, whatever that may be, but provide yourself with the leeway to bend the rules on occasion. In my mind, this makes much more practical sense than an uncompromising mindset.

Let’s assume that I’ve implemented a completely raw diet…

When my group of friends that I don’t often get to see meet up at Pizza Hut, I’m going to be there, my diet be damned. Standing on my soapbox and denouncing their inferior ways would accomplish nothing except drive them away, and even a polite refusal would strain the friendships. The ‘if they’re not congruent, dump ‘em’ attitude that Pavlina projects is not something I’m about to employ for something like eating habits. I’ll settle for a healthy, but not perfect diet, and enjoy a bit more freedom. Exceptions can sometimes be made without compromising values and beliefs.

A vegetarian or vegan who is so because of their moral values won’t be so keen on making exceptions, but in the above scenario they could simply eat cheese pizza, breadsticks, and/or salad bar and still enjoy the outing. As for someone who eats vegan or raw primarily for health reasons, there’s no need to forgo the social gathering for a night home alone eating a veggie platter. An occasional cheat meal won’t hurt anything (in fact, it may even be beneficial, according to some dieticians).

As with any lifestyle change, there may be some adjustments that take some getting used too with a different diet. When people like Pavlina write about dieting in such a narcissistic way, it may seem like social strain and separation is an inevitable part of this adjustment. This needn’t be the case if people respect the personal nature of dietary habits.

With that, I am now turning my attention to improving my diet further. I’ve read many accounts of people swearing by their decisions to give up dairy products, citing several noticeable health benefits. I don’t know of a general consensus in the health community, but even if there was, there’s only one way to settle this matter. I’ll have to do some experimenting for myself.

Today marks the start of a 30-day trial-until the first of July, the only beverage I will consume is water. I’ve cut my milk consumption quite a bit over the past few months, but this will still be an adjustment (especially because of chocolate milk- I love that stuff).

There is one minor exception, though. I’m a huge cereal fan; it’s not going anywhere. I’m going to allow myself one bowl of cereal each morning.

I’m going to replace the calories with fruits, veggies, and protein sources like nuts, eggs, and chicken, while obviously drinking more water. Normally when I’m craving a glass of milk, it’s my body wanting the liquid and the calories, so I’m going to have to be aware of this and make sure that I replace the milk with healthy calories.

One month from now I’ll be sure to give at least a quick update on how the trial went.

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