When people ask me why I eat the way I do (low carb), I tell them because I am on a low-carb/high-fat diet called Keto. They ask me when I plan on finishing it, and they often ask what my goals are before I can “Eat normally again.” These people miss the point of what a diet is. It’s not temporary; you have to adopt one that you can sustain for the rest of your life.

I eat a Paleo/Keto mix that works well for me. It’s allowed me to maintain my weight very close to my final goal, and while it fluctuates up and down a little, it’s within a range I can manage and that I am comfortable with. It also allows me to eat enough to get filled up, keeps me from getting cravings between meals, and more importantly, is filled with delicious foods that I enjoy.

Most people look at diets as something you do to lose weight. It typically involves restricting something or things from their regular eating patterns, and doing so for a short time until they reach some goal. Then, these people go back to eating the way they always ate (which is the way they got into the problem they are trying to solve: being overweight). What they fail to understand is that if you go back to your old way of eating, the results you get from that long-term diet is the same as it was when you did it before: you will gain weight. Oh, and more will come back than you actually lost.

I try to explain to people that my diet is a life-long commitment, and that I will be eating the way I do for the rest of my life. It’s basically the same rules as a Whole30 but a little relaxed from time to time within Paleo or Keto guidelines. The best part of me is that it works, it tastes good, and it doesn’t leave me wanting more or hungry. Diets are supposed to define what you eat, not the way you eat temporarily.