You've pitched all the Ding-Dongs, Doritos, and Double-Stuffed Oreos and have loaded up the crisper to the brim with fresh fruits and veggies. Your bread is whole wheat, the freezer is full of fresh fish and lean meats, and there's not a marshmallow shape to be found in your new selection of breakfast cereal. “Let the diet begin!” you proudly proclaim. Time out. Your child and your family are not dieting. Don't even let that word — or the emotional and cultural baggage that travels with it — pass your lips.

Why “Diet” Is a Four-Letter Word

Once upon a time, “diet” was an uncomplicated concept with a simple definition — the typical types of food and drink a person regularly consumed. Occasionally, we still use it in that context, but that's usually only when we're referring to nutritional requirements for a medical condition (such as a low-sodium diet for hypertension) or when talking about vegetarianism. Over the past century and a half, however, the American concept of “diet” has changed dramatically, implying food restrictions, deprivation, and limitations. In today's sense of the term, being “on a diet” means you are on a temporary quest for weight loss, not a long-range strategy for fitness through healthy food choices. That's exactly the type of thinking you want to discourage in your child or in your family.

So refrain from using the “D” word when discussing your nutritional goals, and talk in terms of healthy foods and meal planning for fitness only.

Balance

Dieting seems to be one of America's favorite pastimes. From ultra low-fat to ultra low-carb and everywhere in between, the fad food plan of the moment frequently hinges on first demonizing and then dramatically reducing one major dietary component. But the human body, and especially the body of a growing child, needs abundant and varied sources of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats to thrive. That's why attempting to eliminate any one nutrient or category of nutrients from your child's food choices is never a good idea. Maintaining balance, and focusing on phasing out refined and highly processed junk foods in favor of whole fruits, veggies, and grains, is a winning strategy that will pay off longer than all of the bestselling diets of the moment combined.

Still, tales of rapid weight loss and dramatic downsizing may have you wondering about some of the popular plans behind the stories, and whether there's anything to them. There's a reason that the fine print with each testimonial invariably states “results are not typical.” Yet beyond all the hype, there may be a thing or two to learn from the schools of thought behind today's most popular diet plans.