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Another day, another diet trend, right? After nearly 40 years, I wouldn’t exactly call the Atkins Diet a trend, but it is usually talked about like a gimmick diet, at least in my circles. I’ve had to shift my thinking just a tiny bit today after listening to the company’s nutritionist and eating some really good food from their new recipe book.

Before you accuse me of drinking the company “Kool-Aid,” let me tell you about my own eating, not dieting experiences. Last year around this same time, I felt like I had been hit by a Mac truck. I was physically worn down. Under a doctor’s supervision, I decided to do a detox eating plan. I’ll be the first to tell you I’d rather in-tox than de-tox. But all of my holiday eating and drinking had caught up with me and I felt like crap. I started with a disgusting shake mixture that wasn’t very successful in making me feel better. I later was put on a yeast free diet after an allergy test revealed some problems.

Do you know how much food I eat that contains some form of yeast? No? Well, it was a lot! I was determined and financially committed to the process so I stuck with it for about 6 weeks. I felt 100% better and lost some weight, which wasn’t my main goal. My skin also cleared up and amazingly enough, so did all of my sinus issues.

Of course, a long-term yeast-free diet isn’t sustainable, but I did learn a lot about my eating patterns and how certain foods make my body react. I’m like an addict when it comes to refined sugar. Once I start, I have a really hard time stopping. Too much bread not only makes me bloated, it also leaves me with puffy eyes and nasal congestion in next morning. Do I still eat sugar and bread? Yes. Do I eat as much as I once did? No.

What I learned today falls in line with what I’ve learned over the last 20 years of watching what I eat. You have to be aware of what you eat, why you eat and most importantly, how you feel after you eat and how your body responds to what you’ve fed it. If I want long term results, I have to change my eating habits and patterns. I’ve never been successful in trying a diet and then reverting back to my old eating habits. It doesn’t matter how much money you spend or how much time you spend working out. If you fall back and staring eating the same things, you’ll never see any long term results. And as you all know, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should consult your physician before starting any diet plan.

Read more about D.J.’s adventures in the Big Apple at www.djduckworthyoga.com/blog Follow her on twitter @mrsdjduckworth and on Facebook/DJ Cunningham Duckworth