For many of us, dieting for health and fitness is one of the biggest, but most overlooked challenges we will face in our lifetime. That may sound like a pretty tall statement, think about it though. What shortens our lifespan? What consistently has made us sick, unhealthy and ended our lives early? Heart disease, cancer, diabetes and almost all forms of modern disease trace back to our dietary choices.I realize that pill is a little hard to swallow, but it is true, none the less. I was visiting with a friend a while back and the conversation went something like this; Fred: ” That was an excellent dinner, want some dessert”? Michelle: “Maybe, it’s not good for you though”. Fred: “I know, it’ll shorten our lifespan, especially that chocolate mousse.” Michelle: “Ya, it comes off the end though, what are you having?”The fact is, we all want to enjoy are lives, and food is a big part of it. So, what’s the trick, how do we eat to enjoy food and eat for health and fitness.Perception and attitude are the key factors that lead us into, or away from, dieting for health and fitness. With the advent of professional advertising agencies that are very skilled at marketing “stuff ” that may or may not be in our best interest to buy. We have to be very careful to make up our own minds about what tastes good and is enjoyable.A couple of obvious examples are fast food and fad diets of all sorts. According to the commercials for fast food, they’re selling the nectar of the gods to us. If you’re not used to fast food and their ads, it has a completely different effect on you. I quit eating fast food years ago and I don’t watch any mainstream television. I use the internet to get the “news” and I rent or buy movies if I want to watch one.The last time I visited my sister and her family we went to a fast food place for lunch. It was kinda disgusting, the place smelled terrible and the food wasn’t edible. That might seem a little extreme to you. It’s true though. If you’re not conditioned to that poison, it’s very hard to stomach. Look at booze or tobacco products. Until you have conditioned your body to tolerate them, they will make you gag, cough and be sick. Remember the first time you tried one of those products?Here’s my point, you can buy or make food that tastes good and is good for you, or you can make or buy food that isn’t. The choice is yours, don’t let someone convince you a poor choice is really alright because of very clever advertising gimmicks.The fact is, there are just as many excellent tasting, very enjoyable food choices out there as there are poor choices. For reasons I don’t understand, it seems the poor choices get more advertising dollars spent on them.You can change your perception about food to one that matches a diet for health and fitness. Challenge yourself to change your attitude to one that will make you successful in achieving your health and fitness goals.Visualization and meditation have helped me tremendously. Take a little time daily to see yourself with the body and eating habits you desire. Post a picture that you will see often of someone with the habits and physique you are going to have. With a little determination and sustained effort you will achieve your goals quite quickly.