I love New Years, something about feeling like you get a fresh start really resonates with me. I always tell myself that this year will be my year. I always have resolutions… I don't always follow them, but I always have them. I always have some sort of health or fitness goal in the mix, probably like most of you. So, in the spirit of shedding those holiday pounds I decided to talk about fad diets.
We've all heard the term Fad Diet, but what exactly is it? I'm sure some of you can guess the master cleanse and Atkins diets are on those lists… but what about the south beach diet and blood type diet? What makes a fad diet a fad diet? I'm glad you asked.
Fad diets make really bold promises. Things like, "you'll lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks" and "all you have to do is eat grapefruits all day every day and you'll find yourself at the epitome of health". Hopefully your bullshit meter is going off when you read these things… if not let me help…. your bullshit meter should be going off when you read these things. Any diet that promises rapid weight loss, requires that you eliminate or severely restrict entire food groups (cough, cough carbs), need to eat foods in specific combinations or tell you that you don't need to exercise should raise some kind of suspicion with you.
On a quick side note… I want to mention that one of the latest fad diets is the tube feed diet. Yep, that's right, perfectly healthy people are choosing to have tube feeds installed to lose weight. Isn't it just easier to make healthy choices?! I mean seriously, that is probably one of the craziest diet trends I have ever heard.
I want to bring up a couple of points. How many of us have said "ok, this is the year, I'm going on a diet, I'm losing 20 pounds and I'm never eating an unhealthy thing again ever in my life". Maybe not that extreme, but I'm pretty sure most of us have decided to go on some kind of diet or restrict some kind of something from our diet. How long did you last? Here's the thing with these fad diets. They're not fun and they're not as easy as they want you to think they are. Sure you might lose 10 pounds like that with the master cleanse, but is it worth not being able to go anywhere for 10 days because you are pretty much living on the toilet? And while I'm at it, if you were able to do some of these fad diets and lose some weight… how long were you able to keep the weight off before you gained it back? In my experience, most people who lose 20 pounds on a fad diet end up gaining 30 pounds as soon as they are off of it.
Rapid weight loss scares me. When you lose weight that quickly you're not really losing body fat, you're losing muscle, bone, and water. When you gain weight back, you gain fat. What that means is you could have someone who isn't that overweight but is at 40-50% body fat because they have been a victim of rapid weight loss for years. All weight loss is not created equal.
So, what does healthy weight loss look like? If you want to lose weight and KEEP that weight off then you should be shooting for 1/2-1 pound per week. You didn't gain that extra 15 pounds over night and you shouldn't plan on losing it overnight either. If you want results that are going to stick then you need to can the fad diets and start making choices that will be way more sustainable. Telling yourself that you will never ever have another bite of carbs again is ridiculous. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the chances of you actually sticking to that are slim to none. And, if you're anything like me, the second I tell myself I can't have something, it's all I can think about. So maybe, instead of completely cutting things out we need to make the decision to pick healthier things more often than the not healthier things. Hello balance!
How can you set yourself up for success in 2014? First off, it's going to take some planning. Trust me, taking 20 minutes to plan your menu out every week will save you thousands of unwanted calories in the end. Before I go grocery shopping I sit down, decide what meals I'm going to make that week and get all the necessary supplies. That way, if I'm having a busy day I don't have to come home and try to figure something out, which ultimately means I'm probably going to just go out and get myself something unhealthy. Meal planning should be your best friend.
Secondly, you need accountability! It's easy to slip up when you're the only one keeping track of yourself. When you have to report to someone else, it's a whole different ballgame. This goes for working out too. And you might have guessed this, but you have to work out. It doesn't have to be anything crazy, you could even just go for daily walks… but some kind of physical activity is a must. It's the key for good health and weight management. You should shoot for 30-60 minutes most days of the week.
Finally, you need to love yourself. Cheesy, I know… but so true. If we don't start loving ourselves where we are at and celebrating our small victories, then it won't matter if you hit your goal, you'll still find something to be unhappy with. I used to struggle so much with this. I would look in the mirror and only see the things I didn't like. I'm not really sure what happened, but one day I changed my outlook and it changed my life. I still have areas that need some work, sure. But, I love myself where I'm at. I'm actually proud of my body. If we start focusing on the good, it's crazy how things really start to fall into place. So, even though this is totally nerdy… next time you look in the mirror tell yourself three things that you love about yourself physically. Hopefully, those three things will turn into five things and so on and so on.
Thanks for reading!
Leslie
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