There are a few things that I get very passionate about. I try not to get on soap boxes very often, because I know people are completely turned off by someone standing on one, but I am very short and sometimes I need to stand on something to be able to look people in the eyes when I talk with them. Though it is a small one, I am standing on my soap box at the moment because I feel I really would like to be heard. DIETS. DON'T. WORK: Atkins. The Zone. Cabbage Soup. Detoxing. And my new favorite - The Paleo Diet. There are a million of them and we have all wondered if we should try one. I am here to tell you no, you shouldn't, and why I feel that way.If diets worked we would all be skinny.
One: Diets are temporary. What usually happens with someone who has gone on a diet and they lose the weight they want? A big celebration, the diet did it's job, and now I can go off the diet and eat like I used to....... which made you overweight in the first place. And, more often than not that said person ends up gaining back all of their weight, plus extra to boot.
Two: Diets are to restricting. When you are on a diet you are restricting something out of your life: calories, carbs, sugar, fat, or in some extreme cases everything but a short list of two or three things. This is not a healthy way to live and eat, because you are not only restricting whole food groups but also all of the nutrients that they provide. Your diet becomes shallow and malnourished, and this is not a healthy way to be. Either that or you are so restricted on calories that you don't have the energy you need to do anything, so at the end of the day you end up burning way less calories than normal, making less calories consumed a moot point.
Three: We are NOT all the same. What works for one person will not necessarily work for you. It drives me crazy when a celebrity, or fitness guru comes out with "their" diet. "It worked for me and it will work for you, if you just follow my easy step plan". So, you go on said diet, don't lose a pound of weight, and wonder what the heck is wrong with you. Nothing is wrong with you, the diet wasn't right for your body and make-up.
Four: They mess with your brain. Diets usually focus on what you can't have instead of what you can have. It's a little known fact that we, as human beings, want what we can't have. Ever notice when you go on a diet all of the sudden you have insane cravings that can't be controlled and you are hungry all of the time? We feel so restricted on diets that all of the sudden we become obsessed with all of the things we "can't" have.
Five: They don't fix why you are eating in the first place. Most of us have some sort of trigger for eating: depression, boredom, fatigue, or my trigger - wanting to be social. (Yes, I am a very social eater). You can restrict your calories, only eat celery and carrot sticks, but sooner or later that trigger is going to hit and you are going to be doomed. Most times we don't even realize we are doing it it is such a natural thing for us.
So, what's a person to do? If diets don't work, then how do you lose weight?
The first thing that's most important is, instead of looking at your weight look at your health and focus on that. Eat to be healthy. Ditch the junk and replace it with healthy foods. Does that mean you can never have ice cream or french bread? No! Ice cream doesn't make you fat, and bread doesn't make you fat - calories make you fat. Yes, you may have a treat now and again, just budget for it. Focus on eating as healthy as you can and then throw in the occasional treat. If you restrict yourself all of the time then you are likely to binge. I follow the 80/20 rule. I eat really well 80% of the time and treat myself the other 20%. This helps to keep balance in my life, keeps me healthy but allows me to have fun eating out with friends occasionally and having the small treat now and again.
Figure out what you eating trigger is. Keep a diary if need be and write down every time you eat and why. You will start to notice patterns. Maybe you are eating a piece of chocolate every day at 3:00 because you feel you need a little sugar boost to help you get through the rest of the day. You could be getting a Late every morning with your friends at work because they are all going to Starbucks and ask you along. Every evening could be a lonely depressing time for you so you to eat to feel better. Find out what your trigger is and then work out a way to avoid it. Go for a quick walk at 3:00 to energize yourself, go out with your friends but get tea instead, or find an activity to get involved in that involves other people a few evenings a week.
Look at being fit and healthy as a lifestyle, not a temporary thing you do to get that way and then it magically stays that way for the rest of your life. Move more, eat better, and stay involved. You have to have consistent actions if you want consistent results.
