Trust your gut instincts and learn how to spot a fad diet. Find a sustainable way of eating to reach your health and weight loss goals.
During my weight loss journey I would ask anyone I ran into who had lost any amount of weight how they did it. I was desperate to find that one diet that would finally work for me. If they were successful then I believed I would be too. If the diet plan, shake or pill helped them shed the pounds then surely it would help me. I started and failed at so many diets trying to mimic the success of friends, family members and celebrities.
If you’ve struggled with your weight at any point in your life, you may be able to relate. In addition anyone who has been successful in losing weight often truly believes in the plan that got them there. They may enthusiastically push their plan on anyone who will listen. It was the one thing that worked for them so it is the one thing that will work for you!
The problem is that there is no one diet or fitness program that works for all. We are all individuals with different genetics, biochemistry, body composition, lifestyles and are at different stages of our lives. Even one diet that worked for someone in their 20s may not work for that same person in their 40s. The diet is the same….the person is not.
This article is about trusting your gut instincts when looking for a plan or program to help you with fitness and or weight loss. If a plan or program raises any red flags for you, it’s best to avoid it.
So how do you know if a plan is safe or effective? How do you know that it will be safe or effective for you?
How to spot a fad diet:
1. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is
Any program that promises quick, effortless weight loss is likely unsustainable at best and unsafe at worst.
2. It claims to be new or revolutionary
We are always learning new things about the human body but these discoveries happen over time through years of research and collaboration. If it’s brand new or revolutionary, then there likely isn’t much evidence to back it up. Be a little skeptical and do your own research.
3.It involves eating whatever you want as long as you take a specific pill, powder or injection
I wish there was but there is not a magic pill or powder. Many are expensive and ineffective. In addition some of these products contain so-called proprietary ingredients which are not specifically listed on the packaging. You may not know if a weight loss product contains an ingredient that your body will adversely react to.
4. It involves cutting out a specific food group or food item
Our bodies were designed to eat a balanced diet. Carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals all play critical roles in our bodies. If you cut one out, you could find yourself at risk of deficiency and poor health down the road.
5. Can you see yourself following this way of eating forever?
Weight loss is one thing, weight loss maintenance is another. If you have to completely change your way of eating and living in order to lose weight, you will eventually find that weight all over again when you revert back to your old way of living. A diet that requires a ton of prep work, special foods that are expensive or hard to find, or is excessively restrictive is not sustainable. You will find yourself rebelling against these imposed restrictions and gaining back any lost weight – it’s just human nature.
We all want to live our happiest and healthiest lives. The path to get there is different for everyone.
It can be tempting to look for a quick fix or jump from one fad to the next however that will always inevitably lead us right back to where we started. Instead just start with a few healthy changes like the ones I have talked about in previous episodes. Or enlist the help of a certified, experienced professional.
Trust your gut instincts. Spot and avoid the fads. Make a few small changes one at a time and over time you will reach -and you will easily maintain -your health and weight loss goals – willpower not required.
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