Fad Diets

Are you tired of fad diets? Tired of losing weight only to gain it back and then some? Tired of the marketing, the commercials, the studies that say something is good and then next week it’s bad? Not knowing who or what to believe? If you can relate to any of these statements, then time well spent, this blog is for you.

Fad diets don’t work – plain and simple. Most mainstream “diets” have one thing in common – calorie reduction. Whether it’s removing carbs, fasting, eliminating meat products, or whatever the case may be, you are reducing the amount of calories you intake on a daily basis – the key to weight loss. I’ve been there, searching for that magic pill or tea, reading articles “Eat [insert food here] to lose belly fat” or “Try [insert fad diet here] to lose 10 lbs in one week” (side note, let’s be honest, has anyone ever lost 10 lbs in one week?). Did any of these “tricks” work? Of course they didn’t. I’ve put in the leg work and am here to tell you, there is no quick fix. Sorry to disappoint.

Let’s be realistic, are you never going to eat another piece of bread ever again? Of course not, that’s not sustainable or reasonable. Fad diets set us up for failure before we even start. You may see results in the beginning, but ultimately you are doomed to fail at which time you will turn to the next fad diet or big marketing trend. Pouring hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars into something that won’t have lasting results. Let’s put an end to this insanity.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. -Einstein

Remove the word diet from your vocabulary. We took a word that simply referred to the food that we eat and turned it into a multi-billion dollar industry. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word diet as “a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight”. The Oxford Language dictionary defines it as “a special course of food to which one restricts oneself”. Eating and drinking sparingly, restricting oneself – these concepts sound terrible, who wants to do anything if those things? Instead of torturing yourself, turn your focus to healthy eating habits.

Make sustainable changes. Do you love ice cream? Me too! So is it reasonable to say you can never have ice cream ever again? Of course not. By placing unrealistic restrictions we are setting ourselves up for failure. By following this philosophy, we limit ourselves so much that when we do have something that’s “prohibited” we go overboard, possibly binge eat, fall off the wagon and do more harm than good.

Try making smart healthy choices 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time is reserved for indulgences. When we do indulge, let’s choose ice cream without the high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors and other junk. Let’s choose ice cream made of simple ingredients such as cream, sugar, cocoa, vanilla and natural flavors.