If you are like me, you are constantly seeing tips about the ‘Best’ diet tips or ‘fat loss foods’. To me, it seems like everything I come across these days is very gimicky…. all promising quick results.
The thing about traditional, fast weight loss diets is that they don’t work- but you probably already knew that, right? Here are 5 of the worst diet tips that I’ve come across:
1. Eat less than 1000 calories a day
Every body is different. If you have a significant amount of weight to lose (>100 lbs) simply slashing your calories isn’t going to work long term. Why? Because it requires willpower. You might be able to deny yourself food, any kind of food, for a few days, but your body will very quickly realize that it is lacking nutrition and you will start craving things. Things that you know are really bad for you… pizza, ice cream, potato chips, etc. Eventually, you lose the battle against your cravings and you end up bingeing.
2. Lose 10 pounds in 10 days.
Quick weight loss is very desirable. I mean, who wouldn’t like to see the number on the scale drop within days of starting a new diet plan? I know I would! But weight loss, real weight loss takes time. Those initial pounds that you drop in the first few days is just extra water and the general guideline for safe, long term weight loss is no more than 2 pounds per week. If you lose more weight than this, or any faster than this you are literally starving yourself. Unless you are a fitness model or a physique competitor in their last week before your big photo shoot or event, there is no reason why you need to risk your long term health to lose 10 pounds that quickly. While I’m neither a fitness model or physique competitor, I know several people who are and these final days leading up to their photo shoot or competition is about short term deprivation and dehydration. And remember, these are people who’s sole purpose and source of income is dependent on maintaing what appears to be a “healthy physique”. They live a lifestyle of food deprivation alternating with bingeing. Definitely not something that I would ever recommend or promote.
3. Don’t eat carbs.
Not all carbs are bad. Actually, we all need some carbohydrates to maintain a a healthy functioning body. This is something that took me a while to understand. Like you, I thought that all carbs were bad, but they aren’t. There are starchy carbs like bread and pasta which is what most of us think of when we hear about carbs but there are also non-starchy carbs like fruit and vegetables. Any good diet will promote eating unlimited amounts of vegetables and some fruit (you just need to pay attention to the sugar content of fruit). Starchy carbs are ok if you eat them in moderation. But what is moderation? I usually define it as no more than 10 bites…. that’s normal sized bites, not big, huge ones 😉
4. Cardio, cardio and more cardio
“Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym”. Have you heard that before? Well, it’s true. Exercise definitely has it’s place in maintaining good health and in weight loss, but it’s not magic. Sure, doing cardio burns calories, but it only burns calories while you are actually doing it. When you stop the cardio workout, your calorie burning furnace stops. Seeing people post pictures of how many calories they burn in a particular workout might motivate some people to do a particular workout but what good is the workout that burns 800 calories in 30 minutes if you overeat or choose non-nutritious food?
5. Juicing to detox and lose weight
Ok, I’ll admit that I’ve fallen for this one. Who wouldn’t? Juicing is simply vegetables and fruit, right? Isn’t that a great way to get your nutrition and lose weight? I think juicing definitely has a place in weight loss, but not as the only source of nutrition. I’ve seen people follow juicing diets for weeks and have had amazing amounts of weight loss. There are a few problems however. If you are truly juicing (using a juicer) you are eliminating all of the natural fiber from food. Fiber does not cause weight gain. Actually, fiber is your friend when you are trying to lose weight because it fills you up. Not only that, but your body needs fiber to push all the toxic garbage out of your gut. If you don’t have enough fiber, you get constipated and your body just ends up re-absorbing all the toxins it’s trying to get rid of. Maybe it’s just me, but yuck!
The other main problem that I’ve seen with following a juicing diet is that like most other quick ways to lose weight, it isn’t sustainable. Can you really see yourself only drinking juices for the rest of your life? When you travel on vacation, are you really going to lug your juicer with you? Juicing doesn’t allow you to learn how to eat healthy. I have a friend who did a juicing diet for 4 months and lost over 50 pounds, but then she started actually eating again and gained all the weight back within 1 month. I don’t think that I need to tell you how depressed she was about the rapid weight gain.
Losing weight is hard. I know. I’m in a constant battle to choose healthy food because I love my junk food. But what I’ve learned is, is that real weight loss doesn’t happen quickly and that long term, making healthy choices makes me not just look better, but feel better. 🙂