The latest diet trend is taking over. You know the one you keep seeing on social media & the covers of magazines.
The billion-dollar diet industry in America is what keeps people on the end of a yo-yo string of starting something new every Monday morning & feeling like a failure by Thursday afternoon.
It’s because of this diet cycle, that people are so confused about what exactly they need to do to make a lifestyle change that is sustainable to lose weight & maintain a healthy weight.
Decisions that are made for short term goals are typically not the healthiest way to approach a goal such as weight loss. And when you make a decision to go on one more diet you not only affect your weight, but you also affect your thinking & even more tangible things that can be measured like your blood sugar balance, adrenals, gut health & hormones.
After working with many clients, I know how easy it is for people to fall into the trap of focusing solely on the scale & weight loss as the magic cure to all other problems.
While wanting to lose weight isn’t a bad desire in itself, if you destroy other aspects of your health in the midst of trying to do so, then you might be doing just as much harm as you are good. Trendy diets have a tendency to only focus on the scale when there are so many other things that need to be addressed if you want to lose weight in a healthy way.
Here are 3 common myths people generally believe about weight loss:
Calories are the main thing – Calories in, calories out only works on a theoretical level. As a general rule, the estimation of calories eaten, calories in a food & calories burned during a workout can be off by 100-200 calories per item. So, while calorie tracking can have benefits, it’s definitely not the only or the best way for some to lose weight.
Complete food groups must be cut out – If losing weight requires losing an entire macro group such as fats, carbs or proteins, then it’s probably not a sustainable approach. While you might get results by following a plan such as keto or low carb, you aren’t likely to be able to follow it forever. With plans like this, as soon as a person adds back in the macro group that was lost, they often also add back on the weight that was lost. This is generally due to not actually learning how to eat balanced meals but instead just following dieting rules. While some of these have good results, they aren’t all good for every part of your body such as the things we discussed in myth 1. Information you google or what you find on Facebook doesn’t know your body & doesn’t know if that style of eating is actually good for you. This is best determined by a nutrition professional.
If it fits your macros (iifym) – Basically this myth says that if you eat things that fit into your macros, then you could eat anything you want. Pizza, Doritos, ice cream are all okay as long as you eat the amount that fits in your macronutrient profile. But this method doesn’t address what these foods actually do on a cellular level in your body. While you may see initial weight loss with this plan, eventually the inflammation caused by processed foods like these will not only halt weight loss but may lead you to some other health issues such as diabetes & heart disease.
Weight loss isn’t just about what you eat. It’s also about your cells, your hormones & how your body is responding to the food you eat. It’s about how much energy you have, your emotional health & if the path you’ve chosen is sustainable.
If you’re struggling to find your way with a weight loss program, CONTACT ME & let me show you how I’ve helped so many other people find true freedom in their nutrition journey.