Many times, when people follow restrictive diets, they feel like they are in control of their destiny. Being able to stick to that diet for a long time is a sign of discipline and willpower, right? Wrong.
We are made to feel that if we are not on Diet X, Y, Z, then we will never reach out fitness goals. After all, if we are not depriving ourselves of treats then that means we are failures and we are doomed.
Promoters of fad diets often attempt to make us feel inferior and scare us into spending our hard-earned money on yet another gimmick.
Although in the short-term you will see your weight drop when you follow a restrictive diet, the negative consequences it will have on your health and metabolism in the long-term are just not worth it.
Personally, I am tired of the quick fixes and the gimmicks along with the misinformation associated with them.
Over the past several years, I’ve discovered an amazing secret that has helped many people lose weight, keep it off and get fit. Here’s the best part: it doesn’t require you to buy a special diet program and it also doesn’t take all the pleasure out of life (and food).
The secret to successfully losing weight, feeling great and enjoying life while doing it is balance. If you live a balanced lifestyle, which means a combination of eating healthy, exercising, enjoying the occasional treat without feeling guilty and taking a few rest days without beating yourself up, you are more likely to achieve your fitness goals.
Overall, restrictive and/or fad diets suck…and here is why:
1. They are not sustainable for life. Your body needs enough calories from a variety of healthy sources just to survive. You can’t live on grapefruit and lettuce alone and quite honestly-you wouldn’t want to.
2. They deprive you of valuable nutrients. You NEED protein, carbs and fats in your diet to survive. When I say carbs and fats, I don’t mean fast food. I mean unrefined carbohydrates and healthy unsaturated fats.
3. They take the joy out of life. Food is not your enemy. The way you view food when you follow a restrictive fad diet is the real enemy. It’s not healthy to constantly count calories and then beat yourself up if you slip up. It’s also not right to forego social events which involve enjoying food with your friends just because you are afraid to slip up.
4. They can be a drain on your wallet. Do you really think that buying a special diet pill will help you achieve your fitness goals fast? Notice how the label on almost every diet pill says: “For best results combine X, Y, Z with exercise”? Jeez, I wonder why?
5. There can be negative long-term consequences to your health. Since restrictive diets often eliminate important nutrients, you are more likely to experience hormonal imbalances and metabolic damage in the future. Hormonal imbalances can cause a variety of health problems.
I want you to take a moment and ask yourselves: Is short term-gain worth the long-term pain? If your answer is “no”, then I urge you to view fad diets as nothing but a way for their creators to make big profits at your expense.
Creators of fad diets prey on unsuspecting consumers who dream of achieving their fitness goals faster and with minimal effort. I hate to bear the bad news, but the truth is, there are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
So, I’m going to keep doing the sport I love, while at the same time enjoying seeing the gradual improvements (and eating the occasional piece of cake, cookie, or burger).
Above: I give you the “thumbs up” for making it this far in this long article. 🙂
Those who are looking to achieve their fitness goals do not need to eat less than 1200 calories a day, kill themselves for 2 hours in the gym 7 days a week, nor feel like a failure if they have not been able to do the aforementioned due to this thing called “living life”.
What we should be seeking to accomplish is a long-term, gradual lifestyle change without stressing ourselves out if we eat a cookie once in a while.
Moderation and consistency is key, my friends. 🙂
Please pass this on so that more people are reminded that YES, it’s possible to enjoy life, get fit and eat cake in moderation without falling trap to fad diets and “marketers” who don’t actually care about the long-term effects on your health.
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