4-1-1 on Fad Diets; How to Make a Lifestyle Change Instead

Fad dieting has infiltrated the media and marketing schemes since the early 1900’s, appealing to the masses with get-slim quick gimmicks and easy solutions.  We idolize flat stomachs and thin thighs and want the shortest path to get there only to quit early during a diet or see results but not having the ability to maintain the weight loss.

You are not alone.
Slim Fast Shakes, South Beach Diet, even the infamous Atkins Nutritional Approach, amongst others, all tend to have one thing in common; these diets work due to the reduced caloric intake. The weight loss initially is quick because of water weight not to mention the enthusiasm the dieter may have eager in trying something new. Unfortunately, these strict food requirements (No Carbs, Replacement Meal Shakes) are hard to maintain and cause participants to give up leaving one with even lower self-esteem and sometimes followed by binge eating.

The diets that do allow you to eat what you want but extremely limit your daily calories are starving the body of necessary nutrients,  imitating healthy weight loss. Our bodies, instead, have insufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals to sustain normal body metabolic levels that our body kicks into starvation mode and begins to retain body fat.

At the end of the day, fad dieting is what is attributed to yo-yo weight loss that needs to be stopped.

A different approach is to adjust the way you eat while including a regular amount of exercise will ultimately create a healthy lifestyle and eliminate eating healthy only over a short period of time. What we refer to as “dieting.”

So how do you create this fit lifestyle and relieve yourself of obsessing over what you aren’t allowed to eat? Educating yourself on portion sizes and the bad habits we have all adopted growing up when it comes to consuming food is the first step. See these quick tips that you can apply to your lifestyle today.

Creating a holistic healthy lifestyle wouldn’t work without including EXERCISE. We encourage seeking out a personal trainer to take you step-by-step in building a plan specifically for you and your goals. This includes regular assessments insuring you are meeting these goals and setting new ones!

Personal Trainers offer unique routines that include H.I.I.T workouts (High Intensity Interval Training) that alternates between vigorous movements for a fixed period of time to a less intense exercise that lowers your heart rate for a longer period of time. This type of exercise is efficient, can be done in as little as 15 minutes AND is proven to burn off that muffin top.

Personal Trainers are also able to provide nutritional tools that will encourage you to stay on track in the kitchen.

Eating responsibly and on a regular basis is a mental hurdle that can be learned.

Training your Mind is just as important as Training your Body.

Eat Smart. Train Tough. Feel Great.

Brittany L.