South Beach, Keto, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Paleo, Volumetrics (Fruit/Veggie), Nutrisystem.⠀
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And the list goes on.
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If you’ve got any history with dieting, chances are you’ve tried (or at least heard of) most of the bigger fad diets.⠀
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Why do some people rave about one and find little success with another?
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Which ones work?⠀
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Why did I gain all the weight back that I lost?⠀
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These questions cause so many people frustration that it’s time to clear the air and call these diets what they are – incomplete, broken, unsustainable, with one underlying theme to all of them…⠀
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CALORIE RESTRICTION.⠀
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⚠Weight Watchers ➡ Point System ➡ Calorie Deficit⠀
⚠Atkins➡Low Carb ➡ Calorie Deficit⠀
⚠Nutrisystem ➡Portion Control ➡ Calorie Deficit⠀
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Each of the fad diets follows this theme of severely cutting calories in one way or another, and the result can be rapid weight loss.⠀
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Great, right? Not really.⠀
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Yes we need to be in a calorie deficit to actively shed body fat, but severe restriction for extended periods of time can lead to problems with thyroid, hormones and overall metabolism function.
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Fast forward 10 years, 6 diets later and we’re eating 1,400 calories wondering why we can’t lose weight.⠀
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Fad diets can also be unbalanced, favoring one macronutrient to an extreme and villainizing the other(s). Poor Dr. Atkins.
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The end result of all this is…
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A lack of sustainability and always reverting to old eating habits.
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And the weight comes back.
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This is why all the fad diets WORK, and also why they DON’T WORK.
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Here’s my F.A.B.S. approach to food and the way things SHOULD be:
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Flexibility: a diet that can travel.
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Accountability: we are accountable to someone, checking in every week.
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Balance: eat all 3 macros in appropriate amounts. There is no “bad” macro!
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Sustainability: something we can do long-term and not struggle just to get to the end of.
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Lastly, remember your diet should be periodized, meaning you are mixing active periods of fat loss with periods of maintenance.
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You can’t just be on a diet forever (think hormones, metabolism, sanity).
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Hire a coach. Dig in to the PROCESS. Trust it. This journey shouldn’t just last 6 weeks. Think LIFETIME.
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Email me with questions you may have about dieting, fat loss or just nutrition in general. I’d love to hear from you!
