WHY QUICK FIX DIETS DON’T WORK
At one stage or another in all of our lives we’ve tried a diet of some description, usually in a desperate bid to shape up for a holiday or upcoming event. If you’ve never found yourself in this dilemma, then you are truly blessed genetically!
While you may lose weight on a quick fix programme, chances are that you’ve put it back on just as quickly. Others will succumb to deprivation, boredom and misery within the first 7-10 days and feel like a failure, so they turn to their reliable friend ‘FOOD’ for comfort and so the vicious cycle continues.
Whether it’s the cabbage soup diet, the grapefruit and water diet or some other potion that guarantees rapid weight loss, the results are never long lasting.
The basic science is that the human body needs a variety of food groups to sustain healthy living. When you crash diet, generally you are consuming far fewer calories that normal. You would assume that this should automatically result in weight loss, but actually your body goes into starvation mode. When this happens your metabolism slows down. Your metabolism is your body’s engine, it determines how many calories you burn. That means that if your metabolism slows down, your body has to work much harder to burn the same amount of calories it would if it was functioning normally. For example, let’s say you normally burn 300 calories during a 30 minute session on a treadmill. If your metabolism has slowed down, you may only burn 200 calories for the exact same session. Now you have to work 3 times harder to get the same calorie expenditure to help you lose weight. That really sounds like too much hard work for no good reason.
Rather than obsessing with these quick fix diets, what you really need to do is adapt a longer lasting lifestyle change. Yes, it may take more time to achieve your goals but the results will be more permanent.
A few simple tips to get you on the right track
Do not deprive yourself too much, just have everything in moderation.
Eat at regular intervals and don’t allow yourself to get over hungry.
Keep a daily food diary for a week. It will give you a clear indication of exactly what you are consuming. Sometimes you may not realise just how much you’re eating.
Decrease your intake of alcohol.
Opt for higher fibre wholefoods and decrease the amount of processed foods.
Drink plenty of water in its pure form. Not in the form of dilute fruit squash.
Obviously exercise is a major factor in any weight loss programme. Dieting alone is not sufficient.
If you would like more information on this subject call for an appointment PHONE 0873848818
By Richard Sheehan, Nutritional Therapist Dip NT M.I.A.N.T.
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