I have tried many fad diets over the years in an attempt to lose weight.
I didn’t have the patience to focus on changing my mindset and habits that led me to gain the weight. I wanted a “quick fix”. I wanted to look good, but I wasn’t thinking about the whole picture.
The “Quick-Fix” Game
Many of us have tried to lose weight over the years with popular programs that promote fast and easy solutions. However, these programs are not sustainable for a lifetime, and can be damaging to both our physical and mental health.
Quick-fix, one-size-fits-all programs do not take into account underlying health conditions, and they usually do not teach about nutrient density, mindset shifts, and self-care, which are all necessary for long-term success and health. Instead, these programs make money by encouraging people to become dependent on their product.
False Diet Claims
Many diets claim that we can lose weight fast or be “bikini ready” by focusing on calorie counting and calorie deprivation, scale weigh-ins, BMI, and portion control, to name a few. These strategies can not only be harmful to our bodies, by damaging our metabolism, but can also be psychologically harmful. Conditioning ourselves to use an ineffective number on the scale, or constantly calculating how many calories we’ve consumed as a measure of health, can lead to obsessive thoughts and behaviors.
Certain programs deliver meals with predetermined calorie and portion sizes, so that if the person only eats that program’s food they will lose weight. Other programs encourage you to simply drink a meal replacement shake or eat a bar, which are often full of chemicals and unhealthy ingredients, and if you do this the pounds will “melt away. ”
Quick-Fix Meals
The idea that you can simply replace one or two meals per day with a delicious chocolate shake sounds great. However, what are the ingredients in that miraculous shake? Often, pre-made diet shakes, bars and meals are not focused on the best-quality and nutrient-dense ingredients, but rather low calorie, cheap to manufacture ingredients.
We are so eager to see a smaller version of ourselves in the mirror, that we often do not think about the sustainability and possible consequences of undertaking such a program. Will we only eat prepackaged program food or shakes for the rest of our lives? Probably not. What happens when we hit a weight loss plateau?
What happens if there are more factors involved than calories in versus calories out?
An article in Women’s Health Magazine, titled “Add This to Your Diet Food List,” claims that they found “10 meal replacement bars and shakes to help you lose weight fast.” Of course, the primary concern here is “to lose weight fast,” and there is no mention of getting healthy in the process.
Slim-Fast – A healthy choice?
Included in these ten options is the Slim-Fast Optima Rich Chocolate Royale Shake, which, according to the article, has “less of the bad stuff,” referring to fat, and more vitamins and minerals.
I have a lot of problems with this, but I’ll just start with some of the ingredients that are included in this shake.
Among the first ingredients are: non-fat milk, sugar, canola oil, fructose, and hydrogenated soybean oil. Also added in for good measure are some non-nutritive sweeteners, under the forms of sucralose and acesulfame potassium, which has been linked to cancer, as well as disruption of the gut microbiome.1
Our bodies, and especially women’s bodies need healthy, high-quality fats in order to function properly. Non-fat milk is nutritionally devoid. After being processed and heated to high temperatures, a lot of the vitamins are added back in synthetically.
These vitamins, A,D,E and K, are all fat-soluble, which means that they need to be consumed with fat in order for your body to fully absorb them. The synthetic vitamins are often not bioavailable, so your body cannot absorb them.
Sugar, fructose, and non-nutritive sweeteners are not the types of ingredients that you would want in a diet drink or something that will be replacing a meal. Not only are they addictive, but they will spike insulin levels and promote fat-storage within the body.
Canola and hydrogenated soybean oil are far from being nutritious oils, and they are likely added as emulsifiers. They are almost definitely derived from genetically modified plants, which, we are finding out, can have devastating affects on our health.
Emotions: The Missing Piece of Weight Gain
Finally, an often overlooked reason why diets do not work is the fact that for many people weight gain is rooted in emotional causes. Food may be used for comfort, or to combat boredom, or to replace a human relationship.
A former client regularly turned to chocolate and cookies to help alleviate her stress. Another person may be anxious about engaging in a romantic relationship, so they inadvertently sabotage themselves by overeating and gaining weight to prevent this.
Someone else may get into an argument with their spouse or a loved one and cope with this by eating. So in these cases, eating becomes an emotional coping mechanism, which most conventional diets do not address. This is one reason why many people will lose weight on a diet and regain it. The diet has not dealt with the root cause.
Moving Forward
When these are the models of acceptable weight-loss that our society is presented with, it is no wonder that many people are failing at it! A weight-loss program should focus on education about nutrition so that a person can become independent and empowered to make their own healthy choices. Additionally, the psychology of eating, and how eating can be linked to stress and emotions are also important to address. Without this important inclusion, people will keep failing to reach their goals.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Feel free to leave a comment below.
If you are interested in changing your mindset, and revitalizing your health, contact me today for a free Discovery Session, where we will talk about how I can help you on your journey to wellness.
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