Sure. When there is a short term goal to lose a couple of pounds, it can be done with restrictive eating. Be it restrictive portions or low calorie and low fat programs, I guarantee there is a plan for you.
I am being serious. You can absolutely lose weight on a diet. And generally, that is what people think they want because we assume weight loss equates to happiness and health.
But when the side effects of restrictive calorie intake, and the consumption of artificial foods become the mainstay of your plan, a short-term, so-called “success” can turn into both a short and long-term health crisis.
So am I being a little bit facetious by titling this piece, “Diets Do Work”?
Yes.
But with good intentions. I wanted to get your attention.
This is important.
When I work with younger clientele, especially in classrooms, I usually pull out the Nutrition Label of a brand name, low fat food.
Most recently I pulled out the Nutrition Label of Fat Free ”Pringles”. With 70 calories per serving, and 0 grams of fat, many of us have been trained to consider this food “healthy”, or at least, healthier than the full fat version. But a closer look at the ingredients will indicate otherwise.
The second ingredient in this “food” is olestra. What is olestra? Does it trace back to any plant or food source you know?
No. It does not. That is because Olestra is a highly processed “food” (if you can call it that) that “is processed in a special way, creating oils and shortenings that look, cook and taste like ordinary fat, but are not digested by the body. This is why it has no calories. Foods that contain olestra taste great but have fewer calories and fat than full-fat foods.” Olean
Not digested by the body?
“Special Way“?
What does that mean?
No wonder it can cause “anal leakage,” as indicated on the package.
Digestion is integral to both short-term and long-term weight loss, in addition to overall health, beauty, and wellness. Without the complete and proper digestion of our meals, our body cannot breakdown and assimilate or retrieve nutrients for health, beauty, and longevity.
I have been asked innumerable times by non-clients how long they have to “give up” fast and junk foods for. It is this mentality that has given the word “diet” such a horrible reputation. We get so caught up in what we cannot eat, we underestimate the joy of wholesome food.
The true definition of a diet is simply what we eat, not what “program” we are on to achieve weight loss. Birds do not go on a diet, yet they eat a diet of (ideally) berries, seeds, worms and insects.
A short-term and restrictive diet is not a win for anyone because it rarely focuses on REAL food. It is for this reason that people wind up reverting back to what they knew before, in addition to gaining back weight and feeling crummy. We are not meant to go on “diets.” We were created to eat foods that we can digest, and that also nourish every cell in our body, because we can properly digest them.
Digestion, as my clients know, is the amazing process of food undergoing ingestion, digestion, assimilation of nutrients, and then elimination. Here me out LOUD and CLEAR: When the body cannot digest a food, or recognize it as a useable form of calories (read: energy source), it eventually ends up storing it in the fat cells of the body, or trying to eliminate it another unpleasant way. Yes… that means that when a food reads “Diet”– it is not a “freebie”. It just means that it will make it harder for you to lose weight in the long run, and/or it could cause other unwanted side effects, like headaches, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and acne, to name just a few.
My clients know that I would much prefer them to have real food, a.k.a. the full fat guacamole, than the low-calorie popcorn, or Pringle. And they love it! Because they end up losing weight, and feeling and looking great!
Diets do work.
- In a published study funded by the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, 51 obese people on the Atkins Diet were studied over a course of 24 weeks. “The China Study” reported these findings of their study group: “At some point during the twenty four weeks, twenty-eight subjects (68%) reported constipation, twenty-six (63%) reported bad breath, twenty-one (51%) reported headache, four (10%) noted hair loss, and one woman (1%) reported increased menstrual bleeding.” –The China Study (pg 96).
This was after just 24 weeks.
Don’t worry… they did lose weight, despite the fact that they were smelly, constipated, and losing hair.
But lifestyle changes work better.
Wouldn’t you much rather think: “I don’t want that” than, “Sigh… I can’t have that.” ?
Check out what one of my clients recently had to say, when I asked her for her feedback for my website.
“About 2 months ago I took my first class from Lauren. Wow!! My eyeswere definitely opened. I have spent my whole life doing everything I
knew to be healthy. Nutrition has always been very important to me.
However, before meeting Lauren, I had no clue what a difference proper
digestion made!! After trying so hard for so long to see results, and
failing, I can now say I am finding my efforts successful. I feel
great! I have seen a big difference in the clarity of my skin as well.
My face and chest have really cleared up!! I feel so thankful to have
met Lauren and am so encouraged by her wealth of knowledge!!”Maddie S. Dallas, TX, Teacher, Private Alumni Event
My send off to you is, diets are not fun for you or your body. It is my experience that anyone using the phrase “on a diet” is not allowing themselves the freedom to understand what their body truly needs and desires to look and feel great. Diets do not encompass the whole package, which includes your overall health, beauty and wellness goals.
Instead, when you focus largely on foods that are whole and unprocessed, you will discover the secrets to enhanced energy, beautiful skin, an incredible metabolism and digestive system, and superior health. As each of these little changes and transformations bring you closer to your true goals, you are empowered to make happier and healthier decisions for your body.
If you are interested in improving your overall health, and becoming empowered with the knowledge you need to look and feel radiant, do email me at: Lauren@theglowdetoxdiet.com
