Why Diets Don't Work

Low carb, Low Fat, Low Calorie, 5:2, 80-10-10, 3 day diet, atkins. There are literally millions of diets to choose from and i'm willing to say none of them will work for you. From fasting to carb loading there are so many theories on what we need to do in order to lose weight and shape up. It's a money pit. Americans spend over 60 BILLION dollars a year in the weight loss industry and we still have more than 78 million adults (not including children) with obesity issues.

What is the issue?
We are misinformed. We think it should be as easy and calories in, calories out. Nobody teaches us about stress, internal well being or nourishment when we want to lose weight. Instead we learn to choose something that is low in calories and full of chemicals than something that is higher in calories and full of nutrients.

Here's the breakdown
Our bodies are designed to know when they are full and when they are hungry. They're designed to put you at a normal, healthy and happy weight. Back in the day (think caveman, living in the wild) we had real food to choose from. Big, heavy meals were hard to come by so when we had a meal high in fat our bodies would store it so we wouldn't starve and die. Berries were all the dessert we needed and we lived off of mostly plants with some meat thrown in there when we could hunt it.

Now, we have an abundant of fatty, processed foods, which our bodies are still designed to crave and store . We are not walking around the wilderness fending for our lives and hunting. Instead we're sitting behind desks, working out for 45 minutes on a good day and filling our bodies with foreign chemicals that it can't recognize. Our bodies are designed to do all the work but we are setting them up for failure with all of these foreign substances we consume.

What will a low calorie diet do?
Aside from causing irritability, fatigue and nauseousness; a low calorie diet can cause heart complications, loss of muscles, gout, anemia, blood sugar imbalances, slow our metabolism and much, much more. Aside from that, we are typically choosing meal replacements and low calorie snacks which can be filled with chemicals that imbalance our hormones, promote the growth of cancerous cells, cause inflammation and wreck havoc on the body. The biggest issue that I see though are the people around us learning from our actions. Our daughters, nieces, nephews and friends. Learning that a number on the scale is worth more than a nourished, healthy body.

What do I do?
Get help. Honestly and truly invest in yourself. Figure out your internal issues. Food is a crutch. If you suffer from an eating disorder or obesity issues, the problem is not with the food. Find a therapist that can help you work through the internal issues. Find a supportive group of women and friends that can love you and support your journey. Find activities that you can do that can help you love yourself. Invest in a nutritionist that can teach about balanced meals (not diets). Stop throwing money away on things that are getting you farther away from where you want to be. Invest in things that are going to make you thrive, grow and be proud. Diets will always be around us. And the truth of it is, if they worked, there would be no need for them anymore. Obesity in America wouldn't be an issue and everyone would be lean and healthy. Take the time to figure out what changes in your life you need to make. I guarantee you its not going to be to cut out all of your carbs. Learn about nutrition. I mean really learn. Invest in yourself. Learn what chemicals do to your body. Learn what happens when you cut fats or carbohydrates away from your diet. Learn what happens when you're low on your vitamins. Learn what happens to your body when you load it with fat burners and restrict calories. This is your body. It's you. Take the time you need. Do what you need to do and invest in making a true, lifestyle change.

I am always here to help. See you in the studio,
Hanna

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html