Why quick-fix diets don’t work

How many quick-fix diets have you tried? One, two, three, more? And have you learned anything from those experiences?

Magazines and social media are full of so-called influencers plugging the latest miracle quick-fix diet. But whether it’s ‘drop a dress size in 7 days’ or some vile shake diet one thing is constant, they may be like Ronseal and do what they say on the can, but believe me darlings, the moment you come off them the weight will pile back on.

And the marketers know this, that’s why the global weight management (that’s diet to you and me) industry is estimated to be worth $288.25 BILLION by the end of this year!!!

The yo-yo effect of quick-fix diets

Quick-fix diets are like a yo-yo, and the one thing we can all learn from the humble yo-yo is that what goes down will always come back up and then repeat the cycle ad infinitum until finally it runs out of steam! Is that what your relationship with food is like?

Let’s face it, at one stage or another we’ve all done a quick-fix diet to lose a couple of kilos. So we cut out all the tasty stuff, that we know is really bad for us, but we just can’t help ourselves, and munch away on vile celery which, random factoid alert, actually takes more calories to chew than it actually contains!

Some of us may have had to take drastic action and go to one of the many slimming clubs, to get help and lose weight to fit into that amazing outfit, or rock the beach look.

And when you’ve been on that diet, how many of you have reached your target weight and looked, and more importantly FELT FABULOUS?

Now for the crunch question, how many of you, when you reached your target weight then resumed eating as you did before you dieted?

Come along now, I’m sure there’s a few more hands need to go up!

And did you all find that you ended up back where you were when you first started the diet, plus a few more pounds?

So what did you do?

That’s right, you tried yet another diet plan, because clearly the first one didn’t work?

And so it continues, ad infinitum.

See, the yo-yo effect. And what did we learn? Absolutely nothing, because when we reached the start, i.e., back where we started, we launched into yet another diet.

It’s time to throw the yo-yo of quick-fix diets away!

At some point in our lives, we need to realise that for weight-loss to stay off, WE need to change. Not just what we eat but our whole lifestyle.

We need to forget fad quick-fix diets, and realise that if we want to lose weight, we don’t need to watch points, eat so many calories, etc., all we need to do is eat a balanced healthy diet and most importantly exercise.

I wrote an earlier article about intuitive eating, which is all about redefining out love affair with food. Rather than having strict rules on what you can and can’t eat, there are no rules to intuitive eating, no guidelines, no calorie counting, no foods off limits, no starving and no binging, simply the idea that you eat what you want when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.

So yes, you can have a slice of cake, just not 6!

Forget quick-fix diets, you need to get your head in the right space to lose weight

Mindset is everything!

To be truly successful when dieting you need to embrace the process as building a healthier you rather than depriving yourself of something. Try and think of weight loss plan as a positive force in your life to make changes for the better.

If you have negative thoughts do not direct them at your diet. When you feel deprived remind yourself that you are only depriving the following:

• Your bones from carrying around that excess weight
• Those bulky clothes in your wardrobe that are designed to hide the bulges
• Your body of years of bulges and bringing back the body of your youth.

It’s important not to get so caught up in the dieting process that you forget to enjoy some of the goodies that life has to offer. Watching your weight and counting your calories does not mean that you can never go over your allotted calorie intake.

For any diet to be successful in the long-term, the goal is to find balance, change your way of thinking about food and your personal enjoyment of food.

Who is the dieting enemy?

Food isn’t the enemy. Fact! Even the ‘I really shouldn’t eat this but it tastes so good’ foods aren’t the enemy.

The true enemies are:

Not eating our ‘5-a-day’

When we don’t eat our 5-a-day (or whatever the recommended amount is today), our bodies know that something is missing and we feel hungry or deprived.

However, if we were actually consuming the proper balance of fruits and veggies each day, we would that we feel less hungry. As a result we wouldn’t crave those foods that aren’t as healthy, meaning. we would be inclined to eat them in moderation as we should.

Portion control

Our inability to properly portion the foods we eat is a big problem in our 21^st century world. We live in a society of “up selling”; “Regular or large?”, “Do you want fries with that?”, “Do you want that super-sized?” These are just some of the questions asked with practically every fast-food, coffee-shop or restaurant order.

Learning to say ‘no’ to these things is vital. That way, you will have the ‘willpower’ to not give in to temptation when it arises.

Diets are only depriving if you let them

Dieting for weight loss and health is only depriving if you allow it to be.

If you cannot control yourself when it comes to indulging then by all means avoid indulging.

However, if you can learn to incorporate those small treats into your routine in moderation and burn those extra calories as well, then you should find yourself a much happier and more successful ‘dieter’ than you have ever managed to be in the past.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, you are the only person who can lose weight. It will not happen instantaneously and it does involve a permanent lifestyle and mind-set change, not just a temporary one!

If you learn to portion your food correctly, indulge in moderation, and incorporate enjoyable calorie burning activities like running into your daily routine you may be amazed at the results.

So, let’s ditch the yo-yo and all those fad quick-fix diets. Yes?

Until next time darlings.

Claire

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