Fad diets do not work. No matter how much you restrict your calories, eat low fat foods or cut out carbs, you will never be able to sustain this lifestyle for long.
About 8 years ago, my Mum wanted to try Weight Watchers and lose some weight. Unhappy with the weight I had put on, I happily decided to join her and so the planning began! We stocked up on cookbooks, bought tonnes of low fat, low calorie foods and were full of enthusiasm. I logged a diary of my weight and began planning what we could and 'couldn't eat' for each day. Looking back, I think my Mum was already beginning to think I was over obsessing about calories but I honestly believed that I had finally found the key to a slimmer, and ultimately happier me. I could encourage and motivate my Mum, and she could do the same for me. It was a win-win situation surely?!
After the first few days I was starting to realise which foods were lower in calories and had written down endless notes on what foods fell into what points (if you are unfamiliar, Weight Watchers use a points system to make it easier for people to stick to a low saturated fat, calorie controlled diet). I was feeling hungry still and far from full, but I believed this was because I had eaten so much before and this was the reason why I was two stone overweight.
My Mum complained of headaches, and I noticed that she was very aware of all the foods she loved to eat that she was now restricted on eating. In hindsight, this was all just a catastrophe waiting to happen. All this negative way of thinking, and focusing on what we couldn't have. All this self-punishment and self-loathing? And for what?! A belief, a hope, an expectation for the 'perfect' body.
After the first 14 days I had lost about 9lbs and for the next few years at university, and after graduating, I would focus on how quickly I had lost this initial weight. I believed that if I had lost 9lbs that quickly before, I could lose it again. However, I was uneducated in nutrition, de-motivated by my plateau I had found myself in shortly after, and feeling constantly hungry most of the time. I fixated on the fat around my middle and even started dictating portion sizes for the rest of my family (crazy I know!). I insisted on grilling, steaming and weighing every single food - from dinners to my bran flakes and milk in the mornings. I was recording my weight several times a day and never feeling any better about myself after. At worst, I would binge eat a whole packet of cherry bakewell tarts, but having a huge dislike to being sick, I would fall asleep in my huge sugar coma and suffer from daily headaches. Feeling horrendous, I would restrict my food the next day to compensate. I missed out on BBQs, lunches out and eating dinners, all in the name of restricting calories and my search for the 'perfect' body. I would plan the entire day's food from the smallest snack to every cup of tea I would have.
After years of this never ending limbo of low fat, low calorie foods that just made me binge on cakes and biscuits, I finally decided to be rid of my demons, and educate myself on healthy eating.
The turn around came not just because of my previously unhealthy relationship to food, but a desire to feed my body with the good stuff, and finally take care of it properly.
After finishing my course on nutrition, looking back it seems so obvious to me that fad diets are unsustainable. Your body is made up from the foods you eat, the products you use on your skin and the environment around you. There is no magic pill, no secret to be discovered - just eat clean, natural foods, and drink plenty of water; it really is that simple!
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