Are There Any Diets That Work?
We are absolutely inundated with information today about all types of diets and so called healthy eating plans, how can anyone new to nutrition expect to make progress? We see ads everywhere about fad diets that work or diets that work fast, or someone is pushing the latest and greatest supplement. Worse than to much information, there is plenty of misleading or completely wrong information that promises us we’ll lose thirty pounds in a week or gain twenty pounds of muscle with our this super juice.
The question is; are there any diets that work? First let’s define what a diet really is. Dieting can be defined as simply controlling the amounts and types of food eaten in order to attempt to achieve a target weight. Sometimes the goal is fat loss and sometimes people want to keep there body fat percentage about the same but want to increase weight by adding muscle. The question you want to ask yourself first before considering any type of diet is, what are your ultimate goals and in what amount of time do you expect to achieve your goals?
Here are the most common types of diets your likely to see.
Low fat- low fat diets focus on reducing the amount of overall fat in the diet due to the fact that fat has the highest number of calories per gram. The problem is that more often than not, there is no differentiation between the necessary good fats like omega 3s and the bad fats like saturated fads and other HDL’s.
Low carb- the same problem often occurs here, which is to say there is an overly simplistic approach. There are very high quality carbs that have very valuable vitamins, minerals, and fiber. There are also very low value carbs like high fructose corn syrup that have little if any nutritional value but still carry a heavy caloric load.
Low calorie or ultra low calorie- These can be valuable under the advisement of a knowledgeable professional like a dietitian or nutritionist usually for a medical reason or a set period of time. This can be very dangerous if done without knowing the potential consequences like malnutrition, muscle loss, low energy, and in some extreme cases, death.
High protein diets- I wouldn’t consider this as one of the healthy diets that work. Getting a majority of your calories from any macro nutrient source will have detrimental effects over time. The key is to find whole food diets that work, and are balanced with all three macronutrients, fat, carbs, and protein.
The question shouldn’t be are there any crash diets that work, or any protein diets that work, the question needs to be are there any diets that work at all? My opinion is that you might use dieting for a period of time to achieve a specific goal, in a specific set time under the guidance of a knowledgeable person.
Overall I have to say I don’t believe in diets, I believe in healthy eating with occasional indulgences, why do I say that? In a society where we can eat wherever we want and more importantly whenever we want it is becoming increasingly difficult to control ourselves, which is where the multimillion dollar diet industry comes in. When people don’t put any limitation on what or when we eat, we tend to overindulge.
Our bodies are still wired for the era of feast or famine. Quite ingeniously our bodies handled long periods of famine by storing extra calories in the form of fat. The food industry tends to make us high fat, high calorie food because it tastes good, which leaves us in perpetual feast mode. We no longer have long periods of famine, and our bodies are telling us to eat, eat, and eat. Eventually the extra calories begin to show up on our waistlines.
How do we overcome the bodies natural desire to constantly want to protect itself from starvation?
1. Eat smaller meals more often. This tells the body that food is readily available and to turn down the mechanisms that cause insatiable desires to eat.
2. Eat nutritionally dense calories. When we eat hamburgers and French fries, they may taste good but they usually provide low nutritional quality, causing us to feel hungry again. The extra calories are stored as fat, and worse yet we still need to eat because we our bodies didn’t get what it needed nutritionally.
3. Drink plenty of water- some experts say half a gallon a day, but if it’s hot or you are physically active then you may need as much as a gallon a day or more. Drinking water helps increase the feeling of satiety, and helps rid the body of waste.
Overall, the question- is there any diets that work will have to be explored by you specifically. There are times when a so called diet can be useful but ultimately you will need to explore the matter personally. Every person is unique, and there are countless variables to consider. Remember, often the more simple and natural the food is, the healthier it tends to be.
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