Diet Myths Debunked

We are now 5 months in to 2024. Was your New Years Resolution to 'lose weight' or 'diet'? If so, how is that going for you? We are all completely unique individuals - that's why, one size will never fit all with the nutrition we need and foods we require every day. 

Fad Diets Aren't Sustainable

Fad definition: an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived; a craze. They are called 'fads' for a reason. Yes, you may find them 'do-able' for the first week, but once you are faced with an invite out for dinner and drinks, the diet plan is soon forgotten about. They are simply not the right approach. 

Following ‘fad diets’ can be detrimental to our health, nutritionally not adequate, involves cutting out food groups, rapid weight loss, includes calorie deficits, not backed up by science, promotes short term adaptations, hard to sustain, and can be harmful for those with chronic diseases. Some common ‘fad diets’ include Atkins, Ketogenic, Paleolithic and Detox diets. 

Carbs Aren't The Enemy 

Carbs get a bad rep, when they shouldn't. By taking out a whole food group like carbs 90% of our serotonin is made in our gut. Serotonin is our 'happy' hormone and the remaining is coming from our diet. If we take carbs out of our diet, we'll start to feel weak. Carbs are the brains preferred source of energy, therefore you might experience some brain fog. Sleep can also be affected by the reduction of carbohydrates in your diet. If you are not producing enough serotonin, this can have a knock-on affect on melatonin which regulates your sleep cycle. Low mood - poor sleep - cravings enter the room and the yo-yo cycle of dieting begins again. 

Understanding what a carb is, is also very important. When people say they are cutting out carbs, does that mean they won't be consuming any carrots or cauliflower? Not all carbs are equal. So by cutting down on 'pizza', that might be better approach to a sustainable weight loss journey, than cutting out the full carb food group.

To clarify, carbs do not equal weight gain or contribute to weight loss. When you cut carbs out of your diet, you may notice a drop in the scales on a short term basis, because for one molecule of carbohydrate you attract around 3 or 4 molecules of water. Therefore it is water weight - not weight loss. 

Little & Often Over The Long Haul 

I am a true believer in the quote. It's one of my favourite's from Dan John. Instead of that 'all or nothing' mindset, I would rather you do little and often over the long haul, rather than going 100 mph for 3 days and nothing for the rest of the month. 

Every day doesn't have to be perfect. But I'd rather you show up every day and give something, than nothing at all. 

Fat Does Not Make You Fat

Females especially, have always been fearful of fats - and often opt for 'low fat yogurts' or 'low fat cheese'. We need fat in our diets. It's that simple. Fat is often deemed as good and bad fat... the good fats are your monounsaturated fats, found in avocados, nuts, and oils such as olive and rapeseed. Polyunsaturated fats come from plant oils, such as sunflower, as well as nuts and fish. These are the building blocks of hormones. So by restricting these types of fats, oestrogen production can be affected, causing long(er) term health issues. 

If you are sick of dieting and continually trying new things in the hope for big changes, let's have a chat. Please drop me an email or message and I can help you ditch the diet for good.