What is it that bothers me about highly restrictive or elimination diets? I had a conversation with a client today. Doesn’t matter if it was a man or woman. I’ll use the pronoun “she” for this post.
Last year she did one of those “diets” where you get injections (of what, I’m not exactly sure – – – HGH, human growth hormones, I believe) and eat 500 calories a day. Nope. That’s not a typo. Not 1,500. 500.
Over 30-45 days you lose weight. Of COURSE you lose weight. This client lost a pound a day for 35 days.
Once she “lost the weight” she was ready to meet with a trainer…a concept that doesn’t make sense to me, to lose weight BEFORE meeting with me, but maybe she didn’t have enough ENERGY to exercise. ANYWAY, I started training her AFTER she came off this diet.
For the first few months she maintained the weight loss. Back to eating actual food, she monitored what she ate. Within the next few months, however, old habits came back and she gained back
ALL.
THE.
WEIGHT.
Here is my issue. This person learned NOT ONE THING about:
- How to eat HEALTHILY
- PORTION control
So back to today. She said that she may go back to that diet. I took a deep breath. Here is the conversation:
Client: I think I might go back to the diet I did last year.
Carolyn: (taking a deep breath) Oh yeah, why?
Client: Well, it WORKED. I lost all that weight.
Carolyn: Yes, but isn’t the real test of a diet whether your results LAST more than a year…like – forever, maybe?
Here’s the issue. It’s not just THIS DIET. It is sooooo many of them that LIMIT, or ELIMINATE what you can/not eat.
Instead, my focus this year is STOP AND THINK about each thing you put in your mouth.
Evaluate whether you are HUNGRY, and HOW HUNGRY you are.
Determine whether that choice is the BEST choice and how you will feel AFTER you eat it.
Check out HERE where I talk about a GOOD alternative to these types of diets.
How would you eat differently if you followed this idea. Want to talk about it? Let’s set up a call.
Interested in hearing more about it, sign up here for my email list.
