They may be trendy and come with promises of fast and grandiose weight loss. But, the dark underside of fad diets establishes unhealthy eating habits and possible long-lasting damage to your overall health, both mental and physical. Delving into why a 600-calorie a day diet is deleterious to your health, or why sipping only juice will play havoc with your wellbeing, Rachael Sacerdoti of It’s So Simple explores the dangers of quick-fix diets, and why education, support, and balance are key to making healthy, long-lasting lifestyle changes.
With over 60% of adults in Britain registered as overweight or obese, many will be fully aware of the fad trends full of promise that have graced magazine pages, newspapers, and TV over the decades. From the Cabbage Soup Diet – to the HBD, offering wild claims to burn fat fast with instant weight-loss, it’s no wonder there is so much confusion when it comes to the nation’s relationship with food and the weight-loss industry. Consequently, these restrictive and unsustainable eating behaviours have become commonplace despite the perpetual harm they can cause to the body and mind.
To better help navigate the diet mentality, and focus on a more sustainable way to achieve optimal health and wellbeing, here are our top five reasons why you should give up the fad diet, now!
- Cultivating unhealthy practices and the ‘yo-yo’ effect, most of these ‘miracle diets’ promote restricting the number of calories you eat – some presenting a dangerously low count – without taking into consideration your unique circumstances, along with any underlying health issues.
“Ultra-low-calorie diets teach poor, restrictive practice and lead to long-term damage to your health; causing nutrient deficiencies, a reduction in fertility, poor gut health, and weaker bones.”
- Fad diets pay no attention to the role exercise plays, totally overlooking what a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle should look like.
“Unhealthy weight loss plans frequently skip an exercise plan, decreasing muscle mass, rather than simply reducing body fat, which causes the body to slow down metabolism. This is thought to be one of the reasons why most people regain weight once they stop a restricted calorie plan.”
3. Education is key for anyone looking to lose weight and make lasting lifestyle changes. In order for anyone to see ground-breaking, long-lasting results, you need a fully supportive and sustainable programme with individual advice applied – one diet most definitely does not suit all. When you build your understanding of the fundamental principles of balanced nutrition combined with the right exercise, community support and accountability, you have all the ingredients you need for lasting habit and lifestyle change. The result is that you transform your body from the inside out.
4. To achieve the results you want; you have to live the lifestyle first. Creating the lifestyle to support your goals is one of the most exciting parts of the journey. Planning your sleep, stress, relaxation time, relationships, as well as your nutrition and exercise is what unlocks the transformation.
5. Our ingrained relationship with food from an early age needs to be reset and rewired. For the majority of people, this is undoing 30, or 40 years plus of belief. Having battled with her weight for most of her adult life, Rachael and the It’s So Simple team have first-hand experience with the struggles of being heavier and what effect that has on your health.
