Everywhere you look these days, someone is selling a diet and telling you what you should and shouldn’t do to lose weight or to get ripped abs or to be skinny.
At the end of the day, your body's whole purpose is to keep you alive, functioning optimally and trying to stay in a homeostatic balance. It doesn't care about the number on the scale or if you have a six pack or not, it cares about the fuel you give it to keep it functioning at its best.
When you eat to lose weight, most diets promote unhealthy eating habits that actually fight your bodies natural mechanisms (and they never win).
For instance:
• If you eat TOO low calories, your body will slow down your metabolism, reduce its fat burning capacity so it has the energy to KEEP YOU ALIVE.
• If you eat no carbohydrates or fats, the body will feel tired, irritable and for women, you may even lose your period because your body needs these nutrients to STAY ALIVE
• But if you focus on just getting enough of your macronutrients into your diet, you could be missing out on vital micronutrients that KEEP YOU ALIVE.
If you are LIVING TO EAT a.k.a you constantly think about food, you stress over the foods you can or cannot eat and you don't feel comfortable with this diet style but do it because that "one friend's husband's workmate lost a lot of weight" than that eating pattern does not suit your body and because our bodies are amazing, it will fight you to keep peace in your body....
The stress will release hormones that will ensure your body reduces your fat burning capacity (to keep you alive), it will store energy around your waistline (to keep your vital organs protected), it will make you feel tired (so it can save all your energy for keeping you alive), it will shut off your sex hormones (because you can't produce babies in this state)... get the picture, you can fight your bodies natural mechanisms to keep you alive.
So next time you want to try a new eating pattern, stick to the ones that include:
• Lots of fresh and whole foods
• Lots of vegetables and plant based foods in a range of different colors
• A mixture of carbohydrates, healthy fats and proteins
• A reduction in inflammatory and packaged foods
• Guidelines that suit YOUR lifestyle, YOUR mindset, YOUR body and YOUR health
Some diets are necessary for some people, example: a coeliac must eat gluten free, a ketogenic diet has been proven to have great results for those with epilepsy, a person with diabetes will benefit on a lower carbohydrate diet... but if your goal for choosing these diets is to solely lose weight, if their restrictions do not suit YOU they won't work.
Happy Balanced Eating!