Why Diets & Health Fads Just Don’t Last

Working in the health field, I’m often inundated with emails from all different kinds of companies & practitioners in a similar field advertising “what’s new”. There are often promotions on the latest “super food” or “diet plan”, or “magic libido pill”… etc. etc.

Chia, Hoodia, Ginseng, Goji Berries, Maca, Acai, Yohimbe, Horny Goat Weed, Keto Diet, Atkins Diet, Paleo Diet, Raw Diet… the list goes on and on.

While all of the things listed above are valuable, and certainly supportive to many folks in certain ways, the question I always come back to is, “Is it sustainable? Will it serve you for a lifetime?” The answer is I come to again and again is, “No.”

Encapsulated magic herbal pills & having smoothies with chia & Ginseng shots are all well and good, but they are simply giving you a boost, a support, a shift for a moment. They won’t last forever. AND everyone is so unique, that it’s challenging when things are advertised and introduced as a “beneficial for all” type of product.

When it comes to “diets” and food intake, for instance, the Paleo, Keto & Atkins diets focus on cutting out carbs almost completely. Carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, potatoes, corn, beets, squash & peas not to mention fruit are high in sugars and carbs. But do you know what else they are high in? Vitamins! Minerals! Protein! Antioxidants! Cancer fighting agents! Anti-inflammatory properties! Liver supporting properties! All fruits and and vegetables have  A LOT to offer us. Cutting out processed carbs like crackers, cookies, breads & some grains is one thing, but cutting out fruits & veggies is another.  Most of the challenges that many of us face come from the QUALITY of the foods we eat, not necessarily from the food itself in it’s WHOLE form.

For example, making homemade freshly baked bread made with whole food ingredients will digest & affect your body much differently than a store bought bread which was baked months ago, sitting on the self & filled with preservatives.  Even making cookies & cakes from scratch with non-processed ingredients will firstly taste so much better, but will be easier for your body to handle.  The problem is, is that many of us don’t take the time to actually COOK with whole food ingredients. We’re more apt to pick up a pre-made desert or meal, because we’re overworked, we’re tired and in the end, it’s just plain easier & more convenient. THIS  is what gets us in trouble.

AND, when people become fed up from feeling sick, or having extra weight they don’t want,  they reach out for these “fad diets”, they cut out A LOT of things from their normal diet and they see major results…. AND, although there is an enormous benefit to the body’s functioning with lower carb intake, it all comes back to lessening our PROCESSED FOODS, especially sugars and carbs. I’m going to go ahead and bet that if folks allowed themselves to eat veggie & fruit carbs, on top of whatever diet they’re following,  that they would feel JUST as amazing, if not better.

The bottom line for me is balance.

We’ve developed a food pyramid guideline for a reason. We need ALL of the food groups to be healthy. That’s a fact.  Again, the challenge is finding the moderation within that pyramid. Eating a rainbow, a variety, a balanced spread of foods. The challenge for many of us is to choose to cook our foods instead of buying prepackaged foods. The best thing you can do to allow yourself to get into that whole foods mindset is to begin by  reading labels. Firstly if you can’t pronounce something on the label, put it back. And if there are more ingredients listed than you, yourself would use to make whatever it is, put it back. And actually now that I’m saying this… the wholesome, healing, most beneficial foods that will serve you best WON’T EVEN HAVE LABELS. They will be the ACTUAL ingredients for what you cook for yourself. Fresh veggies & fruit, fresh meat, fresh dairy, whole grains, whole fat oils, nuts & seeds…

Don’t limit yourself. Eat EVERYTHING. In moderation. EAT A RAINBOW, a variety. Use WHOLE FOOD UNPROCESSED ingredients whenever you can. It will serve you better than any “diet” , and it WILL sustain you for a lifetime.

One last thing. Please let yourself indulge. If you love Hostess Cupcakes, let yourself eat them now and again. Maybe it’s Ben & Jerry’s. Do it! Life is for enjoying. There is no reason to be black & white about especially with something as enjoyable as food. If we give ourselves permission, without guilt mind you, to REALLY enjoy and be fully present to treat ourselves from time to time, we help ourselves to stay on track to continue to choose healing foods for the majority of time and for the long run.

Skip the fads & short term plans. Stick to the whole, long term plan that will make changes & shifts for the better & for the rest of your life. xoA