I watched a program the other night looking at what the best diet is for losing weight (yep, another one!).
Most of these programs drive me slightly mad. In their quest to make an interesting program, they almost all entirely miss the point of what ACTUALLY works realistically for long term weight loss.
Thus creating more confusion and leaving people stuck either chasing up the wrong tree, or being completely paralysed by all the conflicting information and not going anywhere.
The guy on the program was aiming to lose weight by cutting his carbohydrates and eating a high fat diet – goodbye bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and even most fruit, hello butter, bacon, avocado, nuts, steak, etc etc.
The advice he had been given was that sugar and carbohydrates make us fat because they raise insulin levels, which causes the body to store fat.
Eating fat on the other hand, helps us lose weight (so he was told), because it keeps our blood sugar levels down, and allows the body to use fat as fuel, burning both the fat we eat, and the fat we have stored on our bodies.
So he sat down to have his first breakfast on his new diet. Bacon and eggs (no bread), and an extra large helping of butter. Because, as he was told, ALL fats that come from animals are good for us, and the only fats to worry about are transfats from processed foods.
Eating more fat (and protein, due to eating more meat), he found that he was fuller for longer, and so ended up snacking less and sometimes eating a lighter lunch.
He also cut out alcohol (as it’s classed as a carbohydrate), so dramatically reduced his calorie consumption there.
Lo and behold, he lost weight.
But this wasn’t simply because he cut carbs and ate more fat.
It was because by doing this he had started consuming less calories.
This is why pretty much any diet will work for a short period of time. In some way, shape or form, they get you to eat less than you were before.
Whether your diet gets you cutting sugar, fat, carbs, processed foods, not eating anything after 6pm, having shakes instead of meals, or just eating cabbage soup every day, they all work in the beginning because they get you reducing your calories.
Thankfully, because I love chocolate and cake as much as the next person), there is no food, or type of food, that makes you gain or lose weight on it’s own.
It ALWAYS comes back to total overall energy consumption.
If you feel good eating a certain way, great, go for it.
But don’t feel that you can’t eat carbs, or you have to avoid fat. Even processed foods are ok in terms of weight loss. Obviously natural foods are going to be more nutritious, but certain processed foods can actually HELP you lose weight by being low calorie and quicker and easier to prepare or have available.
Being a healthy weight is better for you long term than weighing too much while eating all the superfoods the earth has to offer. If your calories are too high, even from just eating healthy stuff, you’ll still be overweight.
It ALWAYS comes back to balance and moderation, but that’s not very exciting to show on TV.
If you’re confused, let me know, and/or make sure you’re in my free facebook group – Health, Fitness and Weight Loss for Women. Any questions that get asked or any useful topics I come across, I do a video in the group for everyone to see.