Women all over social media are advertising how they lost body fat with a special "secret" detox. This is followed by information on how you can make or purchase this recipe of secret success.
Women who follow fad diets and dieting "gurus" are learning one thing - it didn't give them the desired results they wanted by a long shot.
I myself have been interested in the science of the human body and general fitness since age thirteen. I got into bodybuilding at age seventeen. I know about everything from herbal teas and fat loss to military training.
In this article I will help debunk the most popular fad diets, and help you understand how to lose weight using a true, quality diet.
The Most Popular Women's "Guru" Fad Diets
The Juicing Diet
Do you really want to spend the rest of your life drinking food?
There are 2 reasons to juice:
- You are a baby learning to eat.
- You have a sever sore throat.
Appliance companies like to convince you that you need to buy a fancy juicing machine. Weight loss is not expensive. In fact, it should be cheaper to lose weight than it is to gain weight.
The main issue with juicing is nutrition. Some fruits and vegetables are meant to be left whole. Most plants have cellulose which is the vital fiber for the human body. With juicing, the cellulose is broken down and the fiber becomes little to nothing.
Also, some micronutrients are very large, especially certain antioxidants. Juicing may break down the physical structure of these vital nutrients.
But as far as pure fat loss, juicing is pointless. 100 calories of whole peas is also 100 calories of blended peas. So why spend extra time breaking down food that has the same caloric value no matter how you cut and slice it?
Another reason the juicing diet is not plausible is because it is not reality. Humans have two different sets of teeth, grinding teeth and shredding teeth. Both sets of teeth are used to break down foods we desire to eat, whether plant or animal. Nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives tasting raw plant and soil in liquid form.
Raw Food Diet
Raw food diets are terrible. When Paleolithic man created fire, the human race began preparing foods differently.
The problem with raw food is that your immune system views some bacteria contained within as a threat, and your digestive system cannot break down certain fibers/skins contained in uncooked foods. The worse part about a raw food diet is that the digestive process your body has to go through to process certain raw foods.
For example, most whole grains have husks that protect the seed. Your body cannot break the husk or skin down, making you feel sick. The same is true for legumes. The digestive system cannot break down its protective barriers. This is why grains and legumes are boiled for long periods of time.
Also, some raw foods may contain bacteria that can give you food poisoning, or other illnesses and infections.
From a calorie standpoint, cooking foods may actually reduce the amount of calories in certain foods. For example, cooking red meat may drain some of the fat out of the beef, reducing the calories.
So do not attempt to eat raw foods. Enjoy each meal with hot, steamy wholesome foods.
The digestive system cannot break down protective barriers. This is why grains and legumes are boiled for long periods of time.
Detox Diet
The most popular detox diet (that I have heard about) is the lemon, cinnamon and honey detox.
No detox diet will yield fat loss. All lemon, cinnamon, and honey will do is reduce tissue inflammation. Inflammation is the reddish swelling you get around a wound. Anti-inflammatory foods and products reduce this.
No quality nutrition or energy is acquired made from these diets either. This is because you are repetitively eating or drinking the same thing, eliminating all other food groups. Following such a diet can produce malnutrition which can weaken your immune system and make you sick more often.
Usually detox diets are not true fat loss diets. Companies just use gimmicks for you to drop easy water weight and inflammation.
Starvation Diet
Unfortunately, some women resort to starving themselves. NEVER starve yourself. Your body has survival mechanisms that will react to help keep you alive.
The second you eat something the body sees this as an opportunity to out on body fat so it can use the food for energy in an attempt to prepare itself for the next starvation. This can actually cause weight gain.
Starving is unhealthy for the body, mind, and soul and should never be done under any circumstance.
When Can You Trust a Diet?
A diet is trustworthy if it doesn't offer a product to purchase, have a time frame attached to it that seems dramatically short, or offer any type of membership you must pay for.
A diet is trustworthy if it offers itself for free or offers no products, addresses your current body statistics and goals, includes all food groups, requires exercise, and changes as you change in your weight loss journey.
These signs will help you determine which diets might actually help you, and which are a waste of your time.
A Real World Approach to Weight Loss
I am offering you my
best method of losing weight. I made this diet a few years back to assist friends I cared for in their weight loss goals and to prepare myself for a photoshoot for some past fashion modeling.
Since I am a science geek, I took into consideration that dieting should be a lifestyle. So I took this concept to another level by taking a scientific approach, training your brain to hate junk food.
Imagine your taste buds being disgusted at the things that you currently crave! I've tried this life-changing diet on myself and 79 others...all with great success. My diet will also provide confidence, healthy hair, better skin, better sleep habits, and better energy and total fat loss!
Week 1-4, Train your Brain
In order for you to stop your cravings the first month is all about convincing your brain that certain foods and drinks do not exist and are not good for you. Because of this it's important that there are no cheat days.
Weeks 1-4 will require you to drink no caffeine, go low sodium and to just drink water with whole foods. What do I define as whole foods? Anything that isn't precooked and in some fancy colorful box.
So an example dinner could be something like raw chicken that you cook using low sodium, a vegetable of your choice and some brown rice or a baked potato. This stage is temporary, as we are only trying to train your brain.
What will you expect in the first month? You may experience fatigue, especially if you consume a lot of caffeine. This is due to your body adapting to its own natural energy levels without stimulants. Sleep if you need to.
You will also use the bathroom more often due to an increase in water and fiber consumption. Finally, your hair and skin will begin to look much better as well.
There is no need to worry about calories at this stage. I never met somebody that got obese off of whole foods.
Imagine your taste buds being disgusted at the things that you currently crave! I've tried this life-changing diet on myself and 79 others...all with great success.
Week 5 and Beyond, the Lifestyle
At this point you should be full of energy, looking and feeling better than ever before. Now it is time to focus on the calories. You first need to find your maintenance caloric intake.
I cannot recommend a number to you because everybody is different. I would go online and search "maintenance calorie calculator" be sure it takes into consideration your height, weight, gender and exercise level.
This number is only a starting point. if you gain weight, lower it by 200 calories. If you maintain your weight for two weeks you found the right number. The reason I say two weeks of maintenance weight is due to water weight. Water can fluctuate in the body especially in weeks 1-4, so do not get worried if the scale says you are heavier.
Once your maintenance calorie level is found, lower it by 200 calories. Continue to eat at this caloric level until you are the same weight again for two weeks and repeat. It's that simple! You can stop lowering calories and use this level to maintain weight and remain lean, depending on your goals.
Some tips with this stage. Don't forget weeks 1-4. Avoid going back to overkilling caffeine, eating so much sodium at a Chinese buffet you can barely move and so on. Make sure to get in enough water and exercise.
If weeks 1-4 were successful you should not be having unusual cravings. A good rule to follow for this lifestyle change from week 5 and out is the 80/20 rule. 80% of your daily calories come from whole foods, as I already defined. 20% of your calories can come from "fun" foods of your choice, but don't be shocked if the "fun" foods don't taste good due to training your brain.
Be sure to have a colorful diet and include all food groups and to never give up!
Conclusion
Now you know what diets to avoid and whether a diet is valid. You are also equipped with an example diet that will eliminate mental cravings.
Weight loss should never be difficult and should be seen more as a lifestyle than a diet. The struggle might be intense at first, but once you have the confidence and strength to push beyond the beginning, when times are most tough, your weight loss will become a reality.
Best of all you will be wise about it too!
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