Is Your Diet Making You Fat?

You’ve decide you want to lose weight, so you find the latest diet trend in a magazine, online or at the bookstore.  You’re ready this time. . . unlike attempts in the past, you’ve decided you are committed 110%.  No excuses and no setbacks. . . just you and the hardcore commitment you’ve made to yourself to get healthy!  BUT THERE’S JUST ONE PROBLEM. . . COULD YOUR DIET ACTUALLY BE MAKING YOU FAT?

Wait, what?  A diet making me fat?  That can’t be possible!  I’m here to tell you that it is possible and here’s why. . .

When we diet, we instantly have a mindset of restriction, which basically only gives us short term results, because eventually our willpower will run out.  When the willpower battery runs out, we tend to binge on foods we’ve been restricting, and/or we start skipping workouts, which eventually leads to not working out at all.

Losing and re-gaining weight over-and-over has detrimental effects on our metabolism.  We tend to lose muscle mass, which in turn slows our metabolic rate down, making each future attempt to lose weight even harder!

Think back to 5 or 10 years ago when you tried to lose weight versus now. . . it was probably a lot easier and didn’t seem to take as much effort.  This is due to years of dieting and the toll it has taken on the body.

If you experience any of the following, your diet is not working:

1. You have an “all in” or “all out” mindset.
2. You have certain foods or food groups that are off limits.
3. You feel your progress is completely de-railed if you skip a workout.
4. You feel as though you’ve “fallen off the wagon” if you eat a “bad” meal/food.
5. You workout to undo “bad” food choices.

To successfully lose weight, we must get out of the restrictive mindset!  We must also put in the time and effort to learn our own bodies and stop looking for the next best meal plan or diet on the market.  We have to learn how to eat for ourselves without anyone telling us exactly what we can/can’t eat.  Yes I can give you the “perfect” meal plan, as can many other trainers, but the reality is, you cannot live off of a meal plan for the rest of your life!

In addition to learning our bodies, we must eat the right foods and do the right type of exercise to balance hormones so we’re not relying on willpower to get us through!  When we restrict our foods and torture ourselves with exercise, we will eventually give up and this creates the restrict-binge cycle, which ultimately leads to a damaged metabolism and an even worse relationship with food.

We have to begin practicing mindful eating and take the focus away from restriction, and instead focus on nourishing our bodies.  We have to stop using exercise as a way to undo “bad” food choices, and instead start using it as a means to improve our strength and muscle and make our bodies more functional.

Under-eating and over-exercising is a recipe for disaster!  I know it sounds harsh, but the results are short-lived!  This is why the majority of people gain weight back after losing it, and over half gain even more back!  The metabolism will fight back when we put this type of stress on it.

For long-term results, we have to develop a healthy relationship with food.  We have to stop over-exercising and start training smarter!  We have to make Monday eating look just like Saturday eating!  Does this all happen overnight?  Of course not, but I promise you, if you start now, your body will thank you and the results you get will be amazing!

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