Hi Vibrant Health Seeker.
There are dozens of diets out there, from Paleo, to Vegan to strange and completely stupid. But one thing most of them have in common is that you can lose weight even if they are bad diets.
The best most recent example is of the famous television magician who lost a lot of weight by eating only potatoes for one year. Sounds crazy but it worked.
What is important to remember is that it wasn’t that potatoes are a magic weight loss food, it is all about what he didn’t eat and drink. All the sugar, the junk food, the rich gourmet meals, and all the alcohol and sweet drinks. Leaving all of this bad food out of his diet for a year was a huge caloric burden being lifted.
It is also important that while he lost weight his health would have been compromised to some extent by missing out on some key nutrients in his diet, which would become a problem over time. Low protein for muscle and immune function, plus insufficient fats for brain, cell and nervous system health, and a gap in some specific minerals and nutrients.
On even such a strange diet he would have felt better because he was resting his system from the stresses of his old diet. But this would not be sustainable.
There are, and have been many bad diets, most of which will cause people to lose weight in the short term, often through calorie restriction, which means being hungry. Some using highly processed drinks and bars to replace meals, rob people of the very basic ability to shop and construct a healthy meal.
The problem is that the weight loss industry is not necessarily a part of the wellness industry. But weight loss without an increase in health is a short term fix to a long term problem and will usually result in weight returning plus some.
Healthy weight loss requires the right food plan, plus adequate movement and importantly the right mindset and emotional support.
Most people want to have their cake and eat it to, but I’m sure we all know that it just doesn’t work that way.
Sugar, and sugar rich foods such as grains all become fat in your body and most processed foods are not fit for healthy human consumption. You can either have your cake or your health, but there is little room for both.
Wishing you Vibrant Health
Ian & Dr Susan Newton