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Fad Diets Exposed in 3 Minutes

moseabod

The basic principle of losing or gaining weight is calories you consume versus calories you burn. Fad diets don't emphasize this, they cause confusion and cost alot of money


Keto, carnivore, herbivore, paleo, low carb or whatever diet trend aren't changing the laws of thermodynamics that God has put in the universe. None of them are special although some are easier to sustain than others.

Look at the top 10 list of countries and groups with the highest life expectancy and health outcomes, none are on Fad diets but instead follow balanced diets with moderate calorie consumption. The problem with strict diets is that people feeling that they've failed when they eat the "wrong" thing and have increased rates of depression, peer pressure and anxiety. Even worse is making a diet a part of your identity apart from strict religious adherence.



"But people lose 50 lbs on keto"


These diets appear to work because they limit food choices, shrink your feeding window to eat or provide foods that make you feel fuller etc. All of those strategies steer you into eating less calories and all of them still follow the basic principle or calories in vs calories out. Think of a weight loss diet as a strategy on how to eat less calories, that's it.


Dangers of Fad Diets


Heavy diet restrictions outside of a religious sense can lead to eating disorders because of restrictions, inconvenient, the feeling of doing wrong when you eat something no "approved" by diet gurus on the internet.

This can lead to anxiety around food because you believe a certain food is damaging your health, making you fat, destroying organs, the environment, is expensive etc

Restrictive diets take alot of planning, ingredients are harder to source, often expensive, inconvenient , time consuming and can cause stress.

This is why a balanced diet is optimal for most.


Every-time I eat carbs or “insert X food here” I gain weight


No food makes you fat or gain weight. Some combinations of foods are easier to eat and are calorie dense which encourages you to consume more of them (chips, ice cream etc). Those foods with alot of carbs also have ALOT of fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram and is converted to fat easier in the body than carbs (4 calories per gram). Additionally, when you cut carbs you lose alot water weight because the body stores 3-4 grams of water for every carb stored.

If you were to consume those foods without going over your daily caloric expenditure you wont gain weight.


What about under-active thyroid?


The rule still applies. Hyper hypothyroidism will simply affect how much calories you burn per day so you must not exceed that amount

Diets routinely fail because of lack of sustainability so follow sustainable principles.


Simple keys to successful diet

  • Find what your maintenance calories are using a calculator to start and see if your weight goes up or down. Then adjust by + or - 200 calories for 7 days and weigh again.

  • Monitor fat because its 9 calories per gram versus carbs/protein which are 4 calories per gram

  • Instead of a daily caloric target set a weekly caloric target meaning you can have high days and low days. On days with lower appetite you can save those calories for later. This works great with you're planning a cheat meal.

  • You can still eat junk food as long as you don't exceed your daily caloric intake you will not gain weight. The caveat is that junk food doesn't make you feel fuller and its easier to eat alot of it. Cut it down, or make healthier versions of what you like

  • If you eat “cheat” food which almost all of us do, simply make sure you're counting the calories and fit it in your goal

  • Eat low calorie dense foods (veggies) avoid high calorie dense foods (chips)

  • Do cardio to create a larger caloric deficit so you can eat more or lose more weight


In conclusion, stop blaming carbs, sugar, hormones etc and focus on caloric consumption and you will change the scale. Diet gurus don't like this because they need to make money.


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