November 1st, 2024
If it has a name then it’s probably not a sustainable, effective plan. So if you are trying Keto, Carnivore, some new method etc… it’s probably not going to be best for you long term. Nutrition is highly individualized and trying to put yourself in a box is going to create unnecessary stress and an increased likelihood of you ditching your plan.
What I’ve learned from my own experience, nutrition education and coaching is that the best plans are ones that can be sustainable for life and don’t involve overly strict rules or the elimination of entire food groups (unless for ethical/religious beliefs or for allergies).
Perhaps you’ve tried diets before. Did they work long term? For years, I feel victim to radical claims some diets promised. I tried almost every one out there. I will share with you the most outrageous…
It was a 7 day diet (The GM diet) developed by General Motors (yes the vehicle company 😂). Day 4 randomly allows you to only consume bananas and milk (max 8 bananas and 3 glasses of milk) and day 5 includes beef/chicken/fish and tomatoes only (up to 6 whole ones though!)
I know now that there is no scientific rationale or back-up to this diet’s madness, but back then I blindly followed it because a friend had told me about it and the arbitrary rules and restrictions made it seem really legit 🤣 . Maybe all the acids from the tomatoes burned fat? Lol… nope, definitely not. I actually only made it until day 6… the weekend came and I was so defeated from a bad work week that I said screw it, I’m going out for wine and steak.
If you know me and my story, you’ll know that I later determined that my problem was emotional eating and the toxic relationship I had with my job.
Basically what I’m trying to say is please try to question the validity and sustainability of a program before jumping in. There are a lot of influencers out there who will promote pseudo science. There is no magic diet out there. However you can reach your goals through managing energy expenditure and fueling your body consistently and appropriately for what you do on a daily basis. This will require mindfulness, awareness and the development of healthy habits and mindsets rather than complete restriction of certain foods.
This is why when I work with my clients we focus on a plan that can be sustained for life and not just for a set amount of time. For most people, myself included, It’s not realistic to say you’ll never eat cake, fast food or processed food ever again. However we can work on being honest with ourselves and getting to the root cause of why we’re are overindulging in foods we know are not the best choice. This is what taking a holistic approach to nutrition means.
During most of my coaching sessions my clients and I don’t just talk meal ideas and supplements, rather we discuss stress management, time management, emotions, personal tendencies, mental blocks… anything and everything else that relates to a healthy lifestyle.
This approach is getting them sustainable results that they feel good about 💕
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