Pet Peeve: Trendy Diets

Coach April Wallace shares one of her biggest health & fitness pet peeves and 5 ways to avoid it!

These days, there’s an excessive amount of information about nutrition and, specifically, weight loss diets.  It can be overwhelming and utterly confusing.  Will Keto fix my problems?  What is Paleo all about?  During the fat-free craze, I loved eating my bagels with fat-free cream cheese, which now directly interferes with low-carb dieting!  Here are a few tips to help you reach your goals.

1.  Be Consistent
You’ve heard it before: results don’t happen overnight.  Once you determine which path you want to follow, give it some time to work (at least 2 weeks and that’s even cutting it close!)  It’s going to take some effort and patience.

2.  Don’t be a Hater
What works for one person may not work for you. No need to get all fired up.  As Fleetwood Mac says, you can go your own way.  It might take some experimentation to find out what works for your lifestyle and for your body.

3.  Track It
If you’re serious about making body composition changes, you’ll want to keep track of the foods you are putting into your body and how it’s responding. There are plenty of apps now that will help you do this easily and quickly.  Don’t guess.  Get solid information that will help guide you on what’s working or not.

4.  Use Your Common Sense
Is it the cabbage soup that is the magic to weight loss or the fact that you’re eating less than 1000 calories a day?  Being very calorie restrictive or eliminating entire food groups can (and will) work in the short term.  But, extreme deprivation will cause problems later (and that’s an entirely different article!)  Be realistic and understand what you’re getting yourself into before you begin.

5.  Go Back to the Basics
Eat fresh food.  Exercise more frequently.  Get adequate sleep.  Recognize that these (and other) simple actions are still relevant and can positively impact your health.  Stop overcomplicating things and look at the big picture.

If you’re still stuck from all of the conflicting advice and don’t know where to begin, focus on the long game.  Health is a lifelong journey with small incremental steps and adjusting as you move forward.  Reach out to your Infinity Fitness coaches.  We are here to guide, encourage and support you!

Did you find this article helpful?  We’d love to know your thoughts!