Why Diets Don’t Work
Diets, diets, diets. Is it me, or is that all you hear anymore nowadays? Everyone under the sun seems to want to somehow improve on their bodies; whether it’s the obese, the skinny, or the already jacked and ripped people. Everyone always wants more. Nothing wrong with wanting more, but there is something wrong when you can’t get something that is so easy to attain.
I happen to be an athlete; so naturally people will always ask me to critique their training regimens and their nutritional programs. I can’t tell you how bad I just want to flip out on these ignorant people. Friends they may be, but the level of their ignorance is still astounding. Let me fill you in on a little secret: There are no special diets for anyone!! Sure you have the bodybuilders, fighters, cyclists, etc, that need to gain and cut weight with certain methods in a certain period of time, but that is sport specific. For the average Joe, it is plain and simple: eat less calories than you burn and you will lose weight. Eat more calories than you burn, and you gain weight.
Everyone is always saying: “I’m on the Atkins diet.” “I’m on the South Beach diet.” “I’m on the Delta 1250 diet.” Enough!! Realistically speaking, there is no such thing as a “diet.” Fitness gurus and so-called experts will have you believe every single person in the world needs a special optimized diet to fit their needs. Bullshit. The definition of a diet is forbidding foods to oneself that are detrimental to optimal health and performance. People must seem to read too much into that definition. There is a difference between forbidding something, and sacrificing something. When you forbid yourself from that yummy chocolate cake or whatever you love, your mind immediately kicks in and says “I want that!” and just like that, you give in immediately. Don’t tell yourself what you can’t eat; tell yourself what you can eat. I know those who are reading this are waiting for that magical diet program to be at the end of the article, but unfortunately I cannot write false things, so there will be nothing of the sort.
There is nothing fancy about dieting except one thing: common sense. 3,500 calories equals one pound. If you eat 3000 calories a day, you lose one pound a week (500 calorie a day deficit x 7 days a week = 1 pound). If you eat 2,500 calories a day, that’s right- 2 pounds a week! Forget all those personal trainers and magazines that provide diets for you. All those do is make your eating lifestyle monotonous and boring in the sense you end up eating the same thing daily. If you want to lose weight, follow this motto: “If it grows, or eats food that grows, then you can eat it!” That’s all there is to the magical world of losing or gaining weight. Anything that is man made you should stay away from.
You Get What You Put In
Think of yourself as a caveman, walking naked with a sharp spear, trying to get a meal. Your options are limited to meat, fruits, and vegetables. Oh my god! There you have your diet written out for you in plain and simple English. Of course, with the advance of mankind, more foods have developed such as: milk, eggs, cheese, etc. These foods are OK to eat as well. Just look at it this way: only eat natural foods and nothing else. I never count calories or watch what I eat. I eat all healthy organic and natural foods and let my body do with the nutrients what it wants. This way, there is no sense for me to watch what I eat. If you’re losing weight, eat natural carbs, protein, and fat throughout the day and do your workouts. Your fat will melt away and you will
be at your optimal weight-for-height ratio. Gaining weight? Do the same thing, except double your food intake for each meal. See how simple dieting is? No need to see a nutritionist or a personal trainer. Just stay away from the middle aisles of the supermarkets, and shop the perimeters. Wheat bread and pasta, oatmeal, natural cereals, eggs, cheese, milk, fruits, and veggies. All there is to it.
Anyone who tells you they can write you a diet program isn’t worth your time to read it because there is no such thing as a diet program. You don’t forbid your body of foods you crave. Instead you sacrifice the foods you crave until you meet your goal of a better body. Sure those fad diets like Atkins will work for some lady who is 5′ 8″ and weighs 300 pounds because she has about 60 pounds of water weight and after all that’s gone, “Oh no! The diet isn’t working anymore. I might as well not even try since I just can’t seem to lose the weight.” How many times have you heard that? Just my point; if you set yourself with a diet plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure before you begin. If you want to be at optimal performance and health, and have a body that you love, or a lifestyle that you love, all that you need to do is stick with all natural foods. If you’re overweight, or underweight, there is no such thing as calorie counting. You eat normally and naturally, workout, and let your body do the rest. We came from the earth just like foods did, so your body wants things in it that mesh well with its chemistry. All the foods that are made in factories are bad for you because they are processed and refined, and all the nutrients are taken out of them because of this. People gain
weight from these types of foods because the carbohydrates go from natural to prepared. Anything not natural will not want to stay in your body and will leave quickly, causing you to be hungry very quickly. What do you do when you’re hungry? You eat! This is why it is important to eat what your body wants, so that it keeps the nutrients in there and utilizes them before they are excreted. This gives you more of a “full” filling and lets you go longer without eating. It’s as simple as ABC. And remember that it takes time! You can’t change yourself overnight. It takes hard, long work and dedication to reach a goal. Don’t give up if you don’t see changes right away. Stick with it and you’ll love the rewards. Anyone who is out there trying to get a specialized diet for them is wasting their time and money. It’s all logical. Eat what the earth made and you will be optimal at all times- mind and body.
With all this ranting and raving, I leave you with the conclusion of this article and the answer to everyone’s questions. “Diets” don’t work because you’re depriving yourself of foods you crave, rather than giving yourself the foods you need. When you deprive yourself of something you crave, your mind will want it no matter what and it will change your body chemistry and cause your metabolism to go on an unsafe rollercoaster ride until it crashes and explodes. Then you’re back at square one. Don’t make yourself take away foods from your body, but rather make yourself give it foods it actually wants and your metabolism, your body, and your mind will all mesh very well together for a very comfortable life-long ride.
