You have tried it all. Vegetarian and then, you know what? Let's just go all the way and be vegan!
Then, Low-carb! On second thought, gluten is the enemy overall, so let us be free of that, but perhaps meat, animal products ,
Wait...wait...
Intermittent fasting is the way to go. I need to starve my body, so I just won’t eat for hours and hours and have one BIG meal in the day and shove those 1500 calories in my face all at once.
That will work, right?
I'll drop that weight quickly?
The fads have come and gone, both in society and the implementation in your own life. All with promise of healthy living and weight loss.
With the need for instant gratification that our culture has, we change from diet to diet, healthy choice to healthy choice and weight loss regimen to weight loss regimen without ever truly giving it the “old college try” to see any real results. We give up on something before it has even begun to make an impact in our lives, particularly with nutrition, workouts and fad diets.
By the time the next fad roles around, which is about a week from the time you started the cabbage soup thing, you are on to the next.
Being vegan for a week won't change anything, except for maybe others views about you, because you won’t shut up about “going vegan.” Eating absolutely no carbs doesn’t mean the next day is all bread and potatoes. No matter what you tell yourself, the days do not cancel each other out like the sides of an equation in Algebra II.
Results, especially with something as difficult and sensitive as weight loss, do not come easily or quickly.
Most resort to fad diets that help you “Get results now!” Crash dieting to lose a few pounds quickly will work no doubt, but it works because you are losing water weight, something you should retain naturally to remain healthy. Our bodies are like 70% water people!
This causes a slight fluctuation in weight that you will gain back the following week. So yes, you can “Get results now!” and then “Lose them later!”
In order to get real results that last, with long-term health benefits, you need to pick a lifestyle that suits you and your needs and you need to stick to it.
If that means being a vegan, then yes, be a vegan, for longer than a week.
If that means sticking to a timed eating schedule of snacking, then keep to that schedule. The change week to week never allows for your body to truly adjust to the lifestyle choice, therefore your body will not react properly. There simply wasn’t enough time to do so!
The focus with weight loss should be less on the when and more on the how. It is more beneficial to lose the weight healthily over time, no matter what that looks like for you be it, vegan, flexible dieting or low-carb.
Remember, it takes 4 weeks for you to notice a difference, 8 weeks for friends and family close to you and 12 weeks for the world. Have the patience to really implement the lifestyle change and let it do its’ magic to your body, and not just in appearance, but how you feel.
And if all else fails, eat a vegan donut, they "donut" count anyway;)
