Are you on the Wrong Diet?
/I'm going rogue and switching up the order on you, but this is the 5th reason from my article"11 Reasons you're NOT getting results."
Previous articles: Reason 1, Reason 2, Reason 3, Reason 4
I get it, I’ve been there. Your best friend (sister, mom, Becky at the office) is on a “diet” and they are getting amazing results. So you think, “This is it! This is the ONE! This person has found the diet that WORKS.” So you get the rules and you go all in.
You don’t see any results the first week, which doesn’t discourage you, because after all, you don’t have tons of weight to lose, and you know it takes time. You don’t see any results the second week, which is okay because you know it takes time for your body to adapt to any changes you make (which is totally true). You don’t see any results the third week, and you’re “fine” because you know it’s working for Becky, so you force yourself to stay committed, 100%. Then week four rolls around, and maybe you’ve lost half a pound, or (heaven forbid!) you’re up three-quarters of a pound! What the what?!?! How is this even possible? Becky has lost 20-plus pounds. You thought you’ve been following all the rules (you even skipped happy hour… 4 times!). Why are you such a failure? What are you doing wrong?!?!
There’s a huge possibility that you aren’t doing anything wrong. The problem may be that you just aren’t doing what’s right. I know this may be a shocker to you, but every single human on this planet is different. Not only do we have different genetics and gut microbiomes (the bacteria in our gut that helps us survive. Yeah, not very scientific, I know. If you want more… Uncle Google knows everything ;), but we also have different lifestyles; from work and play to sleeping habits. All of these things effect your body, which in turn, contributes to your body composition (aka lean vs. fat body mass).
“So, Erin, what are you saying?”
I’m saying, there is no one perfect diet. There is no diet that will work for every single person on this planet. Does that scare you? It shouldn’t. It should give you an immense sense of relief. It’s not that you’re a failure, you just haven’t found the right thing yet. Becky’s diet may not work for you, but there’s something out there that will. You just need to figure out which.
Here’s the deal, there is no WAY I can help you figure out what works for you with just one blog, but what I can do is help point in you in the right direction. You have to become a student of your own body and lifestyle to find out what works for you. I am generally working one on one with 30+ people at a time, and never have I had two people doing the same thing at the same time. Because each person needs an individualized plan to create long-term results.
To learn what your body needs, I highly recommend two things; keep track of everything and do your research. One of easiest ways to start is to check out several different books on diet and nutrition, and try the one that seems most appealing to you. Nope, not the one your sister had success with, but the one that seems most appealing to YOU. There are countless numbers of diet books and programs, but these are a few my clients have used to get started (pssst… if you order from these links, I may get some nickels. I may not, but it’s a possibility):
Whole 30 (this one is pretty popular, you probably know someone whose done it)
Bulletproof Diet (you may know this one from the butter coffee)
Elimination Diet (similar to the Whole 30, but with a more specific layout)
Ultimate Portion Fix (easy to follow portioned container system)
Ketogenic Diet (high fat, low carb, moderate protein)
Virgin Diet (get rid of that sugar, you’re sweet enough!)
Sweet Potato Diet (yes, you read that correctly… it’s all about carb cycling )
131 Method (this is WAAAAY more than a diet book. This is an entire program, and only for someone who is super serious about getting results. That being said, I LOVE this program and is my personal number one recommendation if you are ready to commit to learning how to not only drop the weight, but keep it off permanently)
Of course, all this being said if you want to get started quickly (and while you're doing your book/program research) stop eating food out of boxes and eat more plants ;)
Another tool you may want to integrate is some form of shortened-widow eating (I say shortened, because you generally eat in some window... even if your window is as wide as a garage door!). This is generally called intermittent fasting, but I find that using the “f” word (fast) scares people. The idea is instead of eating whenever you want all the time, you choose a widow of time in which you will eat. For example, an 8-hour window may mean you eat your first meal at 11am and you finish eating by 7pm. A 5-hour window may mean you eat starting at 4 and stopping at 9. A 12-hour window may mean you eat between 8 and 8 (you’re smart, you get the idea). You don’t have to go extreme, what you do need to do is find something that works for you (are you sensing a theme here?).
I personally LOVE intermittent fasting. It totally works with my hectic lifestyle. I generally use an 8-hour window, but I don’t live and die by that. I’ve learned that the more I feel like I “have” to stick to something 100%, the less likely I am to get results. I need some flexibility in my diet… because I’m a normal human being (crazy, right?!?). I drink wine and I eat desserts, but I also know which treats are more likely to cause overnight weight gain and bloating that sticks around and which ones will only stay on my hips for 24-hours.
The awesome thing about learning how your body reacts to different foods is that it gives you choice! You know how that bagel or chai-latte will affect your waistline and you can choose whether or not it’s worth it at that point in time (and let’s be honest, sometimes it totally is). You’ll know if dairy or beans cause you to bloat or get headaches and you get to be in charge. Ultimately, it’s probably not someone else's diet that is going to work long-term and make you happy with your results as well as what you're eating. It’s when you find a diet that works for your lifestyle, your sanity, and the body composition that you realistically want that you’ve found the right diet. When you do that, you can call it the <insert your name here> Diet, because it’s yours, and yours alone. So start tracking and do your research. Don’t be overwhelmed, just take it one step at a time. You’ve got this.
Note: I use the word diet to mean how you eat. I’m not a believer in going “on a diet,” I’m a believer in having a diet. You can adjust your diet as you learn what works for you, but no one wants to be “on a diet,” especially not indefinitely. That’s super lame and no fun.