The longer I work with in this health and fitness industry, the more ‘that doesn’t make sense’ things I see.
I mean, I think it is great that we are becoming more aware of maybe we should be doing more resistance / muscle strengthening exercise to help improve your health, joint issues and keep the fat off long term.
But you’ve still got the media telling you that you have to detox your body, NEVER eat too close to bedtime, eat as much cheese as you want because it is ‘natural’, cut out carbs..and – more recently –
eat as much saturated fat as you like to lose weight, tone up and fit back into your favourite clothes without feeling hungry ever again…
They call it the ketogenic diet. Have you heard of it? It’s where you eat the majority of your foods from FAT. It became pretty popular when Trudy Deakin came out and said she was eating 82% FAT….because it was just sugar fuelling obesity.
It’s got kind of trendy now, too.
Kim Kardashian and – apparently – Megan Fox, too.
Halle Barry was even quoted as saying ‘say yes to keto’ as if it’s some cult…
So, how does it work?
Well, you pretty much eat high fat foods like meats, eggs, nuts, butter, coconut oil, fish, cheese…
But pretty much avoid all carbs (including fruit) and even some veggies.
Now, the idea is that your body starts burning fat as fuel.
And they’re right. Eat more fat, and your body will burn more fat…as fuel. But this doesn’t mean you will lose BODY FAT …unless of course you eat less..
Which you probably WILL end up doing on this diet.
Why?
Well, if you cut out bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, fruit, and pretty much all carbs…you’ve cut a third of your plate, right?
So you’ll probably end up losing some weight.
Which is a good thing, of course.
But should you do it?
Well, the latest research showed that whether you go high carb or ‘ketogenic’…it will make NO difference to your weight loss if calories are the same.
BUT…
this doesn’t mean that parts of being lowER carb are not useful. In fact, some of the ladies I work with DO experience less hunger and more energy when they eat slightly lowER carb meals.
My opinion on this?
The best diet in the world is the one you can do.
So what happens when you want to eat out? Have some rice with your curry? Have your roasties on a Sunday? What happens when you get bored of eating the same foods? Can you see yourself sticking to this? Keeping the weight off long-term?
Or will you fall into the trap of believing your thoughts telling you that you’ve failed because you’ve eaten ‘carbs late at night’?
It’s why I make things more simple in our Fit For Life Body Transformation Programme.
It doesn’t ‘discriminate’ against so-called ‘bad foods’ and helps you tone up and fit back into your favourite clothes whilst still eating the foods you love.
Because whatever diet you choose to help you lose weight and tone up?
There’s a common theme…
Protein and muscle toning exercise (which when you consider bone density, healthy ageing, being able to get up and down for as long as possible, and keeping the weight off for good..it’s pretty serious).
I mean, myself and most of the ladies in using our Fit For Life Body Transformation Programme might eat highER carb one day and highER fat the next…
It’s finding what works for YOU..
Just like if I eat too many Cornish Pasties today?
I might have a lowER day tomorrow ;-)
But the secret?
Just like any healthy eating plan, it does require you to do it. Although it’s pretty simple and most of it is done for you and allows you to eat the foods you enjoy? You still have to actually do it.
And – to be honest- support, accountability and a personalised plan to get you started straight away is what most of the ladies come to me for.
Because you know what to do. But Life is blooming hectic, right? And once you put it off for a while? It becomes a habit. A habit that makes it more difficult to start again.
Especially when they tell us that we have to jump up and down, do burpees and never look at a carb again.
Something I’m not into…
Mainly because I have – in the past- tried to be so healthy than I become ‘unhealthy’…if that makes sense.
Life is for living. And I wouldn’t expect you to do anything that I wouldn’t be prepared to do myself. I mean, planning your meals WORKS. But I get that it doesn’t always happen. I’d be lying if I said I did it everyday.
I guess that’s why we call our programme the “Fit For Life” Body Transformation programme…because it’s fit around YOU, rather than the other way around
Matt
