Why do certain "diets" work and others don't? I'm going to go out on a limb and say something I have never heard about dieting. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FAD DIET! Why? Any kind of "diet" were something is restricted (calories, fat, carbs, etc.) will work for some, maybe not all, but it works. It only becomes labeled a fad because it doesn't work for EVERYONE, or people can't stick to it for a LIFETIME, or that it becomes a less popular way of "dieting."
And I hate that word "dieting" hence the quotes. I'll call it weight loss program from here on out. I've read so-oooo, so-ooooo many books on weight loss over the years. I have oodles of magazines laying around my house. From the worse of the worse, to the best of the best, they all claim they can help you to lose weight. But can they really?
Sure, maybe, who knows. The key to any weight loss program is, will it work for YOU!! Not how well it worked for Marie Osmond, Phyllicia Rashad, or Beyonce, or the Biggest Loser winner. So here's my approach: study all weight loss programs. All of them! Read all the books, from Atkins, to South Beach, to Clean Eating to the Biggest Loser approach and Weight Watchers. By doing this, I create MY OWN PLAN.
See, it's like this. Awhile ago I blogged about my new weight loss ratio 50/30/20 (versus the 80/10/10 ratio). In mine I threw out heredity and made it nutrition/exercise/behavior modification. I have still been working on this theory, and then it hit me! Why, this is just another "formula" that people will want to follow and magically have weight loss results.
Because the 80/10/10 ratio is just a formula. It's no set in stone rule. For some nutrition is NOT the problem. How many times do you run across people who say they eat healthy (and actually do) but can not lose weight? I was one of those. I ate generally healthy, but my problem was the occasional binges...which actually has nothing to do with nutrition. I knew how to eat healthy, but my BEHAVIOR was to overeat on even healthy foods.
Note I said, BEHAVIOR, which is a key component in weight loss. So even if someone ate healthy AND exercised, certain behaviors in their lives could still cause weight gain (exercising too much, overtraining, binges, not eating enough, etc.) It's a little complicated, but basically, by "piecing" together several weight loss plans, you can fit it better into your life. Sometimes my mentality is, "Well, if Atkins worked for you, maybe me." Or, "P90X worked great for you, you lost a lot of weight, I know I will too." Just don't buy up all your stock in a particular plan--try them all out (hint...even the ones that get bad reviews!)
Lots of times I find I like certain aspects of a weight loss plan, and hate others. So what works for me I keep, and what does not, leave it. Then I incorporate another plan and see what I like about that. I hear people bashing and/or praising Tosca Reno's book like it's the Bible of weight loss (although I do recommend it for all my clients), but truly, just gain some knowledge about healthy eating AND exercise anywhere you can.
Oh, and everyone knows I am a BIG Jillian fan! But her plans have faults as well. Geez, now she has her own supplement line and people will think it's a magic pill, EVEN THOUGH SHE ALWAYS CLAIMS THERE IS NONE! So take everything with a grain of salt, from the smartest, brightest, toughest trainers/nutritionist/lifestyle coaches/authors out there and become your OWN Lifestyle Coach.
