Never diet again

If you’re like millions of Americans, right now you are making a resolution that come January 1, you’re going to go on a diet.

But if you’ve been following this blog, then you know I'm no diet fan. Because diets don’t work. If they did, we wouldn’t need them anymore. 

And yet, we keep coming back, hoping that THIS is the one that will finally help us lose weight and keep it off.  

Take the Keto Diet for example, as it’s the latest fad.  With this diet you are restricted to under 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. That’s less than what’s in one apple. Fat? No problem! Protein? Good to go. Even though eating animal products all day long (since carbs come from plants) has been shown over and over to be health destroying. For example, cancer rates go up linearly in relation to animal protein intake.  And the Inuit, the only known living example of people following a long-term low carb diet, enjoy a life span that is, on average, 10 years SHORTER than that of other Canadians. That should give us pause.

But maybe it’s OK to do for the short term.  Just to lose the weight.  After all, everybody says Keto works.

Anything is probably OK to do for a short while.  After all, our bodies are incredibly resilient.  But no one goes on a diet with the express interest to gain back everything they lost (and then some)!  And if you’re like everyone else, that’s what will happen as soon as your Keto diet days are over. Because what you were doing while on the diet is so restrictive it leads to a sense of deprivation. And with deprivation come want and obsession. So you end up reverting back to your usual eating habits – often with gusto - and the pounds just pile back on.

Think about the last diet you tried. How long did you last on it? How successful were you at keeping the weight off after you stopped?  Why would the Keto – or Paleo, or Atkins, or Cookie, or Grapefruit, or Cabbage Soup - diet be any different this time?

The key to losing weight and keeping it off - for good - is to make small sustainable changes in your usual eating pattern.  And finding realistic ways to incrementally incorporate more and more foods that promote health (and fewer foods that promote disease) into your nutrition plan.

For example, although Step One’s foods were not created specifically to promote weight loss, many patients find this to be a side benefit of eating them. Because when you eat to lower cholesterol, you’re also eating in a way that is nutritionally dense and satisfying, leading to fewer food cravings and overall lower calorie intake.

When you focus on health and not weight the pounds take care of themselves.  Without you having waste time counting calories, or points, or grams of carbs. Or even knowing your blood type.

Never diet again. That’s a much better resolution.

Watch Dr. Klodas' Live Chat event where she discusses her diet philosophy and answers customer questions!