Diets or no diets or which diet ?
Whatever your issue is ... there is no miracle method that suits everyone ! We are all different ! We do not have the same age, the same needs, the same goals, the same physical activity, the same tastes, the same medical issues, the same metabolism ... The solution will be very different for all of us !
A diet is a good idea…only when you are sick : if you are coeliac for example, you must remove gluten from the diet.
For a healthy person, there is NO need for dietary restrictions ; these will lead quite rapidly to food compulsions and the lost kilos will come back … probably more of them
Whether you want to lose or gain weight it only takes a few simple measures, a few changes to your eating routine to get quick and long lasting results, without dangerous feelings of frustration and without the risk of the nasty yo-yo effect …
You are Unique !
The only method that works is the one that suits you. It is personal and unique to you. What worked for your neighbour won't necessarily work for you and vice-versa.
On the other hand, what ALWAYS works is the program that takes into account all the parameters of your daily life :
Your diet must take into account you tastes and culture :
It will be impossible to hold a long-term program that you don’t like. For example, one that contains a majority of vegetables if you are a meat lover. Also some religions do not allow pork or beef or animal products, or the association of meats and - dairy products… You need to keep the pleasure element in your routine and prepare enjoyable meals. A good balance of nutrients will stabilise your energy levels, your appetite and your mood in a delicious way !
Your diet must take into accountYour age :
The needs of a growing teenager are very different from those of a pregnant woman or a menopaused grand-ma !
The fat will not accumulate in the same places at 25 years old and at 50: (on the hips, thighs and cheeks for a girl ; round the abdomen for her mother)
Your diet must take into account your gender :
The role and action of hormones are different depending on whether you are a man or a woman; the distribution of fat and muscles will not be the same either.
Your diet must take into account your metabolism :
Are you pregnant ? Menopaused ? an athlete? Do you suffer from water retention ? NO-one digests and metabolises food the same way. Our sensitivity to macro and micro nutrients is very variable .
Your diet must take into account your physical activity :
Your energy requirements will be very different depending on your lifestyle and professional activity - whether you work behind a desk, or train daily on a tennis court, or if you travel a lot, or if you work at night ...
Your diet must take into account your health :
A healthy person will have a very different metabolism from somebody who is unwell. Your physical and psychological resistance will be weakened if you suffer from any infection or disease, or food intolerances or have high blood pressure or if you are diabetic and need to stabilize your blood sugar, ... The plan needs to be adapted to your condition and medical requirements.
Your diet must take into account your sensitivity and appetite :
We eat when we are hungry and to make sure we have enough energy for the day ahead. But we also often eat for emotional reasons without really being hungry: because we are bored or stressed, we are a fragile teenager, we are sad, angry, or even very happy ! When you buy and share a cake and a bottle of champagne to celebrate a birthday or a promotion or any good news, it is to share positive emotions … not because you are more hungry that day !
Beware of miracle solutions :
While some programmes or supplements may be useful, taking drastic measures or various pills and sachets is often a temporary solution and a bad idea in the long run. First, They isolate you from a normal social life and second, they do not teach you how to control and readjust your eating behavior. You will quickly get back to your bad habits, your excess pounds and centimeters ... and the situation will probably worsen ... The body tends to store more when it has suffered. Don't get carried away in the infernal cycle of a yo-yo weight patterns.
Conclusion
You have to take all these aspects into account in order to implement a "doable" readjustment of your food intake without changing everything..
Neglecting a single one of these parameters, is a big risk of failure in the long run. But if you don't change anything in the way you eat, your weight won't change either. So The key is to take just a few effective measures that are compatible with your personal tastes and lifestyle. Most of all, you have to rediscover the pleasure of food. There is nothing more natural and normal than eating ! It should always be a pleasure. Not an obsession ; not a source of frustration, not a daily math lessons to calculate the amount of calories on your plate.
And remember that pleasure is part of a healthy lifestyle !!!
