How luring is it when you see an advert claiming that you can lose 30lbs in just TWO weeks, and keep it off?
How many times have you been led to a website that wants cold hard cash for pills, shakes, potions, lotions all claiming to be the missing link in losing weight?
How much money have you spent over the years, trying these products only to realise that itâs all B/S??
And what the hell is in those pills, shakes, potions and lotions anyway?
What the hell have you been putting in to your body?
You never asked did you? đłđ€
Why is it that when someone suggests a pill or shake, people go nuts for it, and never consider what is in it and what it will actually do to your insides, yet give someone some healthy, good nutritious food and suddenly theres a gazillion and one questionsâŠ. where did it come from? What is it? What will it do to me? Will it make me fart? will it make me sick? Will it give me tummy ache? How will it help me lose weight? How much does it cost? and so onâŠ.
Weâre questioning the wrong products!!!! REALLY!!! đ€
 And what about those ridiculously crazy fad diets that you read about in some star studded magazine?
Every week, a new story, a new diet, a new way of shifting 20lbs QUICKâŠ. and these guys know how to market to your pains, your vulnerabilities, your weaknesses!
They know how to suck you in, chew you up and make you believe that THIS is what YOU NEED!
You have found ANOTHER NEW DIET! Itâs called the Low âÏâ Diet!
âÏâ may represent sugar, fat, carbs, gluten, wheat, meat, white food or any processed food!
You know these articles, they always claim that âÏâ is the leading cause of your weight gain. It is the secret underlying cause to our health and obesity crisis. Itâs causing children and adults alike to develop chronic diseases. But by removing âÏâ we can reverse all of these issues. We can turn back the clock and fix pretty much anything, and undoubtedly, we will all end up looking like Jennifer Anniston. Fat will literally fall off your butt, stomach, thighs, YOU WILL BE HOT!
WowâŠ. where the **** can I sign up for this, it sounds amazing⊠right?
And guess what, somewhere in the article it will probably tell you about some important sounding study that has discovered that it is in fact âÏâ that is undeniably responsible for, and causing ALL of our healthy problems!
WowâŠ. againâŠ.! I need to strip all of âÏâ out of my life RIGHT NOW! I need to lose 14lbs in a DAY!
So, you go about clearing your kitchen cupboards, you throw out anything that has any signs of âÏâ on the label. Gone! In the bin! You feel liberated, motivated and ready to take this new Low âÏâ Diet.
Now your cupboards are free for âÏâ, and there is nothing but âÎłâ and âζâ for you to eat. You feel amazing. THIS IS GOING TO BE IT! You are going to be slim, and hot, and confident, and sexy, and empowered, and worthy and safe, and happy!
You are extra vigilant, as you start to plan out your meals, meticulously avoiding âÏâ at all costs. Going binge town crazy on the new âÎłâ and âζâ so-called superfoods.
You start out and you feel in control, this is easy to follow. âI am crushing the Low âÏâ Diet and pretty soon, I am gonna look like JenAn! Whoop Whoop! Lifeâs great!â
Suddenly all of the conflicting stories start to seem more black and white, and hey, after a week you have lost weight! Fist bumpâŠ. itâs working! You feel amazing! FINALLY! *jumps for joy*
You have finally found the secret key to losing weightâŠ. do you shout it form the roof tops, tell all of your mates or keep it quiet for a little while longer?
A few week later, you are out with friends, people are noticing your weight loss, they are commenting, complimenting and congratulating you!
âWow, you look great, what are you doing?â
Little do these friends know that although you are still losing weight, its slowed from the incredible 7lbs in one week to a pound, or maybe even half. Your enthusiasm is waining and you are starting to feel deprived, as you watch your friends having a great time⊠but you CANâT have âÏâ, so that means you canât really join in.
That feeling of deprivation is eating a hole in your happiness, and suddenly you canât stop thinking about âÏâ. You feel hungry, actually no, you feel hangry, and then suddenly you are faced with a huge plate of âÏâ staring right in to your very soul.
You try and step back, try to rewind your mind to the article you read about âÏâ, all those scary horrible facts and statistics from the important sounding studyâŠ. (Damn you brain, stop thinking about how yummy âÏâ is!)
Oh, âÏâ why do you have to smell so good! Why do you look so yummy! Why are you so bad for me? Surely a little âÏâ wont hurt, just one mouthful!Â
FUCKâŠ. Thatâs a taste sensation! My tastebuds literally feel like they have stepped out into a Rio de Janeiro Street festival of colour, flavour, emotion, happiness⊠they are dancing with joy!
The next mouthful is just as good! Then you dip some tortillas in âÏâ, scooping it into your mouth, as your soul lets rip a huge cry of joy! With crumbs flying everywhere, you just mutter those three words⊠Oh. My. God!
Before you know it, all control has been relinquished to the amazing taste explosion of âÏâ! Fist to cake hole!
Your pleasure is audible, your friends are now looking at you as you spot more types of âÏâ, meltedâÏâ, liquidâÏâ, âÏâ withâÏâ spread on it. There is literally âÏâ everywhere!Â
All rational thinking has now left the building!!! You slump back into a chair close to âÏâ coma. But damn, it felt soooooo good!
As you start to re-awaken from your âÏâ coma, the realisation of what happened starts to dawn on you, a bit like those blackout moments the day after the night out on the margaritas before. OH. THE. SHAME!
You feel sad, confused, angry, disappointed! You feel like a failure! You feel like you have let yourself down! Everyone is tutting at you, âoh look she spectacularly fell off the wagonâŠAGAIN!â
Why couldnât you just say no to âÏâ?
Why couldnât you have just turned away?
Life carries on, and you relent to the deliciousness of âÏâ once more and start to eat it. Before you know it, your kitchen, your handbag, your work draws are full of âÏâ. You are now a fully fledged lover of âÏâ, spreading, dipping, dunking it at each and every meal to your hearts content.
Ten days later, you are back up to the weight you started at, all of that hard work, of that restriction, all of those rules you followed so tightly were for nothing. Damn it!
All of that effort, wiped out! Reversed!
Fuck you âÏâ! I knew you would make me gain weight! You bastard! I hate you⊠(but I actually love you!). Damn you! Crap, I am useless! I will never be slim or happy or sexy or confident. I am not worthy of them things!
And with that, every portion becomes a little bigger than the last with a big side serving of self-loathing! Fuck you life!
A few months pass, and you are now heavier than you were before⊠But you have had time to think. you have had time to refocus, get your motivation back up, increase your desire to change and your will power. But this time, you MUST try harder! You must be stronger! You MUST follow the rules!
So, now not only are you restricting âÏâ, but you are avoiding all social occasions that may involve âÏâ. I canât go out for dinner there might beâÏâ! I canât go for drinks with the girls, there may be âÏâ! I canât go to visit the family, there is always âÏâ!Â
My family, my friends, my partner all need to be more supportive, more encouraging! They need to now change their lifestyle to fit with my restriction of âÏâ!Â
This story is lived out EVERY SINGLE DAY, but many people across the world! Myself included!
âDietsâ have always promised what they canât deliver, and have always been a sore topic of conversation for many people⊠and a controversial one at that! There are many disagreements, arguments, fall outs all based around âdietsâ and their false promises of body transformations, lifestyle changes, perfect health and perfect bodies.
âDietsâ donât work! At least not for the masses!
Yes, there may be some people who are capable of living their entire life confined by the rules and restrictions that come attached to any diet, but these people are not necessarily happy!
And truth is, that although diets do not work, they all promote the same messageâŠ. Eat better, move a little bit and avoid the shitty food!
Any diet that restricts your caloric intake, whether it is calorie tracking, low carb, vegan, keto, paleo and so on, isnât going to serve you or your body long term. It may bring SOME weight loss results and marginally better health initially, but in most instances this isnât for the reasons that they claim.
It is purely down to the fact that you have started to eat LESS, or more, depending on which goal you are heading for.
Truth is, these diets may bring results in the first few weeks, or even months, but do they address the fundamental issue in the first place?
The issue that you and food have a love hate relationship, which is directly affecting your relationship with your body!
NO! They address your size, weight and health, but they do not affect your habits, behaviours, beliefs, emotions, feelings OR happiness.
You cannot and will not find happiness in a weight or a dress size, believe me, I was there once, I achieved my goal, but I still wasnât happy, I still wanted more.
If you are always restricting yourself, then you will always feel deprived, and therefore always run the risk of frequent visits to Binge-town⊠Yeah, way to make yourself feel betterâŠ.. right?
Diets, and the rules and restrictions that they place on you not only affect your relationship with food, and your relationship with yourself. But your relationship with those that you love and your social life.
No more dinner dates in case of âÏâ!
No more nights out in case ofâÏâ!
No more afternoon teas in case of âÏâ!
Do you see what I mean? You always run the risk of bumping into that one thing you least want to see!
The real problem that needs to be addressed if your mindset, your habits, your behaviours.
You need to repair your relationship with food and with your body, appease your mind and start to build the bridges back to Happy Town! Knocking down those to Binge-Town whilst you are at it.
You need to start LOVING yourself, your body and your food!
Itâs not an easy journey, but it is certainly one that can be done, you just need the right guidance and support!
If you want to find out more about my Online Habit and Nutrition Coaching Programme, then just complete the contact form below and letâs have a chat.
âI canât believe how much my outlook has changed since I started the coaching programme. Coach Lesley just seems to get me and she gets my issues as well. I am not dieting, and I eat what I want, when I want to, but something has changed inside me, because I actually do not want to eat the crap I use to! I want to eat the good stuff! Itâs amazing! And I feel amazing! I am losing weight! And I feel happy! Best thing I ever did!!!â
â Laura Waingart
Thanks for reading my blog today, I hope that you have found it useful⊠if you did, please share it with your friends, and hit the like button to let me know you liked it! Whilst youâre at it, why not subscribe so you receive notifications for future blogs?
 Featured Image Courtesy of Markus Spiske @ Pexels
        Do Restrictive Diets Actually Work? How luring is it when you see an advert claiming that you can lose 30lbs in just TWO weeks, and keep it off? But dies it actually help you? How luring is it when you see an advert claiming that you can lose 30lbs in just TWO weeks, and keep it off?