Can you blame us? From an early age, we are bombarded with messages and images about our bodies, how they aren’t good enough, and what products can help us “fix” ourselves. As we get older and we genuinely do have “problem areas” on our bodies we want to resolve or excess weight to lose to be healthier. TV weight loss plans and “pretend” health foods keep us in the dark about sustainable healthy eating habits. Companies main goals are to make money – not to build up our esteem or guide us on a healthy weight loss plan. We inevitably fail at an unrealistic diet plan and are harder on ourselves than before.
I can talk about this because I’ve been there. Losing and regaining the same 20, 30, 40 pounds OVER and OVER again. It’s time for us to lighten up on the self-judgment to take back control of their eating habits.
As summer comes upon us, tis’ the season for dumb diets, detoxes, and quick fixes.
Here are 3 common mistakes we as women can make when it comes to our diets and my solutions to them.
1. Adopting a Diet Program Advertised on TV.
“Lose five pounds your first week!” To any woman aching to lose fat, these TV gimmicks sound tempting. You can even have pizza and pancakes and cake! Too bad these plans have about a 97% failure rate over the long term.
Why the dismal results? Well, the low calorie approach these diets must take in order to guarantee fast results makes us rebound in weight once the diet is over. Sustaining a very low calorie diet is a surefire way to lose muscle mass, slow our metabolism, and experience caloric compensationonce our appetites catch up and we’ve run out of microwavable pasta bowls. And because the women in these commercials are meant to attract women who aren’t lifting weights (because that would take work!), on these diets, you won’t only lose muscle mass but you’ll gain fat back when it doesn’t work. Muscle is metabolically active, meaning the more lean muscle mass you have, the more fat you’re burning – even at rest.
Fit Chicks! Solution: You will have greater long-term success when you invest some time making sure your own nutritious meals are ready to go and easy to assemble. (Check out my YouTube video on my favorite meal prep containers!)
2. Ignoring the Obvious. When we’re struggling to lose weight, we will often look for an obscure missing component in our diet rather than zeroing in on the glaring behaviors causing the real problem. We would rather find out what Dr. Oz’s secret fat loss formula is than put a stop to obvious bad food choices. Nah, can’t be margarita night, sodas, or ice cream! Must be a deficiency in Amazonian koo-koo berry juice! (insert heavy sarcasm here).
Constant grazing on sweets between meals; liquid-dessert coffee drinks; and even too many semi-healthy snacks made of dried fruit and nut butter – these are all examples of blunders we’ll overlook while searching for the secret to instant weight loss. But we’re smart women. Most times, we do have an idea of what our vices are, but without someone saying, “stop eating that” we keep the junk in our diets and scale back on the portion sizes.
Fit Chicks! Solution: Take an honest look at your eating. A food journal can help.
Here are some question starters:
– What am I eating
– When am I eating it
– How does it make me feel
– Am I snacking, almost unconsciously, throughout the day
– Am I eating the kids’ leftovers
Having a food log will help clue you in on the behaviors that aren’t so helpful for your waistline. No koo-koo berry juice required.
3. Eating Fake “Healthy” Food. When us health conscious women hear that we need more protein or fiber, we will go to the store and load up on fortified packaged foods. What many of us don’t realize is that sugar is listed under a ton of different names and they all do about the same thing in the body. Even the earthy sounding ones like coconut crystals and organic agave nectar syrup. Likewise, fat free, sugar free, high fiber, organic, and gluten-free foods can still make you fat.
Ensure, Boost, Slim Fast, Carnation Instant Breakfast, Special-K protein shakes and protein cereal, Kashi cereals and cookies, Kind Bars, Fiber One “protein” bars: These are the most insidious forms of junk food because they masquerade as nutritious.
Fit Chicks! Solution: When you’re looking for protein at the grocery store, you should stick with meat and eggs (or other not overly-processed vegetarian forms like tofu), and then get your fiber from Mother Nature. Then, if you want to supplement with protein or workout nutrition, get it from a place that doesn’t also sell motor oil and toothpaste!
I hope my sarcastic jokes didn’t scare you off – I am just SO PASSIONATE about seeing women being at their absolute best when it comes to their bodies. And I’m disgusted with the way companies market their gimmicky products that don’t work. The only thing you lose is your money and little bits of self-esteem when the doomed diet doesn’t work. It’s not your fault – like I said, I’ve been there. After 10 years of research and 14 years of seeing it in my own life, I have a plan that WORKS, isn’t product-laden or a quick-fix. It takes work – but I’m living proof it’s real.
Visit me at www.coachrozharris.com/scheduleacall and pick a time to have a quick, totally-free call with me about your weight loss goals and what you’re looking to see change in your life.