| - | The Perils of Diving Headfirst Into Strict or Crash Diets
Not recommended for a great body in the long run By TomVenuto | Every so often you read a sad story in the newspaper about someone who dove headfirst into a river or lake without checking to see how deep the water was beforehand. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a shallow 18 inches and the consequence of this miscalculated plunge was a broken neck and a wheelchair. This reminds me of the way most people impatiently dive into strict, extreme, or unbalanced crash diets, inadvertently crippling any chance they have for keeping the fat off in the long run. (Related: Diet makeover) | | | |
| One thing that almost all mainstream popular diets have in common is an 'induction phase' (or the equivalent). This is often done under the scientific-sounding auspices of 'making the metabolic switch' from 'carb burner' to 'fat burner'. Another common way that popular diets begin is with a 'liquid fast' or 'internal cleansing' period. This is often suggested as necessary for clearing out all the junk that has accumulated on your insides (or else "you won’t be able to lose any weight"). (Related article: Foods with low carbs)
Larrian Gillespie, the About.com guide to low carb diets, made a keen observation in a recent article. Writing about the Induction plan on programs such as the Atkins diet, she noted: "Frankly, the only thing I object to is the induction plan concept...for ANY diet. It's a cheap trick approach to weight management, since we as Americans are fixated on quick fixes or we toss a plan and go onto the next marketing promise." Not only do I agree, I would take it a step further: I believe that a radical beginning phase may increase the chances of failure in the long term. Gillespie continues with advice about what to do if you choose a low carb approach. This (induction) approach will trigger a rebound weight gain. Don't overdo the induction phase. Better yet, go directly to stage 2 of the plan and begin there. There is nothing more irritating to a physician than having a patient come in with health problems as a direct result of following some crazy diet, like eating ONLY cabbage, or only grapefruit (or only meat and fat).
Induction is simply a politically correct way to say you have to crash diet and starve yourself in the beginning. Look at the forums and message boards: They’re filled with posts from people about to start these programs, dreading the 'initial' phase and wondering if they’ll be able to hack it (and with people telling war stories about how they 'survived it ...or tried it and failed'). (Related article: Do you have a yo-yo dieting problem?)
Induction has little to do with science, health or permanent fat loss. It has everything to do with marketing and instant gratification. Dieters flock to the gurus that promise 12 to 15 pounds of weight loss in the first two weeks, while sneering at the idea of losing a paltry 2 pounds of fat per week. 'Give me results now' is the mindset, with no thought given to body composition, health or long-term consequences. (Related: 3 hour diet review)
Over the past decade and a half I have almost always used the opposite approach with my clients; that is, never dive into diets instead, ease into a new way of life, one step at a time. My clients are introduced to words such as habits, balance, lifestyle and patience. I sit them down, look them in the eye and ask, "Do you want to lose weight quickly and gain it back or do you want to lose fat slowly and keep it off forever and never have to diet again?" When confronted face to face, the answer is always the latter (but often begrudgingly so). | | Of course, the patience pays off, and those who are wise enough to listen enjoy the fruits of lifelong health, leanness and fitness, never having to endure the repeated yo-yo losses and gains so many people suffer for an entire lifetime.
Build a foundation and master the fundamentals first, then nit pick, sweat the small stuff and try advanced techniques later. Once you’ve mastered the basics, then you can slowly make your plan stricter, if necessary based on your results. You can reduce or eliminate cheat days, and tighten up your food choices. Yes, carbs can be s-l-o-w-l-y reduced to find that optimal level for your body type where fat loss really kicks in. Calorie levels can dropped (within reason), more cardio added, rest between sets decreased, and training intensity increased. On and on your regimen can be gradually tightened up until the desired results are achieved. Then, it’s just a gradual, comfortable transition to maintenance phase, which is never far away from the fat loss phase. (Related article: How to shift to new eating patterns using a transition diet?)
Contrast this sensible, healthy, lifestyle approach, (which most people view not only as slow, but flat out backwards), with the crash diet or 'induction' approach: The new dieter STARTS with the strictest, most extreme version of the diet. It’s often very unbalanced with entire food groups removed, or it emphasizes only one food or food type. Sometimes, the restrictions are so tight, you even have to limit the amount of vegetables you eat! The weight comes flying off. SUCCESS! Or so it appears. (Related: How to lose weight during middle age)
No two people are exactly alike and no single nutrition program is right for everyone. For example, some people really do thrive on reduced carbohydrate diets. But one thing that's true for 100% of people 100% of the time is that starvation and crash dieting are a one-way ticket to eventual weight regain and metabolic destruction.
Don’t crash diet, only to relapse to your old, unhealthy ways! Don’t even put yourself in emergency situations where you feel pressured to lose weight quickly. Ease into it. Stick your toes in the water first. Isolate bad habits and replace them with good ones one or two at a time for life. Habits, not diets, are the key to long-term fat loss success, and any nutrition program not built squarely on a strong foundation of nutritional fundamentals is an accident waiting to happen. Recommended articles: How to stop the cravings? Lunch Box Diet Questions about dieting, weight loss, and fitness About the author Tom Venuto is the founder of a healthand fitness website. Tom is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, personal trainer, gym owner,freelance writer and author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM):Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. |
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