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The Benefits Of Ditching Diets And What You Should Do Instead

Kevin Kohan, PES, Sport Nutrition Specialist, Certified Gym Jones Instructor • May 26, 2021

And What You Should Do Instead . . . .


Managing your weight can feel like you are on a never-ending roller coaster. One week you are up feeling like the champion of the world and the next week you can feel defeated and like you’ve ruined all of your hard work because you experienced a few bad days of unhealthy eating in a row. Why don’t diets seem to work long term and why does it seem like weight is hard to maintain?


Restrictive Diets do not work long-term. 

◦. . . And Lauren Horton, PHD.

Senior Manager, Research and Development, Advocare will explain more in detail below as to the “Why”. . .

Many are shocked when they hear it, but diets are not associated with long-term weight loss. In fact, about 95% of people who lose weight by dieting will regain it in 1 to 5 years. Dieting is defined as a temporary meal plan and unfortunately, promotes a restrictive and negative association with food. Interestingly, restricting and depriving yourself of food may actually make managing weight more difficult. It may seem counter-intuitive but regularly reducing the amount of calories your body needs can cause your metabolism to slow down. Your body requires a certain amount of calories to function and sustain your basal metabolic rate (BMR), digestion and physical activity. In theory, eating more calories than your body needs leads to weight gain, eating less can lead to weight loss, but restricting calories too much can harm your health. It can slow your metabolism, cause malnutrition and low energy or fatigue. 

Lifestyle change is the answer to weight management long-term.

Several research studies have shown that consistent weight management results from changing your lifestyle. Lifestyle is defined as the way in which a person or group lives. Although not often thought of, lifestyle involves more than what goes into our bodies as food- it is our interests, opinions and behaviors. According to a study at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the hardest part of changing unhealthy habits is realizing it is a process, not an event (Hall et al 2018). Change happens in stages: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance.

Pre-contemplation: during this stage, most people have no intention of losing or controlling weight in the next 6 months

Contemplation: this includes individuals who are not trying to lose or control weight but are seriously considering doing something in the next 6 months

Preparation: During this stage, you know you want to change, believe you can and are making plans to change soon

Action: includes those who are actively trying to lose or control weight or who have successfully done so for less than 6 months

Maintenance: individuals who have successfully maintained their weight loss for at least six months


Lifestyle change usually occurs once an individual has gone through each of the stages of change. Through this process interests and behaviors begin to change to align with healthier food choices, incorporating exercise and making decisions that will be beneficial to your health and body long term. If you are not sure which things to prioritize on your journey to a healthy lifestyle, the five pillars of wellness are a great place to begin:

• Nutrition: A balanced diet should include lean sources of protein, plentiful amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables and limited quantities of processed foods and added sugar

• Exercise: any amount of physical activity is better than none, but the recommended about is 150 minutes per week (or two hours and 30 minutes) in at least 10 minute intervals. 

• Sleep: Believe it or not, sleep is probably one of the most important activities of the day, yet it is the one we most often sacrifice. The National Sleep Association recommends adults get 7-9 hours of sleep per night.

• Stress management: Stress will get in the way of your health and life goals. It can lead to emotional eating, poor sleep and the adoption of more sedentary behaviors. In order to achieve a healthier lifestyle, you must be able to manage stress levels. Creating your own stress-management strategy is a great place to start.

• Supplementation: Nutritional supplements can help fill in nutritional gaps.


Where are you in your journey to a healthy lifestyle?

‘24 Day Summer Shred Challenge’

Whether your a beginner looking for a jumpstart, a veteran who has been having a tough time bouncing back from 2020 and wanting to get your ass back in gear, or an elite athlete looking to become unstoppable we Would be honored for you to include us in your fitness journey!  Contact us to set up your free Fitness roadmap Session so you can get started with our ‘24 Day Summer Shred Challenge’ coming in June! 

HIT Fitness Warehouse is a beacon that everyone interested in bettering themselves can look towards. We are interested in using the gym as a physical tool that people can use to create better lives; both emotionally and psychologically. We exist not only to create better athletes, but better humans.

**Personal testimonies reflect individual experiences and are not necessarily typical of the results you may obtain. Weight loss varies with individual effort, body composition, eating patterns and exercise. If you have a medical condition or are pregnant or nursing, AdvoCare recommends that you consult your healthcare professional before starting an AdvoCare product regimen.


 References:

Hall, K. D., & Kahan, S. (2018). Maintenance of Lost Weight and Long-Term Management of Obesity. The Medical clinics of North America, 102(1), 183–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2017.08.012

Why Diets Don’t Work: How to Avoid the Dieting Cycle & Eat for Your Health – Cedar Rapids, IA – Mercy Medical Center. Mercycare.org. (2020). Retrieved 20 September 2020, from https://www.mercycare.org/services/food-nutrition/why-diets-dont-work/#:~:text=Diets%20are%20not%20associated%20with,for%20an%20intuitive%20eating%20approach.


‘24 Day Summer Shred Challenge’

Stay tuned next week if you Want to Improve Your VO2 Max, and why we are now using this standard for our upcoming 24 Day Summer Shred Jumpstart!  

This Cardio Bundle does it for me! Check out the links below 👇👇

http://m.me/KevinandCarolinaKohan

https://www.advocare.com/120922584/

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