We live in the wealthiest country in the world; we invented Google, and put a man on the moon- for Pete's sake, yet we can’t loose weight. America is the purveyor of more diets than all other countries combined, and yet we have the most weight to lose. The solution is quite simple: cut the crap and move your butt!
Every day, every few hours there is a fresh, new diet trend, or “magic pills” that promises you the stars. In other words, promises that they can't keep. Here are the lates ones that I keep hearing about every day. What I encourage and teach my clients, is to focus on having “whole foods” as their “whole lifestyle,” and learn about nutrition, stop counting calories and fat grams, and read the ingredients.
1. Cleanses and Detoxes
Our bodies were created with mechanisms to cleanse and detoxify themselves without the addition of overpriced pills and whatnot. Yes, you can help your body with that process by adding green, leafy vegetables, fiber, and green juices to your diet.
A detox is something that should be added along with your regular food intake, rather than a replacement. A healthy detox will combine real food with real ingredients that you can pronounce, along with your daily red juice or smoothie.
2. Juicing/Living on Liquids for 5 Days Straight
This trend has taken over much of America with it's liquidy power, and now people are drinking fruits and vegetables by the cupfuls- especially celebrities. Like perfect, Hollywood, mushy unrealistic romances that make my eyes roll, is this trend just hype and perfect in un-reality? Don't get me wrong, juicing is a simple, easy, quick way to fill your system with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, but if you have on this juicing bandwagon to lose 10 lb's in 1o minutes, put your drink down and listen up.
The majority of the calories in these juices, come from carbs, especially from the fruits. They lack protein, which is the most vital nutrient to keeping your body full, while helping your body build lean muscle mass. During the juicing process, you lose most of the fiber by not adding the pulp. That's why I prefer smoothies. It can also be an expensive trend, even if you do it at hoe.
Bottom line, if you want to get the most out of juicing, enjoy a green juice that is heavy on the veggies, and light on the fruit, either first thing in the morning or in between meals.
3. Focusing on a single superfood
It's either only kale all day long, quinoa all night long, or coconut oil or goji berries all the rest of the day long. As a health nut, even I get sick of this particualr trend. It's imbalanced. The combination of what you eat and drink all day long, that's what really counts.
Yes, I am ecstatic that you are going out and educating about these superfoods and adding them to your diet, but seriously, goji berry everything?! You need a fine balance, while still gaining the nutrients from the superfoods you consume. Don't limit your diet to only kale, quinoa, or goji berries. That's not healthy for your body.
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