The answer to losing weight is much more boring than you think.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news BUT there are no quick fixes to achieving long term fat loss.
Forget waist trainers, juicing, ‘detoxing’, diet pills, shakes, teas etc.
You already have all the tools you need to reach your fat loss goals - A body and a brain.
That is literally it. You DO NOT need a handful of pills.
You name it, it's been sold:
‘Instant results.’
‘Abs in 30 days.’
‘The body of your dreams.’
‘Lose 1 stone in 2 weeks’
‘Drop a dress size overnight’
Or my personal favourite - ‘A way to be a better you’ - Um, no thanks. I’m already a perfect me. The cheek of it.
What these slogans should say: ‘Here’s a way to waste your money’
‘This is how you create a bad relationship with food.’
‘Here’s how to increase your heart rate and give you some very inconvenient toilet problems’
‘Ever fancied living off shakes all day and being miserable?’
‘What’s that? You too want to peel off a very sweaty ‘waist trainer’ after your gym session and be faced with a smell you’ll never forget?’ AMAZING. We have just the product for you.’
To put it simply - It’s a waste of your hard earned money, it doesn’t work and it could end up doing more harm. All it actually is is some very clever marketing designed to take advantage of an overweight population and target those who are impressionable. In a world of ever changing body standards, this allows for a large target audience.
ALLOW ME TO ELABORATE
I’m not saying people don’t see results from these kinds of products - because they do.
What I’m so eager to make people aware of is the fact that they have done so by being misled.
I can hear it now.
“Yes but Linda down the road has been drinking ‘Shakez4Shredz’* and detox smoothies for the last 2 weeks and she’s lost 8Ibs!“
Yes - because Linda has been filling herself with liquid 3x a day in place of main meals. Two things are happening- she’s not eating as much as before (creating a calorie deficit) and what she is consuming (green smoothies the colour and consistency of old carpet underlay) are low in calories. (Creating a calorie deficit).
What will inevitably happen is after a few weeks of chugging shakes and smoothies, Linda will start to feel restricted, she will be preoccupied by the foods she once loved, everything will start reminding her of biscuits and chips. She’ll likely feel tired, unfulfilled, and generally a bit unwell. Then one night her husband will bring home a VERY LARGE PIZZA.
Linda snaps. She eats half of it. Remembers the joy food once gave her, and so begins the eating!
She reverts back to previous eating habits and gains the 6Ibs she lost. Back at square one, only this time, Linda feels more guilt for having ‘failed’.
It’s not the ingredients in those diet pills or shakes that are making you lose weight. It’s the fact that you replace a meal with a couple of them or restrict your over all consumption in some way. Therefore losing 400+cals out of your day compared to what you were consuming before….therefore creating the all important calorie deficit.
HERE’S THE PROBLEM:
Shakes, pills, smoothies, teas etc are NOT sustainable. Often pricey, often useless, often a ‘quick fix’. It’s no way to live. It’s no example to set for others. It’s no way to treat your body.
A ‘detox tea’ that you consume 5 times a day for 7 days isn’t going to undo all of your unhealthy eating from the week before. In fact, our bodies are pretty good at getting rid of toxins themselves. (Here’s looking at you liver and kidneys).
With the proper care and attention, our bodies can do amazing things!
(Here’s an arty picture of some dancers to illustrate my point, because we all know I like a touch of drama.)
MOVING ON TO A MORE POSITIVE POINT.
Bodies are brilliant. They are designed to work well given the right fuel and stimulus. The only way you can truthfully make lasting change is to adjust activity, food, sleep, lifestyle etc. It’s not by swapping your toast for a breakfast shake and a diet pill.
I realise the list I've just reeled off is fairly extensive. It doesn’t sound appealing, it sounds time consuming. That is because there are so many factors that affect fat loss, and it WILL take some effort.
At the end of it you’re going to have nurtured healthy habits, made real differences to your lifestyle, lost body fat in a healthy way, increased your fitness levels and made smart decisions for your body. Free of ‘failure’, free of ‘guilt’ and free of awful lumpy green drinks.
(The above paragraph actually describes what I help people to do pretty accurately so I’m going to shamelessly plug my PT and Online Coaching service. It’s only one page over, have a gander if you’re curious.)
ANYWAY.
Yes it takes hard work, it takes consistency, it takes challenging decisions, sometimes a shift in mindset, getting out of your comfort zones. But it’s worth it.
In my opinion, the only kind of tea you should ever invest in is an English Breakfast. Milk no sugar for me.
Thank you for reading. Get up and have a stretch if you’ve been sitting all day.
Melissa
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*completely made this name up, I was feeling creative.
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