Are Fad Diets Good to Lose Weight Quickly?

Good morning Vibrant Lady!

It's another Transformation Tuesday. Many people are eager to seek out fast ways to lose weight. I know... I did! Sadly, 80-95% of weight loss successes return to their prior weight or more within 5 years. Let's be in that 5%!

Hi Vibrant Lady! I'm DaNae! I've lost 96 pounds. I've been morbidly obese for most of my adult life. I'm here to share my story in hopes that my success over my struggles could be helpful to someone for a lifetime.

I wish I could look back at my life and say I had a healthy relationship with food. I did not realize how much I was eating daily. Have you seen the British show Secret Eaters? To sum it up, people sign up for this show with the understanding that the camera crew will hide cameras all over the house and "spy" on their eating habits. It's not creepy at all. The show also follows the participants as they dine out at restaurants and buy snacks at convenience stores, revealing their food choices.

At the end of the show, a nutritionist totals all the food they had eaten for a whole week. They buy everything that the people eat to show the gravity of how much they eat. It is very eye-opening. Many were eating double, if not triple, the amount of calories they needed! One guy was eating over 10,000 calories every day!

The participants are not left hanging in the show. They are shown how to reduce their calories and make better choices. We see them 10 weeks later, usually lighter, healthier skin, and in much better spirits.

Mindset Shift
I think we all downplay how much calories add up throughout the day. When not mindfully paying attention, it is easy to snack on chocolate or chips here and there out of boredom snacking or emotional eating. It all adds up.

You may want bullet points for fast ways to lose weight... I was there before. I'm on the other side of weight loss. Let me take your hand and show you what I've learned in this process. 9 When I was researching different topics to write about on weight loss... the more popular searched words broke my heart.

"ice hack weight loss"
"cabbage soup diet"
"gummies for weight loss"
"water diet"

We can't last on these types of diets for the rest of our lives. As a teen, I regretfully remember considering an advertisement in a magazine for a pill with a worm that would cause "quick weight loss". All these "easy fixes" actually hurt us in the long run. They are only temporary patches that damage our bodies to further weight gain in the future! These false, empty promises not only destroy our metabolism but also bring disappointment in ourselves and tie us down mentally. I see that now.

If there is any success with fad diets, usually people gain it all back plus extra when they return to their normal eating habits.

Keep making simple, lasting changes every day! Those small daily choices will add to a lifelong transformation.