As detailed in the January 2010 edition of 'Environmental Nutrition', the science behind weightloss is finally supporting the message that nutritionists have spoken for years: 'Weight Loss Science Supports Whatever Works Best For YOU'.
Research into the many scientific trials and investigations that study the most effective method of weight loss has resulted in a clear and concise conclusion: there's more than one way to achieve successful weight loss. Phew, I breath a sigh of relief; my profession is not yet deemed useless in this field! Despite the huge number of diet publications, there is no one-plan-fits-all approach (yet!).
This leads me to urge all of you who would like to drop a few pounds not to go and buy the latest fitness magazine, but instead to spend some time thinking about what foods you feel work best for you, and which foods (if any) leave you feeling bloated, lethargic or uncomfortable. If you are able to pin-point some culprits, I suggest whole-heartedly that you remove these from your diet.
Yes, it can be this simple.
For people with even slightly compromised digestive systems, removing foods which challenge your body can act rather like purifying the fuel you put in your car; both systems run a lot more effieciently. In the case of the body, this can help re-balance your digestive system, increasing your sensitivity to satiety (the feeling of fullness), increasing your energy, improving bowel movements and in turn, encouraging weight-loss.
If you do not feel that there are any foods which compromise your body, congratulations, you obviously have a great and strong digestive system. In this case, I urge you to experiment a little. What happens if you decrease your intake of bad fats? Simple carbs? High fat protein? It is likely that one of these categories will help you lose those pounds more than the others.... and no one but you can determine which.
As noted in the latest edition of Environmental Nutrition, Christopher Gardner, Ph.D., who researches weight loss at Stanford Prevention Research Center says: "We have evidence over the last 10 years that the amount of carbohydrates, fat and protein doestn' really make any difference in weight loss. It's more complicated..."
Right then, so all those diet 'fads' which eliminate one of the food groups from our diet, making us feel miserable and deprived, don't necessarily work? ..... um, that's not really a newsflash now, is it?! And lets be honest, we all know someone for whom one or other of the diets DID work...so they're not necessarily all rubbish .... it's just about finding what works for YOU.
So I leave you with two pleas ...
- Do not remove an entire macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate) from your diet. EVER. This is far from healthy, and even less sustainable. Instead, take some time to think about what makes you feel good, and whatever doesn't, might need to take the cut instead!
- Focus on REAL, WHOLE foods. Enough of those food bars, sugar-substitutes and protein isolates. Real foods have the right balance of nutrients to be digested optimally, and this in turn helps our bodies stay balanced. As soon as we try to 'trick' ourselves with fake fillers, a disarming number of hunger-signals await us, complicating both our brains and our stomachs. As Dr. Gardner said: "Relax, go back to real food, grow some of your own vegetables and use common sense". I support this advice (although for some of us, growing our own vegetables might be a step too far...!).
Above all, work WITH your body, and not against it. No battle has been won by being at war with yourself.
2010 is your year.
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