I’ve always yearned to be trendy. When I was younger, I was captivated by the fashion magazines. I would practice applying makeup, salivate over the clothes I would probably never have and follow the cool lingo. But here’s what I’ve learned about health trends. Sometimes it’s actually really good to not be trendy.
“What? Not be trendy? Impossible!!!” But even if your Instagram account rivals Kim Kardashian’s in followers, you don’t want to be a trend setter when it comes to your diet.
To explain this, I’m gonna have to talk a little about science. I know..Zzzzzzz….BORING! But scientists have been studying weight loss for years. And the true test of any health & diet plan is that it helps you build health for life.
But health trends are new. They’re breakthrough and revolutionary.
And they’re usually not time tested.
Let’s say you read this story about someone who lost unbelievable weight by eating a diet of just eggs and cheese. Hurray!
So should you do it! I mean, it worked for this random girl in Arkansas. Should you do it too?
The answer is no, and I’m gonna tell you why.
Health trends aren’t scientifically tested.
So someone lost a lot of weight. Great. But of a sample of 100 people, how many other people would have the same result? This is important, because Arkansas girl’s results could have been atypical. Perhaps there was a confounding factor which was responsible for her weight loss. Maybe most people who lose weight this way will gain it back in a year. Perhaps, in a study with 100 participants, 25 of them go on to develop harmful health repercussions from a diet of just eggs and cheese (Because that’s not so hard to imagine.)
So here’s what you should do to protect your health, time and sanity.
Ask these questions to decipher a health trend from a health fact –
- Has this way of eating been around for decades, or is it relatively new?
- Do REPUTABLE doctors recommend it? (Do your research)
- Are the testimonials from clients new to the program, or people who’ve had success for years?
- Does the logical part of your brain think this sounds healthy?
- Have there been multiple unbiased studies proving its effectiveness (meaning the people who funded it didn’t have an invested interest in the outcome)?
This isn’t glamorous. And there’s much more immediate gratification in just jumping on the latest bandwagon and losing a quick 10 pounds. But you know what is totally un-sexy? Gaining those 10 pounds back and then another 5.
Health trends are considered trends for a reason. Just like this years fashion, they are new, hot and nobody will be seen in them within a couple of years. And while it sucks to wear out-of-style clothes, it sucks worse to waste your time on a has-been diet.
The bottom line?
Building health isn’t trendy. It isn’t something that can be accomplished in a week. And it shouldn’t involve a limited number of foods or exclude an entire food group.
Want to really make a change. Do the following:
- Eat clean
- Stress less
- Heal your gut
- Balance your blood sugar
Simple, tested by a multitude of scientific research and totally not sexy or trendy
(Pssst! Looking for a program the includes all 4 of these. Check out Seeds Of Transformation)
Take the time and energy to do it the right way. And your results will last you for many seasons to come.
I’ve always been a bit suspicious of those trends with foods and diets. Not that I always eat healthy, I’ll admit, but I learned a long time ago that living on cabbage or whatever for a week wasn’t really going to do me any good!
I have to admit, I’ve done a few in my earlier days. And no, I don’t ALWAYS eat healthy either. Finding balance is really what I think we should aspire to.
Timely post, Erica. I just read last week in Consumers Report magazine that Green Tea extract may cause harm to the liver. I always thought that green tea is supposed to be so good for us. It seemed logical that green tea extract would also be good. And it certainly rec’d many endorsements from healthcare professionals, including Dr. Oz. So I bought some. And it does seem to have shrunk the bulk of my belly. But I don’t intend to buy more once I finish this bottle.
Good for you Doreen in listening to the warnings. What is confusing is that something beneficial in small amounts can be not so good in large amounts. And often components that make a food healthy need the other components of the food to work the way they were meant to. So it gets super confusing. If you felt the green tea extract worked for you, I would make sure to include a couple of cups of green tea in your diet. That should serve you well.
You are referring to “quick fix” diets that rarely work. These are only for short term and what celebrities may resort to before they attend a big event.
I cannot eat what I once did without putting weight on. Whilst my appetite is not big, I have a sweet tooth. I have cut down on carbohydrates and no longer take sugar in my tea or hot chocolate (made with water I might add!) Small but important changes.
Phoenicia, little changes like that are great. Keep them up!
I can relate to your advice Erica. I have to admit I’ve n-e-v-e-r wanted to be trendy. But it’s hard not to pay attention to some of the claims that we see in the media. What I try to keep in mind is that, as you’ve pointed out, many are just that – claims. It’s shocking really, how many of these articles will actually admit that there is no basis in fact when you read them through to the end. Thanks for the reality check!
Marquita, it is shocking isn’t it? And while we know better, teenagers and those in their early 20s are prime targets. Which is why I’m so passionate about getting this information out there.
I’ve never been one to jump on health trend bandwagons, and wonder why so many people do. If something starts to get talked about a lot, I’ll do some research, but the bullet points you listed about eating clean, etc. go a long way.
Jeri, it is true that some of the simplest concepts go the furthest. Despite the enticing nature of a quick fix.
Erica,
I would like to confess during my College days I was one of them who into following the food and diet trends!
Now I have gone past it when I had to work on a project for one of our semester on nutrition as I got to understand the basics of it.
Thanks for bringing it up dear will share it ahead!
Sushmita, I’m right there with you about college. I fell for absolutely everything and made myself sick doing it. I’m glad to hear you worked your way out of the diet trends.
Something about trends, is most of them actually aren’t new.
If you go back further enough, someone had done a variation of it before. Sure there might be new combinations of vitamins or herbal remedies, but really they are rehashing older ones.
Remember the Atkins diet? Low carb, high protein, body builders and wrestlers had been doing that for decades before someone thought of packaging it to people.
I like to see the kettlebells, which are so popular now. Look back at pictures of Eugene Sandow, using them around 1890’s.