There are lots of weight loss options out there. Many will try to lure you by flaunting pictures of chiseled, skinny and sexy men and women. They tell you that all you have to do is take a pill, count points, buy an exercise apparatus, purchase pre-packaged food or eliminate carbohydrates, and this will be you. You want to look hot, so you ask yourself what you have to lose by trying besides weight? More about this later.
First, your friend is just melting fat by eating all protein.
So you give low-carbohydrate a try. Your first impression is optimistic as you lose weight eating more protein than you can stomach. People even tell you that you look super hot. This is how it looks from the outside. From the inside, your cells start to starve from lack of carbohydrates for energy. Eventually, your brain becomes foggy. The lack of fiber leads to a backup of waste in your colon leaking fecal toxins throughout your body. Ummm wait, that really doesn’t seem so attractive anymore.
Being a logical person, you abandon low-carb and turn to weight loss pills instead.
They must be good since they worked for the woman frolicking in a bikini on the box. You lose a little weight at first so it doesn’t seem to matter that the caffeine, chemicals and other substances in the pills aren’t healthy long term. Then your initial energized feeling turns to anxiety and insomnia and shockingly enough you have developed gas. You wonder if the bikini woman is sleepy, smelly and stressed like you. Then you discover that the same substances that speed up metabolism can give you high blood pressure. This means possibly heart disease, stroke or erectile dysfunction. Now that definitely isn’t sexy.
Deciding you are going to do it right this time, you opt to do a cleanse.
You find information online for a cleanse with cayenne pepper and maple syrup, so you decide to give that one a try. I mean, if detoxing for a day is good for you, detoxing for a week will solve all of your problems. You look fabulous right until your body realizes that it is literally starving. It goes into survival mode, stripping glucose (energy) from your muscles and organs. You are consuming no protein which means that your liver can’t properly detox. Now toxins are flooding your body, leading to headaches and acne and worse. On top of that the cleanse ended. Now that you’re eating again you are regaining the weight. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
You start to realize that through all these diets, you are losing everything but weight.
So you give sexy one more shot. You do some research and start to understand how food nourishes your body. You say, “wait a second”. You’d never considered that calories, fats and carbohydrates weren’t the enemy. You’re shocked to learn that saturated fats are an integral part of building your cell membranes. You start to understand that the brain can’t control the body properly without carbohydrates. You also discover that vegetables and fruits have healthy things called phytonutrients that can’t be found in a pill. The list goes on. Having properly educated yourself, you throw out the gimmicks and start eating a diet that is low in sugar and of full of varied nutrient rich foods. You no longer feel like you are starving and you just feel good
Next thing you know, you go to the doctor and she tells you that your insides look smoking hot.
Inevitably, your outside starts to follow. Now that is sexy!
This article should be read by everyone tempted to try crazy fad diets. The solution is really so simple, isn’t it?
Thanks Beth. It really does break my heart when I see people hurting themselves to “look good”.
So true! I went on a “meal plan” for 8 months and lost 16 lbs. I gained it all back and then some. My doctor delivered the bad news that my liver is not metabolizing properly due to the damage I did to it on the said “mail plan”. I am slowly recovering and take supplement and have a much healthier diet that is doctor-approved – all common sense stuff. Good advice!
I’m so sorry that happened to you Laurie. How awful! I’m glad you are on the right track now.
Some pretty frightening diet scenarios. I’ve always been skeptical of fad diets or radical approaches. Sounds like a healthy dose of skepticism is indeed in order.
I imagine some people lose their skepticism because they see people they know doing these diets. I think the whole diet industry needs a wake-up call.
Have never been on a diet for the simple reason that I’m skinny by nature. But for those who need to lose weight I believe your suggestions are good. Frequently see young anorectic girls and wish they had not becomes victim to the superslim ideal body that homosexual men decided was ideal for women.
Yes, anorexia is another, very frightening issue. It is really unfortunate that the media presents such a misguided example of an ideal woman’s body.
There’s a sense of awareness, realism and value to this post. Love it! Wellness is an inside and out journey.
Very well put Mahal! That is definitely the message I wanted to convey.
Wow, these are definitely some un-sexy side effects! There’s a lot to be said for just working on feeling healthy and letting that shine from within. Now THAT’S sexy!
Definitely. I wish our culture put more emphasis on that and less on trying to fit in to some model of perfection.
Ugh! All of these are decidedly un-sexy and possibly harmful! I’ve been lucky../.never been overweight, but my whole life I just try to make good choices, everything in moderation, stop when I’m full and only eat when I am hungry! LOL So far, it’s worked great for me. I cringe, every time I see a new fad diet…which is almost every day!
For me, when I gained weight in high school I became desperate. I didn’t know what to do so I clung on to any shred of hope I could find. I believe a lot of people feel these fad diets are the answer because the weight loss industry often presents them as the answer. And of course, that is really bad advice.
Good way to point out the perils of diet fads. I like your idea of being sexy from the inside out.
Thank you Donna. Fad diets really are bad news.
Sexy starting from the inside is for sure the way to — change eating style. This is part of the problem, that we think it’s a diet to help with getting in shape, instead of real lifestyle changes. Loved the wisdom here.
Thank you Patricia. I really do advocate lifestyle changes and to avoid the “quick fix”.
Your suggestions are right on. I have never had to diet because, if anything, I’ve always been underweight. But even in that case it’s true, a healthy lifestyle – nutrition, exercise, relaxation will do more good than worrying about your weight and you might even loose or gain some.
Lenie, you mentioned something that nobody else did – relaxation! That is such a good point. There isn’t enough emphasis in the diet industry on how stress will actually throw the body off balance and encourage fat storage in the body.
Yes! I agree Sexy starts from the inside.
Thanks for this, forward this link to my team at work.
Thank you! I hope if there is someone who needs it, this will help in some small way.
I’m so glad I somehow managed to escape diet pressures, probably because I witnessed my mom keep track of every single calorie in a steno pad when I was a kid and try just about every diet she could. It make me think, “No thanks.” Eat less, exercise more, and drink lots of water is the motto that keeps me going.
Jeri, I too watched my mother go through every diet. Somehow I fell into it too so I’m very relieved I found my way out. Great motto by the way!
That is a great article Erica and told in a way that kept me wanting to know more. I have never dieted but do appreciate that understanding just how the body digests is important to me and should be to everyone. Sexy on the outside should follow sexy on the inside just as you mention. Let’s not forget exercise as the ultimate fat burning body sculpting method.
Yes Tim, thank you for bringing up exercise. It is so important. My big thing is for people look at exercise as a journey. It makes me sad when people give up because they go hard, and then don’t immediately see the results that they want.
Bravo and well said! Inside our bodies and inside our heads–that’s where we need to do sexy first. Love it!
Thank you Rose. I love how you added “inside our heads”. It all starts from there, right?
Excellent post. I’ve never been the one to try any crazy diet. I do need to add more fruits and veggies to mine though.
You are in such good company Jason. I think most of us could benefit from a few more fruits and vegetables!
Well this has got to be one of the most common sense, intelligent posts I’ve ever read. Its amazing and sad the ridiculous things we do to our bodies in attempts to lose weight. The worst part about it is, its not helping us lose weight long term and is making us unhealthier.
Thank you so much Susan! It really is horrible what we feel pressured to do to “look good”. And yes, the saddest part is that it usually doesn’t work.