So many diet options and so many success stories. It leaves me with the question of “where is my ‘success’ story?” Can you relate?
Keto Diet – it’s everywhere right now. Carbs are bad and fat is good. I feel like something along these lines has happened before, Oh yeah, that’s because it has, in the ’80s. It was when the ‘fat makes you fat’ craze started. Everyone ate low-fat foods and all foods that were boldly labeled “LOW-FAT” would be snatched off the shelves. It wasn’t till many years later that people started looking a little closer to their food labels and discovered that low-fat often means high sugar or that it was high in some unpronounceable ingredients. Fat adds flavor, so they had to do something to keep us coming back to the shelves.
This low-fat craze actually led to quite a few different health issues, and in my personal opinion, started the rise in our obesity epidemic.
Now, it seems like we’ve gone in the complete opposite direction. Does it make you wonder why we continue to swing from one direction to the other? If the no-fat diet was said to have caused problems, wouldn’t it also be true that eliminating or cutting out an entire food group may also lead to health issues?
That’s what I discovered during my low-carb/no-carb eating plan. Being a fitness professional I’ve seen and heard about all the diets, some are completely bizarre. I’ve always come to the same ending feeling – diets are stressful!
I end up starting out on a new ‘diet’ and after a few days, I’m shaming myself for not sticking to it. So, now not only am I shaming myself for my body image, but I’m also shaming myself for a lack of willpower. Yeah, diets are hard and overwhelmingly stressful. Why do we continue to do it to ourselves? Why do we continue to fall into these traps?
The answer is because we forget that we’re created uniquely and that we can’t be that other woman (even though the advertisements say we can). Fueling your body uniquely and not comparing has been my platform in and out of all my health blogs, so I won’t carry on again and I’ll just get to my low-carb adventure.
I’ll just say – don’t start a different eating plan to look like someone else. If you want to start eating different; do it to make your body the healthiest it can be. (not the healthiest someone else’s body can be)
My Low-Carb Adventure
When they say low carb will help you lose weight, they aren’t kidding. Cutting back on simple carbs will help you lose weight. Often times, it’s just water weight unless you can last long enough to enter into ketosis. For me, though, the weight loss was at a cost (like every diet). I’m going to assume if you’ve been around at all you’ve heard and have tried going low carb; how did you do?
I’m a pretty stubborn woman and I only made it about 2 weeks doing full keto eating, felt great for those first two weeks, but only for two weeks. After that, I was constantly tired, irritable, and super stressed out! I started off blaming my mood on poor sleep, then I blamed it on my family, then I blamed it on my job, and body aches and…. Until I started to do research on why I was feeling so sad and tired all the time. You know what the search lead me to? “Causes of depression can be from low serotonin in the brain”. You know what gives you serotonin? yep, you guessed it – Carbohydrates!
Now, before you run and grab a cookie or devour a loaf of bread, I must say that I did see success with low carb. With the change in how I was eating I saw a decrease in cravings for sweets and chips. I know from schooling and personal experience that cutting out certain things for a time can have a lot of health benefits. Confusing your body by not eating the same calories or foods every day will keep your metabolism functioning at full capacity. The most benefits you’ll see, though, are from listening to your body and what it needs.
Some people thrive on a low carb diet, you might be one of them. But others of us, it leaves us feeling edgy and depressed.
So, if you’ve tried low-carb and it isn’t for you and you’ve tried other diets that also seem like they are not for you – don’t lose hope. Food is not the enemy. You’re a uniquely created female, and it means you’re still on the hunt for the best nutritional lifestyle that fits you best.
Weight as a Female
Being a woman and trying to manipulate my weight is pretty much the definition of insanity.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result – Albert Einstein
Ladies, our hormones and monthly cycle will leave us feeling insane if we continue to think we can weigh the same amount all month long. I could eat perfectly all month long and I guarantee that the scale will always read at least 5lbs more during two weeks of every month.
If you’re dieting and trying to get to an ideal weight (first, make sure it is the right weight for you – if you don’t know, write me and I can help) take note that your weight will be all over the place all month long.
I use to see the fluctuations of the scale and get so frustrated, blame myself for poor eating habits and the shaming would begin. Only, within the last 2 months, I’ve finally put this attitude away. Every time I’d see the scale increase I’d get the mindset of “screw this, it doesn’t matter anyway” as I’d shove some sugary or salty treat in my mouth by the handful to help me feel better at that moment (temporary satisfaction- ugh).
If you’re anything like me, remorse and regret immediately follow that. I end up in a worse place than I was when I saw the number on the scale.
It’s not about the number on the scale or the ‘diet’ you’ve decided to try. It’s about what and how much you’re eating. Your diet should be something you can sustain – it’s not “I can’t eat this or that” it should be more “I choose not to eat X because it makes me feel lousy”. It’s a lifestyle of choosing foods that fuel your energy, mood, workouts, body, mind, and soul.
Personally, I’m at a healthy weight, I enjoy treats and I know the amount and type of exercises that are right for me. You can too! It’s all about playing the long game. It’s learning what’s right for your body and doing that day in and day out – with some joyful treats along the way.
We all know “everything in moderation” so I don’t know why we fall for fad diets that say any amount of one thing is bad.
Let’s put on our discerning mind, think for ourselves, learn about our bodies and do what’s right for us. If you have questions on where to start or how to figure out what’s right for you please feel free to find me on facebook – Tiffany Stewart. I’d be more than happy to answer questions, ask a few of my own, and hopefully send you in the direction that’s right for you.
