It’s like a weight-loss highway out there, and everyone is trying to get slimmer as quickly as possible. Short-term solutions are not the best; in fact, the faster you go, the more likely you are to crash.

What the magazines and marketing companies DON’T tell you is these diets are unsustainable, and most of all, they are disastrous for your health.

Losing ten pounds in ten days may sound like a miracle cure, but it is nothing short of a marketing programme designed to milk you for as much money as possible, and worst of all, it puts your health at risk. Fad diets are fleeting; healthy eating and regular exercise is forever.

Blaring magazine headlines make you feel like everyone is fad dieting, and you’ll be left behind, overweight and unattractive, all alone, if you don’t jump on the wagon. It plays on the herd mentality we have; we’re social animals, it’s a natural instinct!

Ditch the Fad, and Still Lose Weight

Variety is key to obtaining all the healthy nutrients your body needs. Quick-fix diets are usually about deprivation, cutting out one food group or another, or effectively starving yourself.

Eating less than what your body requires will throw a spanner into your metabolic works. It will go into starvation mode, slow down your metabolic rate, and start hoarding as much fat as possible, as it anticipates that there is a food shortage. This is not what you want.

You also don’t want to deny your body the key nutrients it needs. If you’ve ever been on a fad diet before, you will have noticed increased susceptibility to sickness, fatigue, melancholy, and general poor health.

Consistent deprivation of key nutrients can give your body nutritional deficiency, and you’ll ultimately have to endure long term health consequences. Like any machine, don’t take care of it properly, and it will break down on you. You only get one body; don’t waste it.

How?

We’re sure you want to be slim, happy, and healthy. So, firstly, burn off the calories and kick-start your metabolic rate by frequent exercise.

Control portion sizes. You want to eat enough to fuel your structure, especially if you’re exercising, but one particular mistake is to serve up more than your body needs – one specific devil is the SUPERSIZE portion. If your plate looks lonely with this new serving size, go crazy on the greenery!

Marathoners eat to fuel. Mealtime becomes a practical affair - they know their body needs to absorb a certain calorie amount, and consume extensive food groups; fail to eat correctly, and their performance suffers.

You need to eat to live. There are certain targets you need to meet too, or your body struggles.

EAT!!!

  • lean proteins
  • “good” fats like omega 3s in fish, flaxseed, and olive oil
  • five servings of fruit and veg a day, of varying colours
  • no nasty animal fats and fast food products full of saturated content. Of course, it’s okay to be a bit naughty, once in a blue moon, but completely avoiding these products is a general rule of thumb

Enjoy your food! Eat regularly. And be happier and healthy.

This guest article was submitted on behalf of Electric Bloom by health and fitness blogger Franki, who lives in the UK.