to absolutely detest faddy diets & quick fixes?

[PetPeeveBonanza]

I am sure I am going to get flamed for this, but I can hide safely behind my namechange

It is my absolute biggest pet peeve, people who go on faddy diets that are bad for their health, and another is people who say they 'cant' give up chocolate/cake/takeaways.

As somebody with a variety of severe allergies/food intolerances, and health problems resulting from this - it bugs me no end when people put their health at risk volunatarily doing diets like atkins and the cambridge diet.

It goes against all medical advice, and is just a stupid lazy thing to do. Voluntarily putting yourself into ketosis? Do you people have no respect for your bodies? I reached ketosis through illness and was hospitalised and had to be put on a drip as it got so bad. It makes me sick that people are glad when they reach this, as if they are achieving something.

Maybe it is a quick fix, but it won't work in the long run, and you are putting your health at risk...for what? You need carbs, just be sensible. How hard is it just to eat a sensible balanced diet? Toast for breakfast is not going to stop you losing weight, nor is a jacket potato with a healthy filling...if you are serious about losing weight do it the right way and don't deprive your body of anything it needs! Yes, it may take longer, but at least you won't look washed out, thinning hair and low on energy.

There is so much choice out there for a healthy balanced diet, that you will be able to stick to! And I wish every day that I had that much choice of food to eat. And if you really really want to lose weight and be healthy, it is possible, just stop eating crap! Remember that food is meant to be there for nutrition, to keep your body working in the right way. Take care of your body, don't abuse it!

[BariatricObama]

i don't give a shite about jennifer anniston etc, i just want to be able to fit into my summer trews. agree that faddy diets are the road to evans plus size hell but right now i would pounce at a quick fix.

[Enchilada81]

I believe in everything in moderation ... however, that doesn't help me lose weight.

Cutting my carbs right back, does.

I don't believe in "no carb" diets but I do see the logic in the atkins diet and I find that those who don't, don't fully understand it.

I mean ... meat and veg, that's essentially all it is. How could you get a more natural diet than that?

I think "low fat" diets are a complete waste of time.

Then again, what works for one, doesn't work for another. I'm happy with my low carbing for now and I am in ketosis. There is nothing wrong with that IMO.

[ImSoNotTelling]

I mean this is part of the problem isn't it?

You look at a picture of jennifer aniston at an awards ceremony, and think she looks nice/crap, you have no real idea of what her diet or exercise regime are at that time.

There is however a plethora of magazines which seem to have the sole purpose of showing pics of fat and thin female slebs and then confidenty saying things like "davina has ballooned after spending the last 6 weeks eating nothing except cadburies cream eggs" " natasha loses 8 stone on the farting froob diet" and so on. It's all made up isn't it? Even in interviews slebs often lie embellish the truth, and if they are as faddy as the rest of us what they said last month may no longer be true when you look at a picture of them this month.

The magazines and diet industry just feed off each otehr to the detriment of the self esteem and pockets of ordinary women IMO

[amber1979]

Fad diets are marketing ploy. They are not meant to work - otherwise people would stop paying for the books/classes etc. They wouldn't need to after the first one!

[Kaloki]

I hate the way magazines promote diets. I remember seeing a cover once which had overweight celebs eating with a headline about how gross they looked, on the same cover was a seriously underweight celeb all glammed up and the headline was questioning whether she was anorexic. It's fucked.

[said]

The Atkins diet was shown to be, basically, just reducing your calories. Fat and protein making you feel fuller longer therefore eating less.

[MrsVidic]

I thinks that fad diets encourage eating disorders- strict rules about what you can and can't have = needing a lot of control and dicepline over your diet which can lead to obsessivness and there fore eating disorders.

I think that some people are over weight because of their relationship with food - just the same as some people are underweight because of their relationship with food.

When it comes down to it- this is not about diet but self esteem and the people needing to turn food into something else- ie a way to punish themselves or an emotional crutch.

Faddy diets just make people think this is acceptable.

Our society sells the image of slim and wealthy as sucsess and happiness when it just is not the case. It takes so much more to be happy.

[MinnieMalone]

I'd love to have a healthy, balanced approach to food and exercise. As it stands, I am probably a lot like most people: I don't always eat the right things, I probably don't do enough exercise and I am overly influenced by images of slim women and all the lovely clothes for slim people I see everywhere.

So, yes, I do fall for those tempting quick fixes (although I am not talking 'Lighter Life'...more 'eat huge pizza on Saturday. Realise have to wear a dress for a wedding the following week. Eat salad and feel miserable on Monday' type stuff)

[Oblomov]

lord, its not the vegan bit of gwneth that i object to, obviusly. but isn't her diet very very strict. literally only pureed pak choi or something of that ilk.

[Kaloki]

"When it comes down to it- this is not about diet but self esteem and the people needing to turn food into something else- ie a way to punish themselves or an emotional crutch."

Definitely, and I think for a lot of people it is both. I know for me personally I crave the fullness of sweet foods, but then will punish myself by not eating at all. And it goes on and on.

[Kaloki]

inzidoodle She's encouraging people to lose weight healthily. Nothing wrong with that.

[BariatricObama]

Gweneth exists on angel tears collected by beautiful unicorns on the full moon off each month.

[Pumphreydidit]

I will be flamed for being an old gimmer but very few of our grandparents were overweight probably due to a limited portion of food (rather than the quality). Plus, cars etc were unaffordable so people walked or cycled more.

These days it is so convenient to buy prepacked, pre-prepared food with God knows what added to it.

[PetPeeveBonanza]

linzidoodle I am pretty sure my post encouraged that...changing your life for the better.

In fact, I am positive that was the exact meaning of my message. That people should be eating healthily and eating balanced diets, and you are not going to change that opinion I am afraid, particuarly by mentioning lighterlife given the stories on how people have died on it. But well done for losing weight.

Pumphrey I completely agree, I think I read somewhere that people in general were much slimmer 50 years ago despite eating more saturated fats. The word 'ration' comes to mind, people just ate smaller portions of homemade food.

[BariatricObama]

i was listening to a subway advert on teh radio yesterday. they are selling nachos adn meatballs etc as a 'snack' to get you through the afternoon.

here you go 19g of fat for your afternoon snack. there is no hope

[Alouiseg]

From what i understand some people are protein metabolic and others are carbohydrate metabolic.

Personally i am protein metabolic. I know i don't need flour or sugar they have no nutritional value whatsoever. Fish/meat and vegetables are where the goodness comes from.

I did a low carb diet 2 years ago, i followed it to the letter to the point of having blood work done prior to, during and after.

My cholesterol while not high before reduced significantly and best of all i lost 2 stone. Since christmas i have been lax and had bread/cereals/puddings and have piled on nearly a stone but i'm now back together and losing nicely.

I had been overweight since having children and tried ww but it's dependance on processed food and the lack of reference to GI made me mistrustful.

It's horses for courses but Low carb for me works. Its very close to a Paleolithic diet and avoids processed food. I like to know that i'm burning my own fat for energy rather than chowing down on flour and sugar.

[BariatricObama]

actually subway needs it own thread!

[Tortington]

well if it was that easy it wouldn't be a multi mullion wordwide business now would it.

its like saying " stop cutting yourself self harmer, how hard is it to just NOT pick up the blade"

its not about the mechanics of the action of eating is it? reducing it down to 'just dont eat takeaways' is insulting. You would have to live down a hole these days to not understand at least the fundemental basics of a healthy diet. we all know fresh fruit and veg are good and cakes and crisp are bad - so, why so many fat people? i think theres more to it on many different levels.

off the top of my head

mental security or 'comfort' eating for a problem in your life.

lack of education

lack in ability to cook

it may touch also upon budgeting skills for those with little money as its often easier and quite cheap to feed a family of 5 from iceland ( or equiv) esp if youdon't know how to cook from scratch.

how quick is a quick fix anyway? how about longer than a year - is that a quick fix becuase that is how long i have been LCing.

you know very little if you assume that becuase i restrict my carb intake that i have an unhealthy diet.

eating right is a lifestyle choice. there are no quick fixes, but different ways of doing something work for diferent people.

[Kaloki]

inzidoodle Congrats, I assume you didn't do the diet then assume you could eat junk food after without putting on weight. Which a lot of people do, hence the yo-yoing weight

[pagwatch]

Pumphrey
I won't flame you for that. Quality of food plays a huge role.
The notion that weight is entirely about food is part of the problems though.

It annoys me immensely that the Govt ( all Govts here) seem determined to do nothing to increase the oppertunities for children to take part in reasonable levels of excercise and at the same time are bringing in fucking intrusive mechanisms for identifying and stigmatizing over weight children

If the Govt really wanted to deal with our childrens health and weight problems they would stop selling off playgrounds, spend money on decent sports facilities at school and make PE extensive and compulsory.
At my sons secondary school I honestly cannotthink of one overweight child. That has something to do with the parents and that we live in an affluent area I am sure. But added into that ALL the boys take part in sport for at least 6 hours a week plus they have cadet days and activities and trips all the time. DS1 does probably in excess of 12 hours sport and trainning a week. It is the schools culture - the boys just do it and think nothing of it.
He can eat the most astonishing levels of anything he chooses and it just burns off.
Kids need loads of sport at school and clubs and youth clubs outside school.It gives them interests, burns fat, burns energy and makes them more attantive to their school work.
But Govt doesn't show any interest in any of that.
They just want to weigh kids and criminalise them when they hang around the street.

We are not a country who values excercise or outdoor peruits. That is as much to do with the obesity rate as fizzy drinks and big macs.
But God forbid the Govt do anything other than talk at us and wag their fingers...
Twats

[Tortington]

"I thinks that fad diets encourage eating disorders- strict rules about what you can and can't have = needing a lot of control and dicepline over your diet which can lead to obsessivness and there fore eating disorders." whilst in some circumstances i am sure that this is the case, but is suspect this would have more to do with the psychological issues of the person.

i certainly need structure and boundries. structure and boundires that normal people have anyway as they go about their daily lives - when they order a salad instead of a pizza and make the right choices regarding food. I don't have that structure. and its impossible for me to order a salad instead of a pizza. unless i am LCing. theres a switch in my brain that has been turned on and helps me to adhere to boundries.