Just Say No to Fads

Everyone does the fad diet thing in January. Advertisements in January always drive me crazy because it seems every other one is about "drink this shake," "eat this process crap," or "use this machine." All of which will simply and effortlessly shrink your waistline. Hurray.

The reality is, though, that all of these things are pushed as instant gratification and as ways of doing fast what should not be done fast: losing weight and getting healthy. Further, they too often trade nutrition for results. A couple of articles have found their way to my browser that highlight how bad fad diets are and how much better a generally healthy diet will be for you in the long run.

1) The Special K diet. This one gets trotted out every January. For two weeks, you're supposed to eat two meals of Special K (mmmm.....chemicals.....) and one "sensible" meal in the evening and you'll lose inches in two weeks. First off, this means you'll be malnourished for two weeks because Special K is limited in nutritional value. Second, what happens after two weeks? You're right back where you started and you're likely to gain the weight back because you've learned nothing. The linked article goes into all kinds of specifics about why this is a stupid and dangerous way to go about things.

2) If the idea of eating vegetables is still unappealing, how about this. You'll look better beyond the weight loss. There was an article on BBC's web site recently that shows how healthy food means healthier skin and appearance. I've definitely noticed this in my own life. I hardly ever get zits anymore, my face is clearer, people who know me have mentioned that my face looks glowing and healthy. I feel like it's softer, too. I'm guessing the Special K or Slim Fast diet plans won't give you this benefit, eh?

Basically, even though I kind of want to stuff my face and keep weight off while not thinking...the truth is I can't. It requires work. It's not easy. You just have to remind yourself that good things come with great effort. If you want to look good and feel good, you have to earn it. Special K is not earning it.