Wait......What?......That Cant Be Right. Diet/Weight Control.

First and foremost, sorry for downtime between posts.  Fad diets and exercise made easy gimmicks are everywhere, and people fall prey to them all the time. Look at the list of diets and count how many you have heard of or tried.

- Low Carb
- Low Fat
- Liquid Diet
- Detox Diet
-Calorie point systems

Don't hate yourself if you have tried any of them, just think about the success you had on them. It was probably a waste of time. All those weeks starving yourself, drinking nasty juice blends only to gain the weight back after you finish. There are a few reasons why they don't work, but to understand why, you need to understand how your body processes your food.

Contrary to popular belief, carbs are not the enemy, your body needs them for energy. But just like everything, to much of a good thing can be a bad thing. So there are two types of carbs, simple(sugar) and Complex(wheat based breads and pasta). During digestion carbs are converted to glucose, which then enters you blood stream. Like I already said, carbs are good for you but you have to be consious of what type you are consuming. Anything made with white enriched flour is loaded with simple carbs, which is basically sugar. The sugar is digested and turned into glucose also. Your body can only handle so much glucose, so the extra is converted to fat for storage. With that being said, sugar (sodas, candy,  seems to be the culprit, not carbs. Whats the statute of limitations on that?

Fat intake is another angle to look at. Your body needs fat, and should be up to 30% of your calorie load, with no more than 10% as saturated fats, which are derived from animal based foods like meat and milk.  (caloriecontrolcouncil.com, 2011). Fat is an essential component of your diet because it helps tranfer vitamins A,D, E, and K. Also, your body does not produce fatty acids, so it is essential that you consume them. And just like everything else you eat, if you eat to much, your body will store it on your belly, hips, and thighs. 


So now that we went over a couple of the most popular targets when it comes to dieting, lets lok at why fad diets don't work. Fad diets are also know as deprivation diets. Basically you cut your intake in half, and your body eats itself to make up for the lack of intake. And once the diet is done, and you start to eat a little bit more, your metabolism is shocked by the extra intake and stores it all as fat, because your body doesn't know when its going to get another decent meal. So this brings up another good point. When you deprive your body of what it needs where does it get energy to sustain itself? Yea you will burn some fat, but fat doesn't have the essential vitamins your need, so you canibalise your muscles.

Arnold said it best. Burn more than you eat and you will loose weight. That is  paraphrased of course. But remember, not all calories are created equal. 100 calories of protein will be used different than 100 calories of sugar. So loose the cakes and pies, and eat a steak and potato instead. Your body will thank you for it. 

I would certainly listen to his nutritional advise, but definitely not his relationship advise.