It isn’t easy to pick and choose when the options are aplenty.
It is with almost everything in our daily lives. Just look how many types of toothpaste are out there, each with its own powerful formula to deliver that pearly white smile, eradicate bad breath and assure that cavities are a thing of the past. From gel-like substances to the good old white cream, each of these draws us out there to give it a try and see if it really works.
The same goes for headphones, running shoes, and even condoms.
They all want to stand out from the crowd to deliver quality and get worth for your bucks.
Quality prevails in most of the cases. The combination of good and cheap at the same time is not solidified in the consumer experience as a somewhat successful formula. Of course, exceptions do exist depending on the individual. How it is used and the value it represents to the owner.
While the consumer may value a product on its durability, the dieting world works slightly on a different scale. After all, it is our body and individual preferences we must take into account.
For me, diets are a means to give nutritional guidance to a person who wants to lose some weight and has little clue about the way he/she is eating. And with the internet as an insurmountable source of fads and solutions, with a thick-layered story showing that it does work, the less caloric-conscious consumer with some overhang around his/her waist may be falling for it.
We all know the stories.
There is nothing new about this.
Clients hop from one diet to the other in search of that magic elixir. That home-delivered solution resolving all fat-laden issues within weeks. No success? Let’s move on to the next diet and see if this is the menu we were looking for.
It isn’t working.
These stories are like little goldmines for those internet diet companies. Low fat, low carbs, higher-than-average protein intake, more of this on this day compared to the other day, blood group-specific diets, I can go on forever. A score of new food fads blooms up in a search for filling another gap.
Many of us have been able to get some comprehension of what works best for me know the stories. Questions of doubt and disbelief rise like a phoenix from the flames.
- Does nothing work for me?
- Do my genes really play games with me?
- Have I inherited DNA that simply does not get me the figure I aim for?
And so on.
Reasons aplenty for either giving up or seeking out a new way to lose weight.
It is not uncommon to hear that we believe we can handle our diets ourselves. After all, how hard can it be? Eat less of this, drink more of that and hit the gym. If it is that easy, why do so many people still fail? Why continue to find new ways to get a little bit more shredded?
We are almost destined to reach towards the almighty internet in search of tips and fat-dissolving methods. In general, humanity gets fatter at a rapid pace. The latter is not fiction – it is a fact. Just Google “obesity rates” in your country of residence, and little positive news will reach the top of your search results.
In short, the exponential growth of internet diet plans and paths to get some more energy versus a society where the average BMI (Body Mass Index) rises year after year.
Does it make sense?
Are we fooled by the marketing power of nutrition-savvy solution providers to believe the internet is our savour?
Or are we relying on a source that actually may not work for you at all?
There are two main caveats in the whole internet dieting world. There are a few more, but for the length of this post I leave these aside.
Short-Term Solutions
Ever noticed that these diets come with a guaranteed success of an x amount of days? See your navel again in 60 days once you do this and that! The rigorous transformation from your current eating and drinking habits to their methodology is not only a shock to the system, but it is also not sustainable.
You may want to commit for a couple of weeks to go for it, but when the proverbial finish line is reached, you’re on your own. Or buy an extended package going for the same thing with a few tweaks here and there. Cash in their pocket, and you back on a diet plan that simply will not get you further for the next 10 years.
Changing habits takes time. Besides holding one’s self accountable for your actions, some of these changes will not happen once the 60 days are over.
You’re on your own. Go figure out if you can sustain eating for the rest of your life what they are serving.
They don’t take YOU into account
We are defined by our habits, and this includes eating and drinking. From our cultural background to what we love to sink our teeth in, where we live and with whom, how our work situation is, it is all ignored. These essential parts are forgotten in these internet diet plans.
The plans are around their formula (peer-reviewed or not, it does not matter) but does not take into account that you have individual needs and wishes.
Before you know it, you are falling back into your old habit because the new ones are implemented with the speed of light, forgetting that you live a normal life with holidays, family outings, and cosy evenings with your loved ones on the balcony.
Do you want to feel miserable because you cannot join your family or friends for a good night out because the internet says so? As action leads to motivation, I am sure you can agree that motivation will be way off the chart when you eat your lentils and a glass of lukewarm water with a lemon peel while others feast on whatever is on the menu.
Besides, we love a bit of complexity. Complexity is often associated with something that seems to be a good source to trust. Research here, investigation there and all this multiplied by several test subjects coming out of the lab with perfect scores. It has a feeling of security, a choice we make with a fairly decent chance of success.
The solution lies not in the short-term practices or the complexity of things.
It is quite the opposite.
Demanding times in a world where we are busy, hectic and frantically trying to manage our time ask for simple solutions. There is no need to go all weird over what you must eat to see results.
What benefit would more complexity add to the equation when something so trivial as your health can be coached in such a way that it is sustainable. A method, built on incremental yet small changes, is manageable, and is based on the well-known KISS formula – Keep it Super Simple.
Obesity and overweight problems are a thing of the present, not of the past. Everything has to be done fast, slotted into our online calendar, because society demands quick results.
Our bodies do not work like that.
No revolution of any kind swirled our digestive system and metabolic processes in alignment with today’s society. Failure to comply with the bodily functions and ignoring that these practices take time. The yo-yo effects on dieting becomes a norm nobody wants to pursue.
If you are stuck in such a dietary vortex, perhaps we may need to have a chat.
About you.
It is not a short-term diet. It is a long-term lifestyle change | Unknown
