This past week I lost at least 8 pounds. I also had the stomach flu.
Now, I realize this is not typically where one’s mind goes while hugging the porcelain, but given the fact I had to pull it together and facilitate a teleseminar on body transformation, I immediately began to think about diets.
It seems every week there is a new and improved instant weight loss plan. From Atkins to South Beach, LAP band to HCG, pills, potions, creams, belly jigglers, and crazy stand-on-your-head-for-an-hour-a-day diets (ok…I may be making that last one up, but heck, maybe I could start a craze!). I began to wonder. If I started advertising “Guaranteed to lose 5-10 pounds in 5 days or less!” would people buy? If the asterisk simply stated side effects include, but not limited to: vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, muscle soreness and fatigue and typically did not last more than 5 days, would people jump on the bandwagon? Who knows, they might even buy if I said, “I lost 10 pounds on the Puke-Your-Guts-Out-Diet and it only took 5 Days!” If they try all the others, why not? It’s over in 5 days anyway. Wait another 30 and repeat until you reach the desired result. Or just take a month long sabbatical and come back 30 pounds lighter.
When speaking with clients about nutrition, one of my first recommendations for fat loss is to cut out gluten (but ideally all grains) for 30 days. “I CAN’T give up pasta!” “I’ll die without my BREAD!” “You mean NO COOKIES OR CRACKERS OR ANYTHING!!” And then they’ll say something like, “Hey, I just heard about this M.D. who is prescribing seizure meds off-label for people to lose weight and my friend looks so skinny now!” (Sadly, this is not a joke.) “What do you think about that?” Oh, the irony!
Are we really so obsessed with being “skinny” that we have forgotten about being “healthy”? I think maybe so. I am clearly aware that there are myriad roads to “skinny”, I am also sadly aware that the vast majority of those roads do not also lead to “healthy”. Nutrition and exercise do not have the same glamorous appeal as “Lipo” and “LAP Band”, and I am beginning to worry about a nation that puts stock in these hair-brained ideas that have left millions wondering why they failed to regain their health and continue the battle with the bulge.
My approach to health and fat loss is very simple. You won’t measure your food, count calories, eat with military precision, stand on one foot to eat, or do crazy backflips (unless, of course, you want to). There are no gimmicks, no pills, no potions or lotions. I offer guidelines and inspiration to be active in a way that brings joy to you. I offer you the opportunity to heal from the inside, out.
It may not be the quickest, the flashiest, or the trendiest, but it is most definitely the healthiest and more importantly, it is lasting. I can offer you what none of these “fads” can…a lifetime of health. What would you do if you had it?
Love, Gratitude, and Health~
Erin
