A mass marketed diet is never personalized. Everyone in the world is different. But you knew that, right?
Certainly every diet can be evaluated for both healthy and unhealthy components and any diet that restricts food (calories) will encourage weight loss.
Sadly, diets address numbers on the scale, not health outcomes and behaviors.
There are food focused diets, low-"insert any macronutrient" diet, no-"insert any food item" diet, only-"insert any food item" diet, food group diets, timing/combination diets, commerical meal and pill diets, blood type diets and really, any other fancy food-related habit that restricts or encourages food.
As a believer of a balanced approach to all things in life, I strive for consistency in everything I do. I believe everything I do in life requires hard work...albeit, somethings require a little more time, dedication and energy, than others but certainly, the easy way out is not always the best way to accomplish something.
When I work with Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition athletes and fitness enthusiasts, I try to instill the same philosophy of how I choose to live my life. When I share the accomplishments of my athletes on my Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition Facebook page, I am proud to celebrate to accomplishments of others. We are all different and we all have different lifestyles and goals. Wouldn't life be boring if everyone was the same, there were no challenges, there were no adventures and you had nothing to give you that competitive drive to succeed?
When I went to a talk at UNF a few months ago and heard Dr. Rodriguez speak about diets, I took notes. A lot of them.
Here are a few red and green flags of "diets":
RED FLAGS
Quick weight loss
Expensive purchases
Excessive supplement or pill intake
One or few foods (food lists, restrictions, excessive intakes)
Skipping meals, unusual meal patterns
No (or little) fitness required
Calorie/food controlled
Magic/miracle plan
Bizzare quantities or rigid menus
GREEN FLAGSPersonlized, individual approach
Physical activity/fitness guidelines
Addressing readiness and lifestyle behaviors
Plans for stress and chaos
Long-term adaptability
Family friendliness, flexibility
Based on research, reducing 100-300 kcal a day from recommended daily calories, decreasing caloric beverages, decreasing high fat and fried food, decreasing processed food, eating smaller portions, eating every few hours (smaller meals and snacks) and eating more fruits and veggies, have been shown to encourage a favorable change in habits and body composition.
One of my Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition athletes, James W. sent me the most wonderful email the other day and I felt it was appropriate to share with others. Happily, James is not the only satisfied Trimarni athlete as I am proud to say there are many more active individuals out there who are living life with a better appreciation for food and a healthy relationship with the body, exercise and the daily diet.
Thank you James for giving me permission to share your story:
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Back in 1998 my cholesterol was about 212, and I went on a heart healthy diet and managed to get if down to 185 and I was happy with that. Over the years It has gotten back up and even with what I thought was healthy eating, It was not going back down. Back in April of 2011, when I had it checked my cholesterol was 223. I also had an elevated blood pressure 140/90 which was a first for me. This really shocked and scarred me. All my other test results were normal so I was relived of that.
Anyway, that is the time I started telling you about my results and we talked about things I could do in my diet to reduce the sodium and salt in my diet. You thought with better diet my blood pressure and cholesterol would go back down. I was so happy to hear you say that. I did not want to start taking medications. Its funny because I thought I was eating healthy but thanks to you, I soon began to realize, I had a lot to learn.
So after a year of learning and changing my eating patterns and what I chose to put in my mouth, I go into my doctors for my annual physical. First thing the nurse does is puts me on the scale, my weight was 158. A year ago it was 173. I have not weighed 158 since High School. This loss of weight has dropped my waste size from a 32 to a 30. I can't remember ever wearing a 30 in pant waste.
Next the nurse takes my blood pressure. It was 119 / 84 vs 140/90 a year ago. I was so relieved that it went back down. I had not had it checked in over 8 months so I had no idea where it was going to come in at.
All my improvements are strictly a result of a healthier diet. I have not changed anything else in my lifestyle except following your coaching and nutrition advice. The best thing about it is I love the food I eat now. I would not be happy going back to my old way of eating.
Thanks so much Marni for believing in me. I could not have done it without your guidance and expertise.