Skip to main content

We are constantly being inundated with new diets, promising a quick fix to all weight problems. There is a new diet book out every week, and with the recent rise in social media, new diets are impossible to avoid. Their ‘try me, i’m new’ approach can be tempting, but there is a reason that hundreds of thousands of diet books exist – and that is for the pure reason that they don’t work! I can hear you all say ‘I know, I know’, and I understand that it can be difficult not to give in to the temptation of trying yet another diet.

However, what you really need to do is to change your goal. Your goal should not be to lose weight. There is always a cause and effect: The cause is your goal which is to be healthy, and the effect of this is that you will become a healthy weight. Aim to be healthy, to eat nutritious food and to exercise your body. As a result, hurrah, you will become a healthy weight, whether this is weight you may need to put on or weight you may need to lose. If you concentrate on losing weight, you are focussing on the end result instead of how to get there. Making this mental shift will really change your diet from a negative experience of fear and guilt, into a positive one.

In recent years there has been a surge of celebrities showing off their diets and workouts on social media. This can be extremely influential, and although some of it can be positive motivation, I do worry that people can be too quick to join the latest bandwagon rather than work out out a balanced diet that is best for you personally. Some food writers have almost become celebrities in their own right. However, it is so important to remember that what works for them may not work for you and sometimes these people are not even qualified to give diet and weight loss advice. There are many diets that are really popular at the moment that exclude certain food groups. It really worries me that people admire the author and want to emulate them, and so can turn to diets that exclude food groups, when they really do not need to. Being vegan may be a great choice for one person, but it is not right for everyone, and I would not advise anyone to give up meat and grains without it being a personal decision, and without doing the the right research. Otherwise it is very easy to become deficient in a number of nutrients, and you will actually become less healthy as a result. I personally tend to make eat a mainly gluten free diet, mainly due to my partner being intolerant, but I think everyone is different, and would not recommend cutting out any food groups as a weight loss tool, instead only doing so for health reasons.

The best diet is a healthy, balanced diet full of delicious, lean protein, complex carbohydrates and fat. Have a look at my website which is packed full of healthy, nutritionally-balanced meals. Healthy food is delicious food, and remember if you concentrate on eating healthily you will feel it on the inside and see it on the outside.

Chloë x