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How Fad Diets Measure Up
How Fad Diets Measure Up
The battle between holistic lifestyles and holes in your diet
You know how the saying goes: “The proof is in the pudding (that the latest fad diet says you can’t eat anymore).” When beginning your health journey, the appeal of the latest diet can often overshadow the downside of ignoring your own genetics. Below, see how fad diets stand up against the holistic nature of eating for your metabolic type.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
Fad diets promise fast results, but with any quick fix solution, they’re unreliable and inefficient to maintain. Allow me to demonstrate this concept with a little help from T.Swift herself, “Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes.” Sure, this Bad Blood lyric wasn’t surrounding the health ramifications of ill-formed diets, but the metaphor measures up. A Two-Week Makeover Cleanse or 27 Day Celebrity Body diet may help you lose a few pounds whilst under a restricted calorie deficit regimen, but it’s not sustainable and will result in packing on the pounds on day 15 or 28 when the diet is over. The key to a healthy lifestyle is a strong foundation of nutrition that won’t cause yo-yo weight loss and weight gain with every new diet bandage.
Eating for you metabolic type is an easily adaptable lifestyle change, not a “get skinny quick” scheme (though, that’ll happen too). When you assess your metabolic type, you’ll learn to eat the foods that are most compatible with your natural chemistry, and you won’t be struck with analysis paralysis when choosing the right foods for your diet. This structure simplifies why certain foods leave you craving a nap or even just craving more food, and how to solve that through fine-tuning your macro/micro nutrient profile.
Winner: Metabolic diet. If you’re eating according to your individual genetic makeup, you’ll avoid feeling overwhelmed by the latest diet craze or financially drained by expensive one-size-fits-all cleanses and supplements. What’s more? You’ll have quick and consistent control of your weight loss goals by eating the foods that are right for you.
METABOLISM
Fad diets seem to work at first because they often require eating a minimal amount of calories in a minimal time frame throughout the day. This, of course, will help you drop water weight, but it will also disrupt your natural metabolism: the rate at which your body burns calories — even at rest. You’ve seen the celebrity-endorsed juice cleanses poised to shed weight within – gasp – days. Though, does the short term water loss benefit your long term health goals? Not a chance. The reason? It’s not conducive to your overall metabolism or sustainable overtime. Chronic dieting may actually slow an already fast metabolism and cause you to burn fewer calories during the day than would have naturally.
Eating for your metabolic type works with (surprise!), not against your metabolism to keep you feeling full between each meal while boosting your metabolism to burn even more calories during workouts and rest periods. When you’re harnessing the foods that fuel your cells, you’ll be able to eat with less restriction while sticking to the longstanding nutrition strategy that will speed even the slowest of metabolisms.
Winner: Metabolic diet. More food, more energy, more calories burned.
ENERGY
Fad diets operate like most trends. They ramp up in popularity and seed themselves throughout pop-culture until they’re replaced and become another “Why did I ever think that hairstyle was a good idea?!” photo tucked in the back of your family album. Much like those fashion trends that burn out quickly, a trending diet is not built to last. The lack of complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and essential nutrients within fad diets will not only cause fatigue and irritability, but it will also cause an increase in stress and fat cells.
A healthy diet that caters to each metabolic type focuses on you and your unique build; from your genetics to your stress and sleep patterns. Through a detailed assessment that measures optimal nutrition specific to each, you’ll be eating the correct foods in the correct quantities instead of fighting to maintain an unrealistic diet. The holistic nature of metabolic nutrition focuses on the food that mitigates cravings, deprivation, and fatigue as well as the environmental stressors of everyday life such as stress, sleep, digestive health, and your existing daily schedule.
Winner: Metabolic diet. Tailoring diet and exercise to your genetic makeup will identify your personal super foods (and the foods to avoid) to maximize strength and energy — simply through small adjustments to your holistic lifestyle. Through this simplified balanced approach, you’ll have more mental and physical stamina.
MUSCLE
Fad diets are rarely – if ever – touted by bona fide athletes or fitness professionals — and for good reason. An overly restrictive diet can’t provide the fuel necessary to build muscle, increase respiratory strength, or mental clarity because of nutritional deficiencies that often follow. Even when diets are loosely (read: entirely) tied to a sport like the ties between paleo and crossfit, but that restrictive diet is rarely used by professional athletes because of the unbalanced nutrition it provides for daily life. As increased muscle mass prepares your body to burn more fat, it’s important to focus on building strength at every phase of your holistic journey.
Following a metabolic diet emphasizes that the pillars of health and fitness extend not only to the food we eat but the mental and physical habits as well. When you provide your body with the proper nutrition it needs to operate at full capacity, weight loss and muscle gain will quickly follow.
Winner: Metabolic diet. You wouldn’t put diesel fuel in a car that requires standard premium fuel, right? This same concept applies to the fuel that makes your body run (and jump!) (and squat!). Eating according to your metabolic type ensures that your nutrition keeps all internal cylinders operating at peak efficiency during and after workouts.
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Noticing a theme here? When you eat according to your metabolic type, you’ll never be dieting. Instead, you’ll be making small changes based on your genetics and everyday stressors to consume the kind of foods that will energize and optimize your body. By committing to a lifestyle change, progress will begin.
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Personal Training Success Story Santa Fe
Personal Training Success Story Santa Fe – Brian
Yipe! That is the sound Brian makes at the end of a class right before the wall stretch happens (L5/S1 ELDOA). This epitomizes what Brian is about. He is the ultimate dichotomy, a structured gypsy. He embraces both his mountaineering free spirit and team athlete mentality of making sure he puts in the work.
Brian graced Santa Fe with his presence about 4 years ago after growing up in Colorado, being a mountaineer for 20 some years, and working as contractor in Seattle. He has already lived a full life and wants to continue to do so, so when his back pain started up he started looking for answers.
You see after years of climbing up mountains and working with his hands Brian developed a lot of back pain to the point where he was in a lot of pain. You wouldn’t know it from his super positive, engaging, and happy demeanor but there were times when he would be down for the count for 4-6 weeks with back pain.
He fortuitously came to us when we needed some men for an ELDOA class that we were doing a photo shoot for. He was friends with the photographer and heard it was a class for back pain and was down to try anything that would fix it.
During that first class he was in shock (like everybody) about how challenging these simple looking postures were. But after the class he (like everybody) felt fantastic. He felt that he had finally found what he had been looking for and joined our class.
It has been over two years that Brian has been with us and his results have been remarkable. I’ll let him tell you in his own words, but because of that free spirit, joy and the hard work he puts in, Brian is our January Member of the Month.
1) What made you decide you wanted/needed to start a program?
My back pain was so bad that I was being knocked out of my life for 4-6 week blocks. I couldn’t do anything. This started infrequently, but was getting more frequent.
2) What did you do before?
Well, at the start I just pushed through it because it wasn’t that bad, but as time went on, it was becoming unbearable. I tried everything. I went to Yoga classes, worked out, and did those 10-pack Rolfing sessions they recommend.
3) What results have you achieved since starting your program that you are proud of? My back pain is pretty much nonexistent. I feel so much more aware in my body and I feel much stronger.
4) Do you have a favorite exercise? Least? What do you like or don’t like about them? The Frogs are really challenging, but I know that they are good for me. The wall stretch is great. I feel really good right after I do it.
5) What are some challenges or goals you are currently working on?
I would like to continue to get stronger and have more freedom in my body.
6) What do you like best about our program/ having a trainer? I love the personal attention and the fact that this program really works!
7) What advice would you give to the other SolCore Fitness members?
Just keep coming and do what you can each day.
8) What would you say to someone on the fence about joining our program?
If you put in the work this program works.
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Santa Fe It’s That Time of Year!
Santa Fe It’s That Time of Year!
A time for reflection and a time for looking ahead to the new year.
Many people spend most of their energy on the looking ahead part, but I think reflection is as, if not more, important if we’re going to learn and keep growing and progressing, as well as appreciate life for the journey that it is.
Have you taken a few minutes to think back over this past year?
Who were you one year ago?
In what ways have you grown?
What small (or great!) things did you accomplish this year?
What lessons did you learn?
Who came into your life that you are grateful for this year?
What did you let go of so you could move forward this year?
What new dreams took root this year? New ideas? New adventures?
What is one brave thing you tried this year? What is one fear you faced d
own?
What is one way you made a positive impact on another life this past year?
Now don’t get me wrong, 2016 was a year of a LOT of challenges for so many people, but often we forget that there were 365 days, 8760 hours, and 525,600 minutes this past year and they can’t all have been bad!
I encourage you this week to take a minute to reflect and pull out the positives and the constructive lessons from this past year before you put it to rest and move forward once again.
2016 was an amazing year of growth as we had a successful move to an amazing new space. We were joined by Elizabeth, who is really helping everything run smoothly.
And for the Sooh family, we were chosen by Bodhi, our new son who has really made our family complete.
I hope you find many lovely minutes, hours, and days to be grateful for from 2016! I’ll share my personal lessons with you next week. 😉
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For People In Santa Fe: The Amazing Benefits of Keeping Fit!
For People In Santa Fe: The Amazing Benefits of Keeping Fit!
Ekemba Sooh | December 26, 2016
Eight trusted benefits of keeping fit, even at old age
Keeping fit is a great way to stay healthy. Exercising on a regular basis has countless positive effects on the body and the mind. A study done on 25,000 volunteers has shown that physical exercising is more important to health than just losing weight. Overweight people who are fit have lower chances of developing heart problems, diabetes, or osteoporosis. Who can practice fitness? Is fitness for you? The good news is that anybody, regardless of age, can benefit from fitness. Fitness exercises range from developing flexibility to building up strength and losing extra pounds.
- Keep a healthier heart – Fitness makes the heart work faster and it helps increase and strengthen the muscle of the heart.
- Develop stronger muscles and bones – Fitness exercises that work the muscles, such as weight lifting, develop the muscles and increase bone density. This translates into a body that is more resistant to fractures and injuries. People over 40, who have higher risks of developing osteoporosis and arthritis, can maintain a younger body for a longer time through fitness.
- Helps in weight loss – Fitness burns calories and reduces body fat. If you exercise on a regular basis, you will not only burn calories while you’re at the gym, but you will also burn calories while you’re resting. If you join fitness with a healthy diet, you will have a fit and excellent looking body.
- Helps in stress reduction – You have outnumbered stress factors in your life, stress is very dangerous to your health, and it can give you a general state of crankiness and anxiety. Exercising relieves stress and triggers the secretion of endorphins in the body. Endorphins, also called “the happiness hormone” create a state of relaxation. There is something called “a runner’s high”. This basically means that people feel happier after exercising.
- A more restful sleep – Stress and health problems sometime cause insomnia and other sleep disturbances. Fitness will give you a deep and restful sleep, which is important for the body to be able to recover and function normally.
- Increased ability to focus – Research shows that people who exercise think faster and clearer. Fitness does not only do wonders for the body, but it also benefits the mind, through improving circulation in the brain and taking away the stress that sometimes clouds our judgment.
Long-term benefits of fitness:
- Reduced blood pressure – High blood pressure can lead to strokes and heart attacks. Heart problems are the leading cause of death in the world. Fitness means a stronger heart, which pumps blood more efficiently through the body and the force put on the arteries decreases. Regular exercising is one of the drug-free methods to treat hypertension.
- Improved posture – Fitness helps maintain a strong backbone with a healthy posture. It helps with back problems and back pain that are often associated with a sedentary life.
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