Humans are funny creatures. We have a tremendous ability to acquire knowledge, which we feel makes us smart. But when it comes to applying what we know, then common sense and rational decision making fly out the window.
Case in point: making dietary changes for weight loss. As readers of this blog can attest, I have a decidedly low-carb slant. I’m a low-carber for the simple reason that I’ve found it to be the most effective weight control strategy for me personally, as well as for the majority of the clients I work with.
But despite a wealth of scientific support, as well as clear physiological underpinnings as to why a low-carbohydate diet is a better option for most people (Carbohydrate Restriction: The Numbers Don’t Lie), I still am amazed by the amount of times I have to hear people tell me: “but when I go back to my ‘normal’ way of eating, I’ll gain all the weight back”.
Uh huh. Would this ‘normal’ way of eating resemble anything like that typical North American diet that leaves people irritable, constantly craving junk food and carrying an excess 5-10 lbs of water weight?
Question: If your old diet habits left you fat, moody and unhappy, tell me again why would think it’s appropriate to return to eating in such a fashion…
The reality of dieting
Clearly, simply knowing that low-carbohydrate diets make for more successful weight loss and actually making a low-carbohydarte diet part of your lifestyle are two very different issues.
One of the biggest problems for someone trying to do the low-carb thing is figuring out what to eat. Keep in mind that “low-carb” does not equal “no carb”.
Using my own diet as an example, on a daily basis I eat about 100 g of carbohydrates, with the bulk coming from vegetables. Then on days where I require a higher amount of carbohydrates, I opt for more berries, fruits, nuts, dairy (cottage cheese and yogourt) and the occasional grain (oatmeal, quinoa and sprouted grain bread) or starch (sweet potato). I don’t overthink my macros, I just try to get my carbohydrates in their whole, unprocessed forms.
But even giving people this type of information is rarely enough. Remember: knowledge only contributes to, but does not equate to success. Being successful requires actually doing what you know.
So back to me for a second… does this mean I never eat bread, rice or pasta? No, but I try to keep it only for special occasions. Do I like chips or cookies? Love them, but I’ll let you in on the secret to success: the easiest way to stop eating these foods is to refuse to keep them in the house.
Think about it for a second: you don’t ask someone who is trying to give up smoking to go out and get a job working in a tobacco shop do you? But even after discovering that a low-carbohydrate diet helped them lose a bunch of weight, people still want to keep a steady supply of cereals, crackers, chips and cookies in the cupboards… or worse yet, on the countertop in plain sight.
Now I don’t know about you, but I prefer to not test my willpower every second of every day. I know that if a bag of chips is sitting there, I’m going to eat them. But I also know I am pretty lazy. So if there isn’t a bag of chips sitting on my counter, it’s pretty unlikely I’m going to get in my car and drive to the store to pick one up.
Remove the temptations from the environment and it’s amazing how much “will power” you’ll suddenly have!
In fact, I’ve devised a simple little strategy to help people with their grocery shopping: if you find that you can’t limit myself to a single serving of a given food, simply don’t buy it.
Give it a try and see if it doesn’t work for you.
Till next time, train hard and eat clean!
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