Nicole Ceil is not a medical doctor, and nothing herein constitutes medical advice or a patient-provider relationship. Please consult your healthcare provider before undertaking a healthcare regimen. Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking treatment.

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Sometimes if feels like there's a new diet to try everyday. Each one promises to be the healthiest, easiest, safest way to lose weight and gain energy. Maybe you've tried some of these diets and haven't felt the magic. Maybe you've assumed you weren't doing it right.

Don't beat yourself up - that diet wasn't for you, and you're not alone.

Read on to learn why most fad diets don't work long-term.

They Don't Account for Bio-Individuality
Strict diets that ban certain food groups indefinitely make assumptions about our biology. They have to! There are too many differences in genetics, culture, age, gender, physical activity level, and health status to account for in one diet plan. Did eating a Vegan diet make you feel tired and weak? Perhaps your ancestors thrived on hunting wildlife. Did eating a Keto diet wreck your digestion? Perhaps you're body wasn't able to digest that much fat. We're all unique and so should be the food we eat.

Fad Diets are About Making Money
Once a diet becomes popular an industry of snack foods and diet products grows up around it! This makes everyone following the diet confused about what's really healthy. Is eating a Paleo ice cream sandwich really providing your body with excellent nutrition? What's more, these products almost always contain preservatives and additives, even if they are "organic" which can exacerbate symptoms such as brain fog, bloating, and allergies.

Fad Diets Fuel the Diet-Binge Cycle
When a diet feels very restrictive, or makes arbitrary rules about what you can and can't eat, it fuels guilt and shame about food choices. If you've ever slipped up on a diet and felt so terrible that you finished the entire box of cookies you know what I mean. A better strategy is to adopt a healthy eating plan designed for you, one that doesn't leave you feeling guilty and craving junk food.

So what’s the solution?

Unfortunately, the solution isn’t always a simple cut and paste plan. For an eating plan to really work for your body, the unique needs of your body need to be taken into consideration when the plan is being created. There needs to be an awareness of your past health history, your current symptoms, and your future goals.

For some, this process is as simple as tuning in and listening to our body’s cues. When do you feel hunger? How is your energy? Do certain foods make you feel sleepy, nauseous, or allergic? A detailed food journal is a fantastic way to make more nuanced observations about the effects that foods have on your body. If you have a high tolerance for trial and error, good attention to detail, and love the idea of experimentation, this method may be a great option for you.

For others however (including me), it can be difficult to be objective about our own health. That’s where the support of a nutritional therapy practitioner, whether individually or in a group class, can come in handy. As a practitioner, I’ll preform an initial assessment of your health history and nutritional needs, analyze your food journal, and consider your health goals to get you started on a nutrition plan that works for you. Functional lab testing can even be incorporated if you’re the type of person who is motivated by objective data. Along the way, I’ll keep track of your progress, provide accountability, and help you make targeted shifts so you can reach your health goals faster.

So, if you’ve been spinning your wheels on a fad diet and are looking for a better way, remember, you don’t have to go it alone. Enter your email below to take advantage of the free resources I publish weekly and stay informed about education events in the community. To learn more about individual or group Nutritional Therapy, schedule a complimentary phone consultation.

Do fad diets work? What's the alternative?