The diet industry is big business, and there are so many
diet books, supplements, products, plans, and ideas out there that it’s
impossible to keep up! Worse, many of
them directly contradict each other. For
example, should you eat mostly meat or mostly vegetables? Is fat good or bad? What about carbs? Do calories count or not? Are some foods better than others? Should you
cook foods or eat them raw? Should you
juice, microwave, grill, bake, or broil?
What about spices? Should you
detox? Avoid processed foods? Avoid grains or gluten?
Of course, every “expert” wants you to believe
that their diet is the ultimate, best, healthiest, newest, and greatest, and
that “all those other diet books and plans are wrong.” And maybe that's true - the others MAY be wrong. But they also may be right – for
someone! We are a diverse species that thrives
on many different diets, on every continent in the world. We’re so adaptable that we can eat pretty much
anything edible and survive. What works
best for each person depends on their genes, ancestry, blood type, metabolism, environment,
lifestyle, preferences, time and energy to spend on their diet and lifestyle and
their habits. So, what works for you may not work for your partner, parent, child,
or great-Aunt Bernice; because each of us is different. In “health coach world,” we call this
“bio-individuality.” Here’s a link that
explains it pretty well http://holistichealthlibrary.com/bio-individuality-what-works-for-you/.
“That’s crazy talk!” you say; “Surely, science can come up
with at least ONE diet that’s best for everyone! We’ve got the USDA, RDA, diet clinics,
hospitals, food industry, pharmaceutical industry, weight loss centers, and a
plethora of diet “experts” to tell us what’s right – and give us the one diet
that will keep us at a healthy weight, let us live long, healthy and productive
lives, and solve all of our problems! (Or
maybe we should give up on all that annoying and contradictory advice, and just take a pill. . .)
Alas, the answer is no – but that doesn’t stop our huge
“diet industry machine” from churning out book after book (or product, pill,
potion, remedy, or supplement) that provides the “definitive answer” about
what’s best for everyone! That industry is successful because a lot of us are overweight or want
to improve their health. The so-called “experts”
know how to capitalize on that. And they do.
Big-time. But the truth is that
it doesn’t matter what they write, say, claim or sell (as long as it isn’t
actually HARMFUL), because every diet works for someone, some of the time. So,
as long as the diet book authors keep telling us that, the diet book publishers
keep publishing new books, the diet supplement makers keep making new
supplements, and diet plan designers keep coming up with new things, everyone’s
happy. . .well, except the poor confused public that is trying to figure out
how to lose weight and stay healthy!
Why does it have to be so complicated? Because, once again, there are no “right”
answers or perfect solutions for everyone.
The truth is that no one really knows what’s best; that’s something each
unique individual has to work out for themselves. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s the
truth. A health coach doesn’t promise
that every diet you try will work, but he or she CAN help you weed through the
diets, find something that works for you, and support you in making the
lifestyle and behavioral changes you will need for success.
Next time I’ll write about the different kinds of diets. See you then!
Karen
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