No two people are the same — especially when it comes to their diets. That is why it’s essential to adapt a regimen tailored to suit our body and attend to our own unique nutritional needs.
Of course, maintaining a healthy balance of wholesome foods in our diet and more importantly keeping things in moderation is key. But for many, our modern day lifestyles get in the way of sustaining balance when it comes to eating healthy and exercising. Stuck in an age where we are constantly looking for shortcuts to help squeeze out every last minute of the day, it’s no surprise that we resort to the quicker and easier way of dieting. But just how effective are these alternative ways of losing weight? Do they actually work or are they just another fallacy?
What is a Detox?
First, let’s dive into the details involving the popular “detox diet”. There is no one particular detox out there — in fact there are several different types that involve either fasting, drinking cleansing juices, taking pills or other diets that restrict the consumption of certain foods. Regardless of which type of detox one chooses, the important thing to recognize is that they aren’t as promising as they sound. In actuality, they have not proven to accomplish what they say they will, which is to flush toxins from the body. If your goal is to ultimately cleanse your body from “harmful” substances, your best approach is a traditional clean-eating regimen. This is one that limits high in fat and sugar foods, by replacing them with naturally grown, raw whole foods. Cutting down on processed foods that many of our diets are overfilled with will also help achieve a more realistic long-term goal. However, science has in fact proven that the removal of stored toxic substances is a continuous process that the body undergoes naturally, regardless of whether or not we attempt to flush them through a diet.
Losing Weight Without Exercise
It is likely that you have heard about the several cleansing diets that are solely based on the consumption of pills, juices or limited foods and do not involve any form of exercise in order to lose weight. To many, the sound of not having to go through extensive training in order to achieve results may sound appealing, which has no wonder drawn popularity to these weight-reduction strategies. These forms of dieting may often yield in weight loss mainly due to their extreme nature and the fact that they restrict many foods or occasionally entire food groups. Of course, while it is possible to shed weight by cutting calories through a detox, skipping out on gym time will likely result in a decrease in muscle mass. What many people do not realize is that the less muscle mass your body has, the less energy (and in turn, calories) you use. It is safe to say that many of these diets do not involve much physical activity because they are in fact so low in calories that people often feel weak or simply do not have enough energy to burn off in the first place.
The Verdict
It’s indisputable that going cold turkey or making excessive cuts to your daily intake will without a doubt send your body into shock. However, by maintaining a lifestyle consistently overtime rather than putting a complete halt to one is much more effective, and more importantly easier on the body. It’s important to realize that although the pounds may shed at a rapid rate when detoxing for some, weight can quickly pack on once you end the diet. To increase the likelihood of long-term success in regards to achieving your healthy weight, smaller changes are recommended over dramatic ones. In most cases, conventional dieting methods of losing weight including exercise, although can be initially slower in yielding weight loss results, have proven to be more advantageous in the long haul when maintaining goals.
How to Get Started
Don’t know where to begin? Not to worry — starting off a new regimen may be intimidating, especially when you have what seems to be an impossible goal to reach. Begin by making just one small change. For instance, add a portion of veggies with your lunch or make an effort to eat dinner at an earlier time. These small changes will remain easy to manage and maintain through longer periods of time as oppose to struggling to keep up with dieting fads. Remember, this is more than simply your caloric intake. All-around health involves the intricacies of physical, mental and emotional balance. Keep your mind alert and your heart happy! Start by focusing on your entire body as a series of mechanisms working together to keep it in its best shape possible. And just as mentioned off the top, moderation is the key to a healthy lifestyle.