Have you ever seen any of these headlines? Or similar?
If you have, then this is another way of getting your hopes up about dieting and fitness. The top industry experts have their opinions, and sorting through the mess is like finding a way through a maze with the light turned off!
Several women’s magazines and other popular literature/blogs all mention how you will be able to find the things that works for you, unfortunately it just isn’t that simple, and can actually end up being a one step forward, two steps back kinda thing!
I personally have been working in fitness for over 8 years as a personal trainer, internationally in gyms and also self-employed. And have had conversations with people on everything from raspberry ketones to health shakes, juice diets to detox fasting. These have been around since the fitness industry began, and are where people turn to when reaching a plateau. You know the feeling, when these sort of things begin to happen for weight loss:
Skipping meals – especially breakfast
Saying no to snacks at work
Getting cranky and frustrated at no results
Having that annoying friend who never gets any bigger, eating what they want
The answer isn’t as simple as taking a fix all like Raspberry Ketones or going on a smoothie only diet, these actions can cause longer terms health issues and also stop you from getting the body of your dreams!
Let’s now take a look at some common things I hear week in, week out, that people “know” are true…
- You don’t need to change anything other than take a pill…. CRAP! Excuse me for being blunt, but whoever tells you this is a liar. The way to change your body is to make active changes, what you’re currently doing got you where you are in the first place. So why would not making changes work??
These pills and diet shakes cannot take away the work you have to put in, and these comes in the form of sweat and changing your diet.
- Try before you buy
There is always something in the small print where you have to pay, the man upstairs wouldn’t allow his sales team to give away free product, whether it is good or not, without some kind of return on his product going out the door.
- The product is based on totally new technology
This again is a very slippery slope to tread, so please don’t be suckered in by this claim. 99.9% of the pills and shakes out there use mostly the same ingredients. The marketing is aimed at exploiting people’s lack of knowledge with nutrition to make a quick sale. The body has worked in the same way it has for thousands of years, and there aren’t a lot of things that cause such a different reaction.
- Celebrity doctors you’ve never heard of endorsing the product
Do your research with these so called ‘experts’. I have personally seen a few doctors on talk shows and they seem to gloss over the hard facts, and keep repeating the supposed benefits. If it’s someone on a show you or another media you trust, still do the research and try and get another person’s opinion. Look for companies you know and trust who endorse the thing you’re being told is true, these can include government bodies or independent organisations.
Law protects the title ‘Dietitian’, and only those who are registered with an organisation known as the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) are able to refer to themselves in a professional capacity using this term.
Just something to keep in mind.
These are the most common used ones I heard of, and if there are any more please feel free to get in touch, as I will gladly eat my words if a miracle cure comes along. Even if it does put me out of business!
The most important thing is to trust your own judgment, and then if you can’t trust your own then do your research into the claims that others are making. The pills and supplements industry is worth a hell of a lot of money. So sorting through all the crap and knowing what’s good for you is a hard task! Make sure you keep training and sweating, as this will do more for you than a single ‘quick fix’ ever could!
