Happy New Year. It is officially 2016, which means we are going to see an increase in gym membership, fast diets and many lettuce recipes. The after Christmas panettone and stuffed turkey left us with unwanted extra weight all in the name of spending time with our loved ones. Studies say that an average person gains 5 pounds (2KG) during Christmas season. To lose the weight this person would need to burn a total of 17,500 calories extra which is approximately over 17 hours of jogging at a 10mph rate.
I have tried many diets through out the years. I was 16 when I tried my first diet which consisted of boiled carrots and potatoes with some type of grilled or broiled meat. In college my friends and I tried the infamous Master Cleanse diet, which included a juice made of cayenne pepper, maple syrup, lemon and water. You were supposed to only drink it for as many days as needed. I lasted half day, my friends were stronger than I was, but everyone was definitely pissed off and easily irritated. That is what lack of food would do to you. At some other point in my life I tried the New York diet, which said to have put Heidi Klum back in her pre-pregnancy shape and ready for a Victoria's Secret show. The diet consisted of as many boiled eggs as you want, no carbs, no grains, no this and that. If you were hungry you had to put a boiled egg in your mouth. Dinners were not bad, some of the recipes provided were actually quite normal, like meatloaf and grilled fish. I lasted 3 days after which I could not eat eggs for few months. Then there was the army diet or the Birmingham diet or also known as the 3 days cardiac fad, which was designed to help those patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The idea is to limit your intake and eat exactly what the diet tells you to (e.g. half grape fruit, half banana, and so on). The diet is said to make you lose up to 10 pounds in 3 days. This is probably the only diet I have finished. It works for a while until you have that special holiday dinner or that long week-end at your parents house. Other diets I have tried through out my life included: the minestrone diet, all you eat is minestrone; the melon diet, as you imagine you eat a lot of melon, the yogurt diet, the full moon diet and so on. All of these diets I quit within the first day or I actually cheated so gained weight. Even when I was eating healthy, following the so called fitness healthy food pyramid (increasing protein and decreasing carbs) I still was not really seeing any differences, quite the opposite my body would react by gaining weight and not muscle weight. My husband makes fun of me because overtime I would state, "Tomorrow diet," he knows I will end up having dinner with pasta, wine and chocolate. I just can't do it.
So what did I learn after this experience? I came to the conclusion that I hate diets - Duh! I knew I hated them when I would quit after one day. The idea of being restricted in what I ate made me wanted to eat more and more junk. When I followed real nutritional plans especially when working out - the idea that you need protein to build muscle - I still saw little difference. Funny enough the moments in my life where I did not give a shit about losing weight but instead relied on pasta for lunch and dinner, and chocolate chip cookies for snack I lost weight (probably muscle here that was saying goodbye). I had this discussion with my friend who is a real doctor. When we followed the same diet, based on a 1500 calories per day, she gained weight and was stuffed, I lost and was starving and proceeded to quit right away. So, in 2016 as we all have gathered some more meat on our belly my approach to dieting is quite different: 1. Go back to running and spend more time out; 2. Find recipes that look delicious and that they are actually healthy. So, probably let's ditch that lard, but not the bacon. And let's keep the wine and coffee. My suggestions for anybody trying to lose some extra pounds is to increase physical activity. I love being active and I would rather run the extra mile but keep my vino than feel miserable at night. Everyone is different of course, but listen to the way you feel and make small changes. If you are drinking 12 cokes a day, maybe try 10....
So who is hitting up the gym and doing some diets in 2016?
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