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The Hidden Truths Of Fad Diets: Lessons For Sustainable Nutrition · Your Strongest Body

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: You are listening to your strongest body.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Betsy Foster, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and certified nutrition coach.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: I've worked as a personal trainer for over a decade, helping people build strength, speed, muscles, as well as a deep appreciation for their bodies and confidence that helps them live their life to the fullest.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Now I'm sharing what I know with you fitness, nutrition and all the deeper stuff to help you discover your strongest body.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Hello, hello, welcome back to another episode of your Strongest Body.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: I have a cold, as you can tell.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: I didn't quite notice how bad it sounded until I started recording, but we're going to go through because this episode should be short and also I really want to get it out there.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Hopefully this just sounds like a luscious woman of the radio many moons ago two pack a day, kind of energy, and not that I am terribly sick.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: I feel probably better than I sound.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: But today we're talking about the four lessons we can learn from fad diets.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: Now I think one of the things that we tend to do, particularly in the nutrition and fitness space, is be really quick to condemn fad diets right away all bad, all bad, all bad, and while in most cases I would say I would never encourage anyone to try a fad diet.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: I say that I can understand why you would, and there are reasons why they are so popular and I think we can learn about ourselves and about our own nutrition and making better nutritional choices and doing the kind of mindset work needed to be successful in creating long lasting positive nutrition habits if we unpack why it is that fad diets are so successful.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: There is a reason why every six months there is a brand new thing that is skyrocketing in popularity, that is promising the best results ever, and that people are jumping on the bandwagon, when I believe that a real majority of folks actually understand what sound nutrition is and most things that we struggle with in nutrition is implementation versus basic knowledge.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about these four things.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Let's get curious about why it is that people jump on these and use these lessons to inform the decisions we make about our own nutrition.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Number one people are always seeking something that feels like it's going to work.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: This time People want to feel like this is the thing that is going to get them what they want.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: This is the difference maker and when you package traditional nutrition change of eating more nutrients, eating less overall calories, thinking about protein intake.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: It does not feel like a new package.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: It does not feel like anything different.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: When people have been trying for years and years and you may recognize this in yourself, maybe every six months to every year you feel like you're starting over again with your traditional intentions, your, whatever diet you want to take on if that's how you call it, or if you talk about habit changes or however you like to word it you're constantly faced with starting over again, starting over again.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: What fad diets tend to promise is this is the thing that you've been missing.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: We know that you've been doing the work before and now.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: This is the thing that is going to work.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: That is really alluring.
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: People want to know that this is the time it's going to work and nobody can guarantee that.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Even in my own way, in which I want to help people approach nutrition, I say like this is the thing that's going to work.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: I don't know that 100% for you, because every person is different, but I believe that it is more sound and more sustainable.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: But we have to recognize that the reason why those feel so attractive in most cases is that we've been on a cycle of trying and failing, and trying and failing and trying and failing and I say the failing part in terms of just like how you would self-assess it for yourself Not necessarily that you are actually failing, but that's what it feels like, particularly if you have been trying fat diets, because they you are almost bound to fail.
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: But people want that feeling of this time.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: This is the solution I've been waiting for.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Everything I've been doing before, I've been on the right track, but I didn't have the right solution.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: And now I found the right thing and it it feels really hopeful.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Number two lesson we can take from fat diets is the promise of the speed of results, and we have to realize that everybody wants things too quickly.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: Now, I understand that, and it's such a natural inclination to want those results immediately, and it's not necessarily wrong to want them, but it is.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: It is really flying in the face of what is actually going to happen, which is slow progress.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Things can happen quickly, but those things that happen quickly tend to also last a very short amount of time.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: And we're talking about instant gratification.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: People love to sell instant gratification because it feels good, because usually it is hard to remind ourselves, when we are in the process of something that's difficult, that this, that these steps are worth it to get to that point, whereas when you get to skip the hard parts right to the result, it's going to feel more gratifying.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: That is used as a way to market to people, and so it has skewed our idea of what is possible, even in just sort of like modern convenience.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Things have been skewed to feel so much faster that things are at our fingertips.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: And when it comes to our body and again, sustainability, sustainable results, things that you think are going to last for a long time, they take much longer than that.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: So that fad diet is promising that speed, and anybody who is, who is teaching you about the real principles behind body change building strength building, muscle, losing body fat, improving overall health markers is going to be very honest with you and say that it takes a long time, and so that's a lesson we can learn.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: What seems attractive oftentimes is the speed with which things are promised.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: How can we cultivate an appreciation for the process enough to enjoy it some, and I understand that that sounds like total BS too, because, like I also understand that some days you're just not going to like or love the process.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: Some days you want to put on the clothes and feel like you look hot and not have to go.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: I'm really thrilled to do another set of this because I know it's ultimately getting me stronger, like.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: I understand that that's not going to be the whole time, but there are ways in which we can start to at least build that like a muscle of opportunities to look at our workouts and go like what am I excited about within this?
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: What do I like about doing this?
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: What changes am I seeing in the micro window?
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Because I know that things are going to take a long time in sort of the macro, but for you know what are my micro gains?
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: What things could I do today that I couldn't do before?
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about lesson number three.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: Lesson number three is that most fad diets require having really strict boundaries and really strict rules where you are either like eliminating whole food groups or eliminating groups of foods, or telling you not to eat at a certain time or any of that.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Sorry, I got an eyelash in my eye.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: So they're creating these really, really strict boundaries.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: That oftentimes helps people with decision fatigue and makes things seem like they are going to be easier, because it creates control that you don't have to do yourself.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: I think that people underestimate the cost, from both an emotional standpoint and from a psychological standpoint and an energy standpoint, that making decisions about your food takes on you.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: When we make things more automatic, we feel less stressed.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Or when we create a system and sort of like principles that help us make decisions about our food, we make it easier for us to be successful.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: What feels appealing in those fad diets is that these are really taking the decisions out of your hand.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: You can't have this, you can't have this, you can't have this.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: So then, when you're presented with it, oh, because I'm on this diet, I can't have it.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: And you have yourself an excuse and you have yourself some.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: You have yourself, you have some limits you have.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: You are taking that decision aspect out of it.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: You're not having to think through it yourself, and that feels like a big save.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Now what happens in these fad diets is that those restrictions are so limiting that there comes a point where the ease of not having to make those decisions is outweighed by the desire to have those restricted things.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: Even if you didn't even care about them before, the level of restriction on them has created a kind of desire for them or a desire to break the rule, so to speak.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: That becomes more enticing, and then you are left without feeling a failure because you stopped, you went off track or whatever that might be.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: But there's something to be said for the kind of structure that some of these diets feel like they provide.
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: And how can we then mimic that in our own diets, in our own nutritional choices, in a way that it's not as restrictive, or not restrictive at all, but provides some guidance, a little bit of a roadmap that feels like oh okay, I can feel less stressed out about this decision because I have a few things that I just know.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: After my workout, I'm choosing this, this and this.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Or when I'm prepping my week, I want to think about this, this and this.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: I want to think about the timing and the food quality and I want to think about, like, getting some protein, you know, a protein first approach, whatever that might be.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: Some of those guiding principles can help those decisions in a similar way to the fad diet, without that kind of restriction.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: And lastly and I think this one is underestimated in terms of its impact in driving someone to start a fad diet and that is the desire to fit in.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: I think we forget that sometimes what we are looking for is some commonality with people around us and this need to fit in, this need to not be the person that does the different thing, the person that doesn't eat foods that the other people aren't eating.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: If everybody is doing a certain diet, sometimes there's a little bit of comfort in just doing it with everybody, because there's a sense of community there, and I think it's really underestimated.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: And I often think that, being a person who feels confident in their nutrition choices, who feels like they can eat without judgment of themselves, that they have a balance of foods, that they include, that they prioritize their nutrition for their performance or their workouts, but also enjoy other foods Again like pleasurable foods without restriction, sometimes that can feel isolating, because you're the only person who isn't commenting on your own food and saying, oh, I shouldn't be eating this.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: But sometimes we say that just because we want to feel included or we don't want to feel like the odd person out.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: We feel like we have to justify our food choices.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: We have to justify that I'm not going to have dessert today because of blank, blank, blank or, and that is a way to fit in, a way to connect and say I'm thinking about the same things as you are.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: This is just me today.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: When we don't feel like we need to comment, it can be a little bit isolating and you don't quite fit in.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: Or sometimes, what if you're sitting around, you're thinking like I actually feel pretty good about my nutrition choices, I really like my workouts, I'm feeling like very good about all the things that I do for my body and I feel very content in my body.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: That is isolating because not many people feel that way.
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Not many people feel that way, and so sometimes we join these weird not weird I don't mean to say that extreme workout challenges or extreme diets, because other people are doing it, other people feel dissatisfied and so we feel a need for connection.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it feels more comfortable to just blend in than to stand out, and I think there's an element a real element of that in why people choose a fad diet.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: I spent a lot of my life in a performing art space where people's appearance was very much a part of whether or not they got a job, whether it be dance or theater or anything like that, and to me there was always a sort of community bonding that came with dieting or restricting or extreme workouts because it meant you were signaling to your colleagues that you cared as much about your art because, like you, want to do this professionally.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: So I realized my body quote unquote my body is my calling card, and people do that in fitness too, for sure, but it was a way to connect.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: It was a part of it was almost a part of an identity of being a performer is also someone who is painstakingly obsessed with their body being dissatisfactory at this moment, and that's just something that I think we don't give ourselves enough credit for, or at least show ourselves enough grace that sometimes our decisions feel like they're motivated in some ways in in fitting in.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: I think we think we grow out of that after middle school or high school, but in all of our lives there are some things that we're doing that we have to get.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: We have to ask ourselves am I doing this because everybody else is doing it and I feel like I want to fit in?
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: And if you, and if the answer is yes and then you still continue to want to do it, by all means again, autonomy, go do what you do, but if you realize, oh, I think that the only reason I'm doing that is because it feels like I fit in more and that isn't actually the motivator that I want.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: Then you can make a different choice.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: So the lessons that we can learn and observe about our own nutrition decisions to to take from that urge to join a fat diet and see if it can help inform our more sustainable, long term new nutrition plan that includes nutrition for health, performance and pleasure.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: We're going to think about the fact that sometimes we are looking for the final answer, the final thing that's going to work.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: We got it.
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: We got to ask ourselves about that.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: Sometimes we are looking for speedy results, we are looking for immediate results.
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: Is that realistic?
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: Is that something we want to sacrifice sustainability for?
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Sometimes we are looking for strict boundaries that take away that decision fatigue, that take away that decision stress.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: Can we create principles for ourselves that are more guidelines and do take away some of that stress without being overly restrictive?
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: And then sometimes we just want to fit in.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: How can we connect with others about nutrition or about our fitness without feeling like we're succumbing to whatever is most popular or succumbing to the idea that that we have to fit in because otherwise it can be pretty isolating?
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: The choice is yours.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: All right, that's it for me for today.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: I hope this is helpful and I think if you really think it through, you can find some of these little, how these pop up in your own approach to nutrition and what you can do about it.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Until I was going to say until next time, you can tell I am a little sick.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: If you're loving the podcast, please rate and review.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: It's always nice for other folks to see that people are listening and let them know what you get out of the podcast.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: I have a lot of really cool stuff coming and I would tease it here, but I sound.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: I'll wait until I can really express my excitement without squeaking or whatever the sound is, and I'll spare your ears until next time.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: Go build your strongest body.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: I'll talk to you later.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: Bye.