Diets Don’t Work But Optimal Lifestyle Does...

Even though many believe that diets do not work, they are still willing to give them another go in the hope that this one might be the one. However studies have shown that up to 95% of those that diet regain their lost weight. Hence dieting is a temporary solution and if you diet, your body starts to store fat because it expects a period of “famine” and tries to prepare your body for the expected starvation. So, I ask my clients “do you want to lose weight for a while or lose it and never put it back on?” The answer is obvious. The permanent loss of weight means lifestyle changes that are maintained. This means hard work and I also tell my clients that you need to earn the body you dream off and it will be worth it in the end.

In the world we live in, we either have deficiencies or excess, as you see in the photo. Optimal health is the thin line between excess and deficiency and it may be achieved by making the right nutritional choices. Additionally you need to consider other factors that will reinforce your nutritional decisions.

Exercise has a wonderful effect on the body. It is a mood elevator combined with a positive metabolic effect. Exercise makes your bones stronger, supresses your hunger, regulates your stress hormones and improves your sleep.

Detoxification helps your body to get rid of the harmful chemicals and toxins that are “fat-loving”. If you don’t those harmful substances will find their way back to your blood stream and harm your health. Water plays a crucial part so drink lots of it. Green vegetables are good too. Avoid chemicals, additives and preservatives.

Another factor that is often neglected is adequate sleep. Deep sleep neutralises stress and helps your body rid itself from its fluids. Adequate sleep will also help regulate your ph body value.

Stress is an enemy that you need to manage and keep under control. If left unchecked it produces signals that will encourage you to eat and put on weight. Laughter is a good medicine for stress and it is effective in reducing its levels. So is exercise. If you prefer you could meditate by creating the right images in your subconscious which will make the right biochemical and neurological changes.

Finally exercise is a form of stress because it produces an Adrenaline rush and causes stress responses in your body. This is why exercise should be followed by relaxing activities such as yoga or deep breathing in order to balance the anxiety and the nervousness. Join my challenge this January it is this sort of knowledge that I share with my clients so that they are better informed and are able to make the right nutritional choices that support them in their journeys to better health. We will cover these and other topics that will enable you to make the right nutritional choices that will lead to a healthier life.

Heba Al-Zuhair | M.Phil in Nutrition, Physical Activity & Public Health