About 50% of the emails I receive include questions that begin with, “Elizabeth, what do you think about….” or include, “Does [insert item below] work?”
What follows is any combination of the following dieting trends, buzz words and fads:
Intermittent fasting
Carb cycling
Ketogenic diets
Resistant starch
Working out on an empty stomach
Couch to 5K
Protein shakes
21 day fix
Alternate day fasting
Low carb
Cheat days
I completely understand why so many people want answers to those questions. You want to do what is right. You want to do what works the best.
Here’s what I think many people are overlooking – there is no such thing as the best approach for everyone. There is only the best approach for you.
The best approach for you is completely unique to you based on:
- How it makes you feel
- If it delivers the results you’re after
- If it is sustainable for you
For some people, intermittent fasting makes them feel amazing. It increases their energy, decreases their appetite, accelerates their fat loss & they feel like they could do it effortlessly forever. Bravo. If you’re that person, fantastic, it works for you. Keep it up. Your body has clearly informed you that it works for you.
For other people, intermittent fasting leaves them ravenously hungry, exhausted and they overcompensate with food later in the day. Plus, it doesn’t seem to help their fat loss progress. Guess what? If you’re that person, intermittent fasting isn’t right for you.
The same is true for just about everything included in the above list.
What I think about any of these strategies doesn’t matter. Here’s what matters:
- Can you do it & enjoy your life indefinitely or is it a miserable dieting strategy?
- Does it make you feel great?
- Is your energy high & your hunger and cravings low?
- Are you getting the results you want?
There is no solution that is right for everyone. That’s why it’s critically important that you pay more attention to your own body than to other peoples’ opinions, including mine.
There are four questions I’m constantly asking my clients when they want to know what I think about their choices:
- Does it represent an improvement for you?
- How does it make you feel?
- Do you love it?
- Are you getting results?
What matters is that you care more about what works for your body than what everyone else says works for them.
You need to identify the strategy that makes YOU feel YOUR best & delivers the results you want.
You won’t find it while strategy hopping, changing your direction every 16 seconds based on what everyone else is saying or doing.
Here’s what is far more effective:
- Identify one single improvement you can make
- Practice it daily
- Pay attention to how it makes you feel
- Adjust accordingly
- Only add more when your results stop or the strategy feels effortless
Your body has all your answers & that’s where I suggest you start looking for them!