The Choice is Yours

We want to be fit, attractive and healthy, but accomplishing this isn’t as straight forward as it should be. We are bombarded with the latest trends and fads in the diet and fitness market, each one promising to give users wonderful results if only they spend the money to purchase it. Sadly, many diets and fitness fads ultimately fail to deliver, leaving individuals just as flabby, saggy and unhealthy as they were before and poorer to boot since most fads don’t come cheap. So what is a girl to do? Turns out, the choice is hers.

Fads come and go, and it can be very difficult to tell what’s legit and what’s not. Low-fat, no-fat, low-carb, no-carb, raw. The list goes on. Each fad will have experts who back it wholeheartedly along with testimonials that seem too good to be true. We want it to work; sometimes we even need it to work, so we buy in and get that book or purchase that new DVD series. For some people, this purchase marks the start of a lasting life change but for the overwhelming majority, they will still be out of shape and unhappy a year after trying thefad diet or exercise routine. Why don’t fads work for everybody? Why are those results just not typical?

What makes fads attractive is the fact that they promise extreme results in exchange for doing extreme things. Let’s use the Atkins diet as an example of a classic fad. Eliminate all carbs from your diet by following the Atkins diet and you’ll drop a huge amount of pounds in no time, only to gain them back the moment you chow down on a dinner roll during a moment of weakness. Very black and white and extreme. This diet works for people in the short term and this fueled its popularity, but then the negative long term results began to surface.

People started to have trouble thinking clearly, suffered from insatiable urges to indulge in carbs of any persuasion, grew increasingly depressive and unhappy, and some even died from impaired kidney function and heart problems caused by eating a diet so out of balance with the body’s nutritional needs. It turns out that the body needs good, complex carbs on a daily basis! The irony is that many people felt more comfortable with using this diet than getting lipo or a tummy tuck, which would have been a lot safer overall.

New diets tend to be safer than the prototype of the Atkins diet, but that doesn’t make them effective for the long haul. Be apprehensive when presented with extremes in any form! Trust your own common sense and feel free to ask the opinion of a professional in the field before starting any new diet. Nutritionists have madediet their life’s work, and they are more than happy to share their knowledge with you. They are trustworthy, and it’s a fantastic feeling to have an expert on your side.

When it comes to fitness fads, they can be just as bad in their own way. Most of us know that the latest gadget won’t give us a perfectly flat stomach and six pack abs in as little as 5 minutes a day, but what about popular programs like P90X, 5×5 or Insanity? Those popular fitness programs fully disclose that their program requires an extreme amount of dedication, work and even pain in order to gain the results they promise. If individuals can stick to the grueling regimen, they will reap serious results. However, most people fail to do so.

The most effective and popular program on the market might not be the best fit for you personally. Why work against your personality and inherent traits when they could be worked with instead, leading to natural momentum and flow? The long term results will be excellent if you can find a routine that you’ll be happy to stick with year after year.

For example, are you energized by the stretching and poses of yoga? Then perhaps power yoga or Pilates would be the best workout for you, whether they are currently in style or not. On the other hand, do you get bored easy and require a new endeavor to be big and challenging in order to maintain your interest? If so, the rigorous challenge of P90X or Insanity could be just perfect for you, despite the fact that these two fitness programs are also fads at the moment. Know yourself and work with your strengths and weaknesses. The choice is yours and it’s all about you!

The same advice applies to diet. Everyone has their own nutritional type and this is why some peoplemanage to live well as vegans and others on high protein diets while the majority lose energy on such extreme plans. Chances are high that your ideal plan will involve a healthy balance of proteins, fats, vegetables, fruits and complex carbs. Nutritionists are happy to point their clients in the right direction and make diet easy, so working with one is highly recommended. If this isn’t possible, just listen to your body and use your common sense. Who knows how food makes you feel better than you do?

Your physical fitness levels will soar once the right diet and fitness plan are implemented, taking you to exciting new heights of strength, endurance and vitality. By exercising and dieting daily, the body has no choice but to let go of even the most stubborn of fat deposits. In some rare cases where diet and exercisejust aren’t enough, a tummy tuck or lipo may be used to rid yourself of embarrassing problem areas. This is a desperation move, but in a pinch there is nothing wrong with using plastic surgery when all else fails. The best choice is to consult a personal trainer and nutritionist first; they might have valuable insight that will help with eliminating those troublesome problem areas