1 - Switching to sweeteners

This is a hack that is often suggested, so that you can eat foods that taste sweet but don't have the calories of sugar.

(Weight loss is about more than calorie control by the way, but that's a conversation for another time... if you want to find out more about how to find a more sustainable way to lose weight, check out my Metabolic Food Solution Programme)

But scientific studies have shown that sweeteners change the balance of your gut bacteria.

Over time, they encourage the growth of microbes that lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

So if you are currently drinking 3 cans of fanta a day, and think that switching to drinking 3 cans of diet fanta a day instead will help you...

...I'm begging you....

PLEASE DON'T!!

Fun fact for you - farmers give sucralose to their pigs because it makes them fatten up quicker.

So how can sucralose also be good for weight loss???

2 - Doing loads of cardio every day

If you're an athlete then sure, go ahead and train for hours every day.

An athlete will put their body under a lot of strain, but will (hopefully) have the support systems around them to keep their body healthy.

If you're not an athlete,  then doing hours of cardio every day may not be healthy. 

Your body will be releasing lots of cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and that can play havoc with your metabolism in the long term.

Not to mention the wear and tear on your musculoskeletal system.

And are you really eating enough of ALL the nutrients that your body needs to keep up with that level of exercise?

Exercise is a good thing - I'm certainly not going to discourage you from being active.

But keep it to healthy levels, and keep it varied, so that your body has time to rest and recover.

3 - Constantly reducing your calories to break the plateau

This is what the diet apps will tell you to do.

But your body is a clever thing indeed.

Your body can adapt to consuming less calories!

So if you keep on reducing your calories whenever your weight starts to plateau, you'll find that as soon as you increase your calories back up to normal again, the weight will go back on again.

You'll end up with a metabolism that's stuck in starvation mode, and a digestive system that's tuned up to scrape every last gram of energy out of every morsel you eat.

What's more, if you keep going forever on that low calorie diet (which doesn't sound like much fun to me), you'll find it really difficult to get enough nutrients to keep your skin glowing and your eyes sparkly, and all your organs in tip top repair.

One of the first things I teach my clients in my Metabolic Food Solution programme is that we don't all absorb the same amount of calories from the same foods. 

• That's why some people seem to be able to eat anything without ever putting on weight!

If you want to find out which foods you can eat without triggering that starvation-like ultra-calorie-absorption mode, come and join us in the Metabolic Food Solution programme.

Eating as little fat as possible

OK let's burst that bubble on the low fat diet mantra.

The science that supported recommending low fat diets is DECADES old, and has been disproved over and over again.

Eating very low fat diets:

• Deprives your body of vital vitamins, (did you know that vitamins A, D, E and K can ONLY be found in fatty foods?)

• Can lead to HIGH cholesterol (as you need certain types of fats to keep your arteries clear of the build up of cholesterol.)

• Switches off the production of enzymes that you need to break down fat stores in your body (so you'll find it harder to lose weight)

• Can lead to higher spikes in blood sugar, which can lead to metabolic diseases like Type 2 Diabetes.

None of that seems very hopeful does it?

Ignoring hunger

Being hungry feels pretty miserable.

Being miserable is not what life is all about.

Ever heard of mental health?

That's just as important as physical health.

And actually, scientists are becoming more and more aware of the link between the two.

Just as your mouth can physically produce saliva when you think of delicious foods, there are lots of other body processes that can be affected by your thoughts and emotions.

So I'm all for avoiding any food restrictions that are going to make you less happy!

And actually, hunger is quite useful really.

It's a healthy response to a physical need.

So don't ignore it!

In The Metabolic Food Solution programme, I show you how to recognise the difference between true hunger, and the cravings that come from eating food that doesn't suit your metabolism.

Once you find out which foods DO suit your metabolism, you'll find that your cravings become MUCH less frequent, so you can respond to genuine hunger without worrying about your weight.