There are so many fad diets around these days. Just a scan of the magazine covers, spruiking this diet or that diet, while waiting in the queue at the supermarket is mindboggling.

An article appeared in  The Age  this week,  titled  Worst diets of 2012. Dieticians around Australia were surveyed and three diets in particular were listed.

Lemon Detox Diet

Acid and Alkaline Diet

Six Weeks to OMG

Over the years I’ve tried many many fad diets, but I gave them up about 10 years ago, when I came to my senses and realised that they just do not work. Yes, you will lose weight. But yes, you will put that weight back on when the diet becomes so boring and so difficult to stick to and/or live with,  that you just give it up and go back to your old habits. If you’re like me, you will find that somehow you have also picked up extra bad habits to deal with., that you didn’t have before embarking on the fad diet.  After each fad diet, more kilos will creep back on and you will gradually feel worse and worse about yourself. I’m sorry if this sounds pessimistic and negative. It’s just meant to be the truth as I’ve lived it and seen it in others around me.

Anyone who knows me, knows that even though I’m dedicated to living a life of fitness, I have many, many food issues and mental issues around food that I struggle with every single day. But I decided years ago that the best way to control my weight was to just stick to a basic low calorie eating plan which included food from all food groups.  Since then I’ve lost a huge amount of weight and managed to keep it off.

Also I can honestly say that I don’t get hungry. Of course I have moments when I could eat the house, but these are rarely due to hunger. Usually hunger is mistaken for cravings or boredom. When I do feel that I am genuinely very hungry or starving, it’s usually due to missing a meal or two. Recognising the difference between hunger and boredom or cravings is a skill that anyone wanting to lose some kilos would be advised to practice. I find if I eat small meals often, what I think is hunger is rarely ever hunger.

I am not a Saint about this and I’d hate for any reader to think I’m saying I know all the answers or that I’m perfect. I most definitely am not perfect! And I definitely don’t have all the answers!  I put extra kilos on, I take them off, still occasionally yo-yoing a little. I eat rubbish at times. But these days, I try to ensure that the binges and pig-outs occur rarely. And when they do, you can be sure that the next day I will be pedalling my bike frantically or doing some other type of vigorous exercise to burn those extra calories.

Usually after over-eating we feel dreadful – guilty, fat, bloated. But the secret is that if you get out and do a huge workout burning lots of calories as soon as possible after the event, then you will notice that you don’t feel so bad about yourself. If you’re like me, you might even like yourself again, instead of dwelling on the failure until days have gone by without eating healthily. I’m sure we do this to punish ourselves, which when you think about it, is ridiculous.

This is what works for me. So take my advice and stay away from fad diets. I’d love to hear what works for you.