Posted on March 09, 2018 by Emily Forbes

The other week I did a corporate talk titled Ditch the Diet. It occurred to me that I have never really truly dieted myself. Although my weight maintenance is on point. I think I’ve weighed around 58kg +/- 1kg for around eight years (I was much skinnier than that before). For the exception of my first year of university.

I started university when I was 30 yrs old and studying a degree in nutrition. So it wasn’t because I didn’t know how to look after myself. It was because the halls I was living in only had a part catered option. Which meant a 3 course dinner 5 nights a week. I was also 100 times more sedentary than I had ever been in my life with all the lectures and studying. My weight went up to 62kg. The most I’ve ever weighed in my life! I felt heavier too. As soon as I realised I was putting on weight I took action. When you see what I did below, I wouldn’t call this dieting as such, just making sensible options and it didn’t seem like a sacrifice.

How Did I Do It?

I simply…

  • cut out the dessert every night,
  • chose a better starter and side options and
  • joined the gym and did 3 sessions a week.

The weight was off in a month. Sometimes ‘dieting’ can be that simple. Obviously if you have more weight to lose then it is going to take much longer but small adjustments can make a big difference over time!

My Recent Dieting Experience

As a personal trainer & nutritionist, I’ve sampled many diets to test first hand what they are like and relate to clients. These have included

  • Intermittent fasting (5:2 & 16:8),
  • Carb cycling,
  • Ketogenic
  • The usual daily calorie restriction. Of course all diets aim to achieve a calorie restriction just in different ways.

Some of these diets I have got on very well with. Others were simply hell for me. Just goes to show not one size fits all and it can be a bit of trial and error to find one that you can get on with.

So if you are in bit of a diet rut maybe its time for a diet wake-up-shake-up. Evaluate how things are at the moment. If they aren’t working, maybe it’s time to try something new? There isn’t one best diet I’m afraid. But if you are in a calorie deficit, you WILL lose weight. Fact! You just need to find the most enjoyable way of eating which suits you so you can make it work – enjoy your food whilst still losing weight!

Of course you can always get a PT to help you keep on track and stay motivated or check our blogs for healthy meal ideas.

Stayed tuned for part 2…..