I would like to introduce to you the holy grail of diets: One that guarantees permanent weight loss and improved health one hundred percent of the time. One backed by decades of medical studies and clinical research, including exhaustive triple-double-blind studies yielding equal results each time. For years, nutritionists, dietitians, and other health professionals have been aware of this diet and its incredible efficiency, but never before has it been revealed to the public... until now.
The diet I am referring to is the CD diet, a secret among health industry professionals. Although the CD diet has been written about extensively in almost every major health and fitness publication, you are most likely still unaware of its existence. Due to the strength of its effectiveness, it is intentionally hidden under multiple names in order to mislead those that seek it out most desperately - the yo-yo dieters.
For the first time ever I will expose the hidden face of the CD diet and make it clearly recognizable to you so that guaranteed success may be found within your dieting efforts. The true form of the CD diet can be acknowledged under the aliases of the Paleo diet, the Vegan diet, the Gluten-free diet, the Mediterranean diet, the Intermittent Fasting diet, the Small-Frequent-Meals diet, and many others. Because they all work! All of the time!
At this point you are probably extremely confused and wondering to yourself, what exactly is the CD diet, and how can all of those contradictory diets use the same thing and guarantee equal results one hundred percent of the time? That's because the CD diet is composed of two magical words: consistency and discipline. Applied to any diet, consistency and discipline will guarantee you your desired outcome every time (within reason of course).
The Consistency and Discipline diet is the key to unlocking permanent, life-changing results. It is the only thing that explains how one person can lose weight eating a high carbohydrate and low fat diet, while another person can lose the same amount of weight eating a low carbohydrate and high fat diet.
It is not a matter of whether the Vegan diet versus the Paleo diet works better for weight loss; rather, it is a matter of which of those two diets work best for YOU -- and that's the diet that best suits your lifestyle, allowing you to stick to it in the long run.
Now that the secret has been revealed, the difficult part is choosing which one. This is particularly challenging because "best for you" has multiple meanings. The diet that works best for you is going to be the one that suits your lifestyle, budget, schedule, and the limitations of your self-discipline.
For example, one diet popular amongst millionaires is the PC diet (private chef diet). This diet consists of private chefs who pre-prepare gourmet meals designed to meet specific health goals. It has proven extremely effective and the results are lasting. But if you are not a part of the wealthy elite group that can afford this service, then this might not be the best option. Your budget cannot sustain it.
Likewise, many people have heard that eating small frequent meals is the best means for weight management. But if you are someone with an insanely busy schedule and limited opportunities to eat throughout the day, the stress of trying to squeeze in six smalls meals will most likely not be a sustainable diet plan.
Selecting the diet that works best for you also means choosing the one that best suits your body type. If you are someone with a slower metabolism, then the vegan diet might not be the best choice because it is generally higher in simple sugars and carbohydrates. Those two nutrients are the most easily overeaten and commonly result in weight gain. This is due to the fact that most simple sugars and simple carbohydrates are higher in calories and less filling.
The solution to this problem is simpler than it may seem. It initially requires an investment of time and energy to get to know your body type and to figure out which dietary habits are sustainable for you. Don't be discouraged by this step. Of all the things one can choose to invest time and energy into, health deserves to be towards the top.
What works best for most people is a middle of the road approach. The extreme dieting types like the ones that omit hours of the day you can eat (intermittent fasting) or eliminate whole food groups (Vegan, Atkins, Ketogenic) are the least likely to be sustainable. It is difficult to continuously apply consistency and discipline to these intensely restrictive diets.
And it is the consistency and discipline that are critical for longevity.
When the consistency is lost, so are the results. Maybe you shed 10 pounds on your 7-day juice cleanse. But after a few happy hours and endless h'ordeuvres, you'll gain an additional 15 pounds back by the end of the month.
Equally, if the discipline is lost, then the goal is likely never to be obtained at all. Many people attempt the Ketogenic diet -- which excludes all simple sugars and carbohydrates, including those from fruit and 'high sugar' vegetables like carrots, beets, and tomatoes--hoping for expedient weight loss. This hardly seems sustainable for a life long dieting practice. For most, this can be religiously followed for about a week, maybe two for the super-dedicated, and then a sugar craving emerges and all of the progress made goes out of the window following a pizza and ice cream binge.
Choose a diet with guidelines by which you can apply consistency and discipline. The decision could be as simple as minimizing processed and packaged goods in order to eat more whole foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and meats. Save the alcohol and sweets for the weekend. This easy common adjustment is often referred to as a 'detox'. However I recommend against holding this perspective. Detoxes are not the language of permanent behavior change, because a detox generally has an end date.
In order to develop lifelong, healthy dieting practices, permanent behavior change backed by consistency and discipline should be your new goal. By making small positive adjustments to your diet, you can eventually transform the way you eat in order to create a healthier happier person.