Do Trending Facade Diets Really Work?

-By Huma Batool Nakvi

How annoying is it when that one person pulls out their phone to calculate the number of calories before starting their meal?

What started as a green diet revolution has evolved into a fashion trend in many societies. The unfortunate part is it makes people fall into believing misconceptions such as skipping meals is good for your diet. The fitness culture in todays world where people blindly follow the internet, has led to people believing in fabricated dieting habits. 

1. Gluten Free Desserts are healthier: Normal Desserts are not necessarily less healthier than Gluten Free ones as they may have increased calorie content leading to weight gain. Not to mention they’re already behind normal desserts when it comes to nutritional content. However, it is great for people diagnosed with celiac disease and who are gluten intolerant but if that’s not the case with you, feel free to have that chocolate brownie you’ve had your eyes on. 

2. Skipping meals is good for weight-loss: Ever heard the saying; “ Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and dinner like a pauper”. What you’re eating is more important for health and fitness than when you’re eating it. Fitness is more about eating a balanced diet in moderation to replenish your body with the energy it needs through a nutritious meal depending on your job, lifestyle, and health/ fitness goals. 

3. Eating Healthy is Expensive: You don’t necessarily have to buy that fancy millet or asparagus you saw a Kardashian promoting in her story to be healthy. However, replacing those processed foods with fresh vegetables and fruits may cost you more. But so will the gym membership to get back in shape and not to mention the medical bills that one might incur due to the health risks that come with processed and unhealthy alternatives. 

4. Keto is the best way to burn fat. Ketogenic diet includes a diet consisting of high-fats, sufficient-proteins, and low-carbohydrates to force the body to burn fats instead of carbohydrates. This has helped a large amount of people to burn fat more affectively by fighting fire with fire. However since it was trending hot topic for so long, businesses and influencers were milking it to sell their diet plans, workout plans, and products. What didn't make their way to the headlines were a lot of the people's reviews who it didn't work for. Keto is not safe for those with any conditions involving their pancreas, liver, thyroid or gallbladder. 

In essence, consider a natural balance that works for you by your individual needs. One can try out and should experiment with diets to find out what works for them better than other. However, to live a high quality, fulfilled life you can't revolve your life around obsessions which cause you to constantly restrict yourself from harmless things. Constraint diets can also cause people eating disorders and social isolation. Facade diet trends could be good for business but everything is definitely not for everyone in this case.

Psychology and beauty

 Accepting yourself

A lot of psychology and books tell people to love themselves. It’s not a bad idea. Extreme disliking is also associated with guilt, shame, and depression. Never underestimate yourself and keep believing in your abilities and valuing your uniqueness.

 Often, people lead lives that are defined by others as they look for acceptance in society. Self-acceptance is an important and essential ingredient for motivation and positive emotions,accepting yourself often leads to more acceptance by other people. Accepting yourself is not the same as thinking of yourself being perfect.

Nurturing relationships

At times it looks like our modern lives are lonely. Everyone is in hurry in their cars or stares into computer screens all day, isolated from people and busy in their own lives

In this era of mega-cities and super-suburbs, it gets hard to stay close and connected to friends and family. Despite these things, there is a huge benefit in working to maintain certain closer proximity with people who matter.

Strive to overcome and learn to let go

Challenges, adversity are facts of life. Being able to effectively deal with challenges is hard to maintain for psychological well-being. Every person has a different set of skills and techniques used to deal with stress and adversity. Here’s a small advice Cope actively with situations that you have some control over, and cope passively in situations that you don’t have control.

Never be afraid of change

Going with the flow! When you are rigid you experience resistance and put your efforts straining yourself in trying to maintain your position. When you are otherwise and willing to be more adaptive you get better adjusted.

Article by: Waleed Hussain