I’ve gotten a lot of comments from people that disagree with me.
The reason they disagree is often that they have done something that worked for them, that may be the complete opposite of what I’m saying.
Now you might think that all this would break my spirit, make me crouch into the fetal position and cry, and then shut down my website.
But it doesn’t.
That’s because I also get a ton of comments and emails from people who’re getting success using my advice.
How can this be?
Well, there’s a simple explanation: “We’re all different.”
What may work well for some individuals may not work for others, and there are many factors that come into play here.
A common trap that all health enthusiasts (and even professionals) can fall in to is forgetting to mention that their advice may not apply to everyone.
Myself, I’m a fan of low-carb and real food based diets. I don’t recommend calorie counting, and I am personally against low-fat, vegan, and meal replacement diets.
I have a lot of evidence to support my point of view.
But evidence isn’t everything, because there are tons of people who are doing these different things with incredible success.
The fact is that most diet plans work. “If you follow them”.
That’s the real trick here.
Most diet plans are very difficult to follow.
Low-carb is probably one of the easiest to follow, and this has been confirmed in clinical trials, but for some individuals, something vastly different might be optimal.
Alternative Plans That Work Extremely Well For a Rare Few
There are the vegans, that do pretty much the opposite of what I preach. I honestly think that this is not a sensible way of life, and that they must be careful to take the right supplements, but there are a rare few individuals who do incredibly well on vegan diets.
A lot of people have had success with calorie counting. Somehow they can consciously eat less and less food all the time and lose weight in the long-term. These people often claim that this is the right approach for everyone, which I wholeheartedly disagree with, but it works for them.
Then there are the meal replacement diets. There are many of those. It’s something I would never recommend, but there are still tons of people who do them and do great.
Am I going to tell these people to stop doing what is working well for them? Hell no!
If you find something that works for you, DO IT! That’s my motto (one of them, at least).
I think everyone needs to find a way to eat healthy and exercise, that fits with their lifestyle and cultural setting, and is sustainable for them in the long term.
Conclusion
I think it’s important for anyone who is reading about health and nutrition on line, to put things in perspective.
Ask yourself these questions:
“What kind of website is this?”
“Does this apply to my situation?”
“Is this suitable for my lifestyle?”
Everyone is unique.
Our body types are different, we do varying amounts of exercise, we have different kinds of jobs, different cultures, to name a few.
The best plan for YOU, is the one you can follow and fits into your lifestyle.
Well, for what it’s worth, I followed what you believe to be the best way – on your recommendation – and reached my goal weight last week after YEARS of calorie counting, meal replacement diets and starving!
I can see why things work for some and not others.
Just as we all have different taste in food, so we all have different tastes in controlling what we eat.
That is awesome, thanks for sharing!
Hello, I am type 2 diabetic and even though i was taking medication prescribed by my doctor my blood sugar levels were always very high. i decided to start a low carb diet and totally dispense with my medication. i came across your website and thanks to your guidance have lost 2 stones in weight and feel much healthier. i can eat as much as i wish as long as i stay wary of the amount of carbs i consume. this is a new lifestyle for me and i know because i can always be satiated, that there is no need to even consider going back to eating sugars and wheat. Regards, Pete Carney.
Congratulations on your success, and I really appreciate the feedback!
Hi Kris,
How bizarre that we write a post with very similar conclusions in the same week!
Here’s the one I wrote:
http://blog.superbootcamps.co.uk/2012/fat-loss/100-fat-loss-and-weight-loss-tips-and-strategies-tip-1-your-diet-must-be-your-own/
One thing I decided not to mention in that post (it was already over 3500 words!) was the fact that even within published journal articles there is always a range of results. But this almost never gets talked about, with only the averages being reported as relevant. The problem is that no-one is an average!
So that leaves those of us at the coalface in the position of understanding the science, but also how to apply that to each individual. It makes for exciting and interesting work!
Anyway,
Keep up the good work,
George ‘my diet is mostly representative of me’ Harris
Hi Kris, I believe every word you said the problem is I can’t go on, I wish I could have the body I wish right now.
Hello Donia, it can be really tough to keep the motivation going. Maybe you need to work on other aspects of your life, then healthy eating will become easier.
I find that if I manage to exercise regularly then I don’t get nearly as many cravings, so being healthy becomes pretty effortless.
Hey Kris – I personally am also a fan of low carb, natural approach. Great to see that so many people have had success following the advice on your blog.
I think the disagreements are good. It wouldn’t be much fun if we all agreed would it?
Hi Kris,
I have been receiving your e-mails for about 5 weeks.I have been dieting for 16 weeks now,with great success until last week.I consume 1200 cals.during 6 days and Sun.I consume 1500 cals.I am limiting refined carbs(I eat almost no sugar,very little flour).I eat mostly real foods,nothing processed.I am adding more protein,as I sometimes skimp on that.I excercise at least 1 hour every day,sometimes more.I have added weight training every other day.I am now lifting 15 lbs. and walk carrying weights(10 lbs. currently).My weight lifting is arm curls and over head lifts.
My walks are from 80 min.to 130min.,depends on the weather that day.I also use an elliptical when the weather is really bad.I have lost 34 lbs.Until last week when I gained 4 lbs. and this week I gained another 1 lb.This is very depressing.I have not changed my dieting and I am not cheating.My husband says I look really good and that I am building muscle.My biceps actually have defintion now.But how could I have gained 5 lbs. in less than 2 weeks?
Hello Julie, since you recently added weight lifting to your routine then perhaps the added weight comes primarily from muscle. The scale can give you a good estimate of fat gained or lost, but it can help to also have routine body fat measurements done, such as once per month, to put things in perspective.
Hi Kris,
Thank you for the fast reply. It helps getting an answer rather quickly. I am assuming that my Dr. can help with the body fat measure. I will call her to find out about that.
Thank you,
Julie
Most personal trainers can do body fat measurements.
Hi Kris,
Thank you for all the info that you share. I started weight training mid November 2011 and started off with almost 30% body fat. I am currently on 21% and loving the new me. I also made changes regarding my diet, and do lots of protein, very low on carbs and no sugar. My body fat was determined with my weight, hip and waist measurments and lenght. I would like to know how accurate is this and what would you recommend?
Brigitte
Hello Brigitte, the standard body fat measurements done with the calipers aren’t very accurate to compare two individuals, but they can be very useful if you want to see your own progress.
For example, if person A has 20% body fat, while person B has 15% body fat, then it is impossible to conclude with body fat calipers that person B is leaner.
However, if person A has a certain body fat percentage at one time and then a few months later has a different percentage, then that is a pretty good indicator that this person has lost or gained body fat.
It’s worth pointing out that calipers can be made more or less accurate by standardising methods of use.
If you use a tape measure to get the (as close to) exact same points of measurement then you can minimise error. This helps with getting better/more accurate results.
You also need to take stock of the total and individual differences over your measurement sites. The calculation from measurement to body fat percentage is an approximation and as such is open to error. The total error is reduced when you don’t bother with the calculations or use them in conjunction with the skinfold measurements. If you notice a reduction in skinfold measurements this is absolute, whereas the percentage is relative…
Hope this helps
Thanks, George!
Hi Kris, have been reading you column for a while now and finding good info. However, I have not received your ebook for slimming. Hope you can send it on now. Thanks in advance. Keep up the good work also.
Just sent it to you via email.. sometimes the automatic delivery fails.
I have been reading on your site for a couple of days now. I was a calorie counter and I was getting now were. I wasn’t gaining but I wasn’t losing either. So I have decided to go to a low carb diet. I have noticed in the short time I have been on this diet that my calorie intake has raised more than double of what I was sticking to. Should that be a concern at all? I also exercise so is there an amount of carb verses exercise I need to be balancing out?
In the beginning you should just let your appetite control your intake. No need to be concerned unless it causes you to gain weight back.
When you first reduce carbs, exercise will suffer. It takes the body a while to get used to burning fat instead. If you do a lot of high intensity workouts then you should add in some carbs, perhaps 100-150 grams per day, depending on your needs.
Hi Kris,
I am enjoying your website very much.
With your medical background I was wondering if you could clarify a couple questions for me. With your experience have you heard that some women after breast cancer treatment (which causes weight gain), have a more difficult time taking it off? Is it the hormone problems or lack of sleep? I find less carbs is better but with the lack of sleep it is struggle not to get into eating too much or junk food. Do you any comments to help me understand my struggle.
Debi, it is definitely possible, but I think the situation should get better when you get off the anti-estrogen drugs. I’m not really sure about this though, you should definitely talk to your doctor about it.
Hi Kris
I have just come across your articles and find the whole discussion on the low carb concept quite fascinating.
Just started trying it out (giving up the grains, pasta, rice, etc.) Am not a big meat-eater, but love veg. One thing I haven’t come across in the discussions is alchohol. I love my red wine and enjoy it in the evenings, but how would this impact on the lo-carb diet; would it negate any benefits?
Although I have a sedentary job, I work out 6 days a week (intensive stationery bike programs – between 20 mins to an hour, ditto Concept II rower, plus three weights workouts). I am 63+, weigh approx 48 kg and and rarely, if ever, eat junk/processed food because I know too much about what goes into it.
What is your opinion on wine as part of this? I enjoy it so much would hate to have to give it up!
Thank you for the informed articles and all the discussion they generate.
Heidi
Some wine is fine if it makes you feel better and doesn’t affect your results. Plenty of people drink wine and are perfectly healthy.
I’m going to write a post on this very soon. I don’t drink myself so it’s not something that gets mentioned here a lot, but I know a lot of readers are wondering about the same thing so I think it deserves an article on its own.