With less than 100 days left until 2019 pretty soon everyone will be looking for ways to shed the holiday weight and make new goals for the new year. You can expect every fad diet on the market will soon be in full swing to entice you to make 2019 the year you drop the pounds and stick to that New Year’s weight loss resolution. As you’re sorting through all of that promotion over the next few months it is important that you keep an eye out for these top 10 fads diet gimmicks which are not designed to help you permanently lose weight, and instead designed to make a profit off of your struggle.

1. Recommendations that promise a quick, effortless fix. Weight loss is going to take work. Hard work. Tuning in to yourself and becoming conscious of what you are thinking, feeling and eating will take effort on your part. Expect that.
2. Claims that sound too good to be true, such as that you’ll lose more than 2 pounds a week, weight loss is effortless, or you can eat all you want. Intuitively we know that our weight is connected to our eating. If you think you can eat all you want and lose weight, you will be sorely mistaken.
3. Restriction or elimination of healthy foods; recommendations of certain food combinations or large amounts of some foods; and rigid, inflexible eating plans. Humans are omnivores and require a diversity of foods to maintain proper nutrition.
4. Recommendations based on a single study or on overly simplified conclusions drawn from a complex study. Research always gives us more information to base conclusions. Investigate where the message came from if you are unsure.
5. Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific studies or organizations. The wilder the claim, the more likely it is untrue and not supported by people with a wide knowledge base about the topic. Learn which organizations publish reputable information and be wary of those that argue against it.
6. Lists of “good” and “bad” foods, or promotions of miracle foods, herbs, or nutrients.
7. Recommendations made to help sell a product. If the promise of weight loss comes with the purchase of a thing, pill, or product, it’s primary purpose is to make money, not help you lose weight.
8. Recommendations based on studies published without peer review or based on testimonials, anecdotes, and stories. Again, question anything that doesn’t give you sources and hard facts.
9. Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups. Make sure there is sufficient evidence to support the recommendations with data from multiple people or groups.
10. Statements that weight can be lost and that the loss can be maintained with little or no exercise or other changes in lifestyle. It will take a concious effort to maintain your weight loss results, but it will come with changes to your thinking and your lifestyle. Expect it. It is part of the process.

The diet industry is a multi-billion dollar machine, cranking out more products, empty promises, and overweight people each year. Don’t be one of them. Work with a coach that can help you achieve the weight loss results you are seeking for yourself. Permanent weight loss will require changing your thoughts forever about food and your body.

My Stop Overeating Before IVF program is now open for enrollment. If you are interested to learn more about it and see if it is for you sign up for a free strategy session and talk with me about your infertility weight loss goals. If you are ready to permanently lose the weight and go into treatment knowing with full confidence that your weight is not the source of your fertility struggle, then this is the perfect opportunity for you.