Always be suspicious of anyone suggesting one answer to a complex problem.

It’s very common in the weight loss industry to make it as simple as possible by just presenting one solution.

Just exercise more, say some, cut out sugar, say others. Just eat grapefruit at every meal or even live entirely on air. Remember that one?

There are plenty of ways to lose weight but to lose it permanently and restore your health in the process is entirely different

It’s not going to be one thing. It won’t have one label and neatly live in a box.

So many of the diet tribes people follow and promote rely on that one solution.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of some:

Ketosis – Ketones are produced by your liver when you run out of glucose. This diet is about eating fat and protein so there’s very little fibre and vegetables included. It’s ok to eat slabs of processed meat and nasty food if it’s low in carbohydrates to produce ketosis.

It’s nutritionally poor, can cause inflammation and raise cholesterol but you will lose weight, suppress your appetite, and help reverse Type 2 diabetes and seizure management if epileptic.

Low Carb – While reducing your carbohydrates will increase the likelihood of inducing ketosis, when the focus is low carb, it’s not necessarily nourishing food. There are so many fake health foods that are filled with artificial ingredients. You can find low carb drinks, biscuits, confectionary, and they’re all full of rubbish.

Vegan – You may not be able to eat any animal products, but you can live on lollies, chips and pizza. Just because it’s vegan, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. As we get older, it’s harder to absorb protein so we need to make sure we’re getting enough and need to get enough iron. Red meat is the easiest way to absorb iron and you also won’t get all the amino acids you need from plant foods, essential to repair cells and muscle.

Intermittent Fasting – This will improve blood glucose regulation, can completely reverse fatty liver, Type 2 diabetes and aid removal of cellular waste and output of growth hormone. It will also help reduce body fat.

The problem here is that people focus more on what they’re not eating rather than what they are eating so it’s setting up a dangerous binge/purge cycle. It’s also important to fast at the right times, always following your circadian rhythms.