Transformation Programs are popping up all over the place.  Lose 20 pounds in 6 Weeks!  Lose 50 pounds in 3 months! WEIGHT LOSS WILL HAPPEN  FAST! FAST! FAST!

Do these programs work?

Yes they do which is why people love them.  We’re all enticed by the pictures of the Before picture of the miserable looking person in a bathing suit and then 6 weeks or 12 weeks later…..the after picture shows a fit and happy individual.

This plays to our highest desires:  To fix what we think is wrong with us so that we can be happy and transformation that happens quickly.

These programs work.  They give people results.

Now here’s the true test:  What happens one year from now?  Are people still on these strict diet and exercise plans?

My guess is no…even bodybuilders have an offseason where they eat more calories and gain weight because genetically most people cannot stay “ripped” with low body fat year round.

What nobody is telling you about with these extreme transformation programs

They aren’t sustainable for the long term

People start these things, get great results, and then slack off because it’s just too much.  Health and Fitness is supposed to inspire you to feel alive and to live better.  Getting healthier should not become your whole life (unless you’re getting paid for it)

People cannot maintain these extreme programs long term mentally nor physically. It isn’t about willpower or motivation.  It’s about hormones and your body being smarter than some trainer.

It wreaks havoc on your hormonal systems and metabolism

Thyroid and Metabolism

I am constantly preaching to clients about what extreme dieting and exercise does to your thyroid levels.  Just 2 weeks of dieting effects your T3 levels.  T3 is the thyroid hormone that regulates your metabolism so just imagine what will happen with 12 weeks or more of extreme dieting and exercise.

You can push it [your body] on the using side, and it will compensate for you. But it won’t do that forever. And you know this from people who do cycling low-calorie diets throughout their whole life, and all of a sudden one day they go, ‘I can eat nothing and I’m gaining weight!’  – Dr Diana Schwarzbein, Endocrinologist

This is the reason people who diet the most are the ones who gain the most weight in adulthood!

Hormones

Here’s what they really don’t tell you.  Extreme dieting and exercise wreaks havoc on your hormonal system.

Look no further at what happens to Biggest Loser contestants after the show.  How come they all gain weight back?  Is it because they all become lazy and want to eat all the things?

They want to eat all the things but its not because they are lazy. A lot of it has to do with hormones.  They have found the Biggest Losers have almost NONE of the Hormone Leptin which lets you know that you’re real.  Without this hormone, people think they are starving and they eat more.

Leptin also affects fat storage.  This is why extreme dieting is so bad.  With low leptin levels your body doesn’t think that it has enough fat stored so guess what it does?  IT PUTS MORE FAT ON leading to….

The Rebound Effect

When your body loses weight very quickly, it goes into panic mode and wants to hold on to more of the fat and this is in conjunction with hormones that are all out of whack which is why it’s common that after the initial exciting transformation pictures people begin to regain weight and often end up heavier than when they started.

Should you do a Transformation Program?

Coach Scott Abel who has been one of the most outspoken critics of the fitness industry when it comes to this low calorie/extreme extreme nonsense has this to say about fat loss programs.

 Metabolism first, weight loss second – Scott Abel

The Program you choose should be focused on optimizing metabolism first and then weight loss.

So here are some signs you should run far away from a program

They advertise Lose ____ pounds in _____ weeks or days

First this shows that they are only concerned with scale weight and not true fat loss.  This means they’re good with people losing muscle mass (further slowing metabolism) and that they are going to be all about low calories and encouraging people to do whatever it takes to reach a number.

If they tell you they’ll give your money back if you lose x amount of weight, then you should really leave.   This is encouraging crash dieting and becoming obsessed with the scale.

Weight is based on so many factors so a program solely focused on the scale is short sighted and will lead to more problems in the end.

You could not see yourself doing this program in a year

Consistency = Results

If you cannot be consistent with a program, then you will not have sustained results.  The only way to get results is to be consistent.

Extreme dieting and exercise does not provide an environment to be consistent.  If your goal is to annihilate your body into submission, then you won’t last long before injury or your body rebels.

You think losing weight will solve all of your problems

These types of programs prey on people who think that if they just lost weight and lost it fast, then their problems will be solved.

If you think that fitting into your bikini will solve all of your problems, then you do not need to do any type of Transformation program because your results will be short-lived at best.

True Transformation must happen from the inside/out.

When I’ve talked with people who have lost 100 pounds or more (and have kept it off), they say that THEY had to change before the weight could change.  You’ve got to get your mind right, believe that you CAN get healthier, and stop believing that weight is the source of your problems.  It’s a symptom of your problems but not the true source.

That’s why Personal Development must be a part of any TRANSFORMATION program because in order to improve your circumstances, then you must improve yourself.

Folks, these things are all the rage because they make money but your long term health has no price!