I read a Nerd Fitness article  and there is good stuff.

There is more than 1 million fitness product and diet system. This is what I think of certain.

Shakeology

Replace one of your meal each day with a shake. Shakeology’s shake pretend have « 70 nutritious ingredients to help to detox and protect the body of free radical damage and help against food carving and help to have a healthy libido » ».

Advantages

Like Nutrisystem and Weight Watchers, Shakeology is simple. Replace a meal with a shake and lose weight. I didn’t try but people say it taste good and it has a good source of protein and a nice amount of protein per shake with a little sugar.

If you travel, it’s easy to have a little shakeology’s powder to drink it to replace a meal.

Disadvantages

I don’t suprise people lose weight with this plan if they follow it exactly. They replace a meal (around 500-1000 calories) with a Shakeology’s shaker which is only 120-160 calories. It’s a reduction of caloric intake of 380-780 calories. Remember, just 500 calories less per day can have as result to lose 0.45kg (1lbs) per week.

For me, a meal of 120 calories is not good because you will be not satiated and not satisfied.

What happens when you don’t have Shakeology’s powder ou you don’t have acces to a blender or you’re traveling. Can you continue to consume the same amount of calories and maintain the same nutritious plan ?

Shakeology is good for people who want lose 4.5kg (10lbs) without changing lifestyle. It’s only for short term.

Juice cleanses

Stop to eat and drink this juice during 3-10 days to detox your body and lose weight. There is a million of juice cleanses, the concept is to not eat and replace all meals by a juice of fruits or/and vegetables.

Advantages

Instead to eat food, you just going to drink liquid calories all day. Because you don’t eat a lot of carb and sodium ( because you don’t eat solid food), you can lose a huge amount of water. Losing water can cause weight loss but it’s temporary. It’s not like losing fat !

You will eat more fruits and vegetable than usual.

Disadvantages

I think during these 3 days where you will not eat foods, you will ve miserable. You will just drink some fruits/vegetabels juices instead meals. You will essentialy drink sweet water with fibers.

The most of weights you will lose during these 3 days will be water according to the amount of carbs, grains and sodium that you consume usually. This weight loss is false because it’s only water.

When you will eat solid foods, the weight will quickly return.

If you want to a detox, take some days to eat a lot of protein, spinard, broccoli and cauliflower. If you want make real change in your life, read the next.

Exercice and diet

Instead to buy some powder’s shake, receive foods at home or replace solid foods by liquid, there is a philosophy named « Exercice and diet ».

No need to buy some weird stuff but it requires make changes in your lifestyle. The goal is to move more than stay seated and eat more real foods than processed foods.

Advantages

Every sytem talked before are solutions to short term. « Exercice and diet » is done to change the lifestyle for all life.

Instead to dramatically change how you eat and move during 3 months, you must change small things which will have long term results.

• Rather to do exercice with a DVD during 90 minutes everydays, start with a walk,

• Rather to count points or receive foods at home, study to cook and eat real foods.

• Rather than being dependent on something to have success, be independent to have success.

« Exercice and diet » is the best to have long term results, to have results for life. If you’re traveling you know the different type of foods, you know how to eat healthy outside home. If you don’t have access to a blender or you can’t receive foods at home, you know how to cook a basic meal. If you can’t use a DVD player, you can do a complete bodyweight training session in a room or in a park.

« Exercice and diet » doesn’t ask you to spend a lot of money or buy fancy stuff or buy pre-prepared foods. It doesn’t ask you to have several hyper strict weeks and once it’s over, back to old habits. People make me laugh when I see them before summer, during summer and after summer. Rather that you have a new version of you (like updates) : healthy and happy !

Disadvantages

The big « Exercice and diet » disadvantages is that requires commitment and changes. No shake, no foods receive at home, no DVD but instead you must take of your health.

There is also another challenge to have long term change in your diet. Eat cookies, cakes and muffins are bad for you. You need to change this to see results.

It’s simple to learn but difficult to apply for people who search short term results. Everybody know we need to do more exercices and stop to eat junk foods but we can’t force our brain to do this. It’s for this reason we need to educate ourselves about willpower.

Results aren’t instantaneous like a click. « Exercice and diet » results can often take several months of change before seeing solid results.

Did you have some experiences with others programs or diet system ?

-Steph

P.S : Do you want a free training program ? Click here