Tempe Resident Anisa Stansfield-Lyons says the product works great and she recommends it to anyone looking to lose pounds quick. (Photo by Kendall Bartley/Cronkite News)
You’ve tried the quick-fix diets for fast weight loss, whether it’s for an upcoming family wedding, vacation, or a New Year’s resolution.
Dr. Eric Udell, medical director of Arizona Natural Health Center, said there’s no fast route to healthy.
“I think the first thing a client should always know is that it’s not always easy (to lose weight) but it’s in their control,” Dr. Udell said.”They have to be ready to confront the obstacles and challenges that come up with changing their eating habits and that’s difficult for all of us.”
One fast-fix diet spreading over social media, including by celebrities like Beyonce, is a lemonade cleanse consisting of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup. The weight loss recorded is dramatic, up to eight pounds in ten days.
Anisa Stansfield-Lyons, a Tempe resident, chose the lemon-juice cleanse to lose weight before spring break and lost six pounds in ten days.
“I’m seeing results and I’m liking it so far,” Stansfield-Lyons said.
But questions remain about the lemon juice fad and other trends.
“Anything that tells you you’re going to get really rapid and dramatic results, especially to a long-term problem…is likely too good to be true,” said Dr. Udell.
A cleanse or fast can be used to jump start a new lifestyle, Dr. Udell said.
“It helps to reset your dietary habits when you come out of the cleanse or fast, so doing something that is sustainable and good for your heath afterwards, then it can be helpful,” said Dr. Udell.
He said clients are asking about more healthy trends, like the ashwaganda herb and green tea. Still, he said, people need to go beyond trends.
Dr. Udell said there are three parts to healthful living and successful weight loss:
- Commit to the change. Diets are short term, lifestyle changes are long term. ” “We all have to find that reason to want to do it and see it as a long term process. Diets are sometimes short term whereas changing your lifestyle habit has more of a long term mentality behind it,” Dr. Udell said.
- Cut out the Cheetos. Eat less processed foods, more whole foods, and a heavy emphasis on a plant-based diet.
- Move. Work out, walk, do some kind of exercise.