I am sure you have heard of the K.I.S.S. principle. K.I.S.S. stands for (keep it simple, stupid). Recent professional frustrations for myself have circled me back to this entertaining acronym and how when applied, it can make such a difference in all our lives.
The past two weeks I have been asked a series of questions regarding carbohydrates, why carbohydrates are bad, the glycemic index and so forth. I can't quite get my hands around where all of the information and misinformation comes from that is always being perpetuated. Worse, I know most people do not know how many calories they should be consuming a day, and yet they are somehow very willing to delve into a science project on carbohydrates, the glycemic index, etc. Why the science project, and where is all of this going? Enter the K.I.S.S. principle.
Here is the secret to weight loss: Your output (expenditure) must exceed your input (intake). THAT'S IT, no sophisticated science, no complex math necessary. Did you know that carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram, and protein is the exact same? Did you know that too many calories consumed regularly of any sort will ultimately be stored as fat? The source of such calories does not matter, the end result of excess is still the same.
As a health and fitness professional, this is a constant source of frustration for me. I struggle to get people to understand basic concepts regarding food groups and portion control, and am often met with staunch resistance about the "impossibility" of keeping track of such things. Mysteriously, however, these same people ARE WILLING to deviate from basic principles and dive deep into a level of intricacy that is highly impractical, and yet another road to failure.
Weight management must be kept simple. If you are struggling with your weight and are working with a qualified health and fitness professional- such as a dietitian, nutritionist or personal trainer please heed the advice of these professionals. If you are overweight, you must be willing to acknowledge that "your" way of doing things has not yielded successful outcomes. You may have a long history of counting Weight Watcher's points or doing rounds of very low calorie diets and vitamin B series shots at Lindora (or other weight loss clinic of your choice), but you are still struggling with positive outcomes. Maybe you have been on and off of the "Atkins Diet" and have spent a small fortune on urine test strips to see if you are in ketosis or not. Please admit that your many sophisticated approaches are not working for you.
I tend to see a correlation between the complex diet strategies and those that do not like to exercise. I have come to believe that this group of individuals feel they can either intellectualize themselves to a thinner place, or are in hot pursuit of a dietary strategy that will fix it all in a week. Is this you? If it is, please employ the K.I.S.S. principle. Understand your daily caloric needs first, based on your age, gender and activity level. Then, pay a visit to the USDA website and check out the good, old fashioned food pyramid. See what you should be eating versus how you are. Additional tools are available for understanding your output/expenditure, but this is a good starting place. Keep things simple for yourself and when you do, it should not feel like an extensive amount of work or research. I also want to encourage the hard core dieters/non-exercisers out there to start doing SOME exercise. Regular exercise allows for more latitude in the diet, doesn't this sound better than counting carbs?
Try getting back to basics and give up the evil of your old ways. After you have carved out some success with simplified approaches, reach out to the health and fitness professional of your choice and tell them how you decided to stop being part of the problem, and part of the solution instead.
