The Banting way of eating has resulted in a massive amount of controversial debate in South Africa. There are three camps: Those that love it, those that hate it, and then those that don’t know what you are talking about because they have been living under a rock for the past year. There are a few reasons (excuses) why people resist adopting this liberating way of eating and I will explore them in this post.  I believe that making excuses holds you back. When you are making excuses, you are closed to opportunity. My goal is to act as a mirror to hopefully help you to see whether you are letting this happen to you.

Popular excuses

(1) I could never live without carbs

Perhaps you think that your body literally cannot survive without carbs. Well it can. Of all the nutrients essential for life , carbs is not one of them. Your body has been designed in such an amazing way that it actually knows how to make its own carbohydrate from the food you consume. This excuse however is more about an unacknowledged addiction to carbs than anything else. If the thought of giving up bread, cakes, pizza and pasta is totally horrifying to you, then ask yourself why. Why are you so attached? Why would it be so hard to let it go?

(2) I don’t like change

Change is never easy, but nothing in life worth having is easy. Think about it. If you want a good job, then you need to put the effort into getting a good education. If you want a successful marriage, then you have to work at it. If you want to enjoy good health, then you need to make choices that support that goal too. It all boils down to what you really want from life and what you are prepared to change to make it happen. If you are not prepared to change then don’t have any expectation that your life will be different a year from now.

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”
–Jim Rohn

(3) I can’t afford it

This could also read, “I don’t feel the need to prioritise my health”. Banting doesn’t mean you have to spend more money than your budget allows. It just means that you have to re-allocate funds from one budget category to another to make it happen. For example, you could cut back on the number of times per month you go out to eat and with the money saved, cook delicious meals at home using grass-fed meat and veggies. Perhaps if you cut back on alcohol, you could more easily afford a tub of quality coconut oil. Most of us are guilty of buying stuff that we really don’t need. All I am saying is, think about what you are spending your money on. Are your purchases aligned with your goals to lose weight and be healthy?

(4) I don’t have the time

Time is a very valuable commodity for all of us. If you want to be successful, learn the skill of managing it well. Get ruthless about what you do spend your time on. Cut back on TV and limit your time on Facebook and Twitter.  You will gain a good few hours in your week to focus on preparing healthy food. Get up 15 minutes earlier each morning so that you can prepare a healthy lunch to take to work. Be organised and you will get more things done in the same amount of time. When faced with a constraint like ‘time’, don’t focus on the problem, think of a solution. How could you make more time available in your day?

(5) It is just another fad diet

Uummm, no,  it isn’t! Man has eaten this way for hundreds of generations.  We have only been following the standard Food Pyramid since the 70’s …… and what has happened since inflammatory grains and toxic vegetable oils were promoted as healthful? An explosion of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. How can a diverse array of vegetables, quality animal protein and natural fats like butter be labelled a fad diet? It astonishes me how ignorant some medical professionals and dieticians sound when they publicly criticise the Banting eating plan. They make it painfully obvious that they have not taken the time to read the current scientific literature.  If they had they would know that if you need to lose weight, the best way to do that without feeling hungry is to cut the carbs and eat enough fat to help with satiety. Yes, the conventional low-fat diet might help you lose weight, but very few people will keep their weight off long-term.  Why? Because hunger is your constant companion on a low-fat, high carb diet.

So, the mirror is being help up in front of you. What do you see?  A person worthy of vibrant health who is prepared to invest the time, money and effort to make it happen? Or are you someone whose dreams are not big enough and who will therefore continue making excuses?

“Success occurs when your dreams get bigger than your excuses.”