I blogged awhile back on The Cardio Free Diet, and just heard back from a woman who said she was featured on the 20/20 segment in which the diet was featured. She had success with it, and is very much in defense of it. Unfortunately she didn't respond to my blog in the 'comments' section, so you can't see what she wrote, but that's really neither here nor there.

If you're going to read my blogs, you're going to hear the voice of someone who's been in the industry for almost two decades, has the Master's Degree, etc. I will NEVER support a diet. Diet to me, means temporary lifestyle changes which normally lead to only temporary results. I support the teaching of great habits, which over time will lead you to happiness and longevity in the skin you are in. There is no gimmick to it. It is what it is.

My stand on the Cardio Free Diet remains. It disappoints me. Physical fitness is comprised of four elements. Proper nutrition, cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training. I do not believe one can be truly fit without any of those elements. Exercise your brains out, yet eat crap all day......not fit. Strong and flexible without the ability to climb a few flights of stairs (general healthy adult).....not fit.

Diets can be exciting. Lots of folks have immediate success with "diets" of all kinds. Unfortunately the grand majority of those success stories revert back to old habits and simply can not maintain the weight loss. Why? The programs usually require severe calorie restriction and/or shun appropriate exercise (as in the Cardio Free Diet). She suggested I had no idea what it was like to need to lose weight. Wrong. I'm 40 pounds lighter today than I was the day I graduated high school. I tried a bunch of "diets" and then through my profession figured out the truth. Diets suck. Consistently exercising in all areas of fitness and being particular about what I put in my mouth keeps me happy in my skin. It's a mindless endeavor now, because I have great HABITS. I've spent 12 years at my present weight.

Cardio may not be 'fun' to everyone, but I would never suggest anyone not to do it. Some people may hate strength training, but strength is vital to being a sturdy, capable, injury free person. I assure you, if you embrace all of areas of fitness you will never even glance at any sort of 'diet' again.

So to the woman on 20/20 and anyone else on any other diet, of course I wish you well and all the success in the world. I'm a FITNESS trainer. My job is to promote overall health and fitness. I teach my clients excellent habits, so one day they will become independent of me and be able to maintain a higher fitness level forever. Fitness is a journey comprised of consistent great choices. There's no other way to obtain it. Anyone who suggests a quick fix or easy button is selling snake oil. Buyer beware.