Food

Are Nutrition Books a Diet in Sheep’s Clothing?

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almannat.com

On 5 April 2025

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Or a recipe for disaster?

I’ve come across a book that promotes a diet… disguised as a “not a diet” approach.

Hmmm..

Let’s shine a light on the mixed messages, confusion, and harmful advice for female athletes that can appear in nutrition books. They may have the right intentions, but the result could be disastrous for your health and athletic performance.

“The author says in here that diets don’t work. Diets actually do work, they usually just work the first time and then after that they don’t work because you’ve already damaged your metabolism.” ~ Kristen Ziesmer

In this video, I give my analysis of ‘The Body Reset Diet’, and their instructions for a reduction in calories in just “phase 1” of the reset from 2,770 calories a day (of the standard American diet) to a “reset” diet of 1,149 calories – an astonishing reduction of 1,621 calories per day.

I explain what happens to your body when you cut calories in such an extreme amount, and how your metabolism figures out how to keep you alive on a drastic reduction in fuel.

Watch as I explain the damage to your metabolism, setting you up for weight gain as soon as you start eating more calories again. What else happens? By thinking it’s starving, your body will aim to preserve fat and instead will burn off your own muscle mass for fuel.

“Muscle is metabolically active, which means it requires calories to keep it there.” ~ Kristen Ziesmer

A drastic drop in calories with the “smoothie approach” to health has other consequences, especially for female athletes. Your athletic performance will suffer, you’re likely to sustain more injuries, recover slower, get sick more often, and lose muscle mass.

Who wants any of that?

“If you are an athlete in any capacity, do not follow these books.” ~ Kristen

What’s my answer to all of these mixed messages and the confusing diet mentality?

To follow what your body is telling you with Intuitive Eating. Watch to learn more about how to do this. And check out the supporting resources below!

See the links below for additional resources.