During my initial period of weight loss several years ago, I adopted some pretty extreme nutritional practices.

I ate in certain ways because I believed it was the only way to achieve true health and reach my ultimate weight loss goals. I got these ideas in my head after doing lots of self-guided research and from reading advice from people I thought were nutritional experts. I thought I had discovered the secret key to weight loss and everyone who didn’t eat like me was making a big mistake.

As you might imagine, I became pretty miserable to be around during this time. I’ll never forget going home to visit Omaha and going out for sushi with my family. At the time, I was following a very strict paleo diet and refused to eat grains of any kind. I ordered a sashimi platter and ate it all by myself while I enviously watched my family members enjoy rolls, sushi, and other items with rice. They thought I was crazy while I battled with conflicting anxieties: I felt left out but was terrified of what would happen to me if I succumbed and ate grains.

Because I wasn’t armed with the skills to discern good advice from not-so-good advice, I became a bit of a zealot and fell prey to a kind of “all-or-nothing” mentality. I would fast for extended periods of time and when I did eat, entire food groups were 100% off limits.

Ultimately, this approach fueled my problems with disordered eating. When I couldn’t keep up my extreme eating habits, I fell into epic binges where I would eat as many of the forbidden foods as I could get my hands on. Afterwards, I would return to my long fasts and tell myself that I was going to get back on the wagon. Every few weeks this vicious cycle would repeat itself. The very advice I thought was the key to losing weight and being healthy was taking me farther away from either of those goals.

Read more: 3 strategies to combat all-or-nothing eating

One of the reasons I got into the fitness industry was to help people experience success while avoiding some of the painful mistakes I made during my own journey. For this reason, I want to give you a few pieces of advice on how to detect and avoid extreme advice on eating and exercise. Adopting a sane approach to exercise and divorcing food from fear will go a long way toward maintaining or developing a healthy relationship with food and your body.

There is no magic bullet.

You know those sidebar advertisements promising “one weird trick to six pack abs?” You may roll your eyes at these ads, but they are powerful marketing tools because they prey on our insecurities and desire for instant gratification.

We are used to getting what we want right away with very little effort on our part. With health and fitness front and center in many people’s minds, it’s not surprising that companies are trying to capitalize. Wouldn’t it be great if you could take a single pill or remove one food group and lose weight without diet or exercise?

Unfortunately, the body doesn’t work this way. It takes a long time and lots of trial and error to make noticeable, lasting changes to your physique or improve your health. The sooner you accept you’re in this for the long haul, the quicker you will move down the path of successful change.

Be cautious of any product, service, or website promising you better results in less time. This is especially true of supplement companies who are allowed to make claims about the effectiveness of their products without clinical trials or government regulation. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

How to interpret science and studies

One of the methods people use to verify the legitimacy of health information is with scientific studies and references. Unfortunately, simply citing studies is not really enough to guarantee the accuracy of information anymore.

Anyone on the internet can write about science or cite studies without the education, qualifications, or knowledge needed to critically interpret what they are citing. It’s easy to cherry-pick one or two studies to back up just about any claim. When you actually read the studies themselves, you will likely find that some “experts” completely misrepresent the contents or conclusions of a study in order to push their own agenda.

Educate yourself on how legitimate scientific studies are put together and what conclusions you can draw from certain types of evidence. Learn to think critically and ask deep questions about what a study is actually saying and what other factors could be influencing its conclusions. Understand what  a peer reviewed study is and how study sponsorship can influence conclusions.

A common logical fallacy is to extrapolate causation from correlation. Just because two items are positively or negatively related on a graph does not necessarily mean one thing causes the other. For example, nutritional studies often ask people to record their food intake and then look for certain health markers. You may then see sensationalist headlines like “Eating an Egg is Equivalent to Smoking 5 Cigarettes” or “Diet Soda Causes Dementia.” In fact, these studies merely indicate that there is a correlation between a certain diet or food and a health issue. These studies in no way prove that eating a certain diet causes the problem. There may be many other factors that influence the outcome.

Look for authors who rely on meta-studies, rather than individual studies. A meta-study is an analysis of many different studies on the same topic. Meta-studies are much more reliable than individual studies as they draw from multiple experiences and have more data and trends to back up any conclusions. You can make a stronger scientific argument when you compare multiple studies examining the same basic question.

Seek the middle ground.

I learned the hard way that following a restrictive approach to eating and exercise rarely works in the long term. With the exception of elite athletes or people pursuing challenging performance or physique goals, the average person does not need to follow an extreme eating or training approach to look, feel, and perform at their best.

Beware of blanket statements, especially from people who claim their way is the only way to achieve a particular goal. For example, many diets claim removing certain foods, food groups, or macronutrients is essential for weight loss and optimal health. There are also numerous examples of blanket statements in regards to exercise. Some people claim cardio will kill your gains and should be avoided at all costs. Others claim any exercise that isn’t “functional” (whatever that means) is a waste of your time.

While these claims may work for many people, they are unnecessarily restrictive. You can lose weight and be healthy eating a wide variety of foods. You can get strong, lean, and powerful by consistently following a basic training program without running yourself into the ground or relying on circus tricks. The dark side to following these approaches includes anxiety, burnout, eating disorders, and injuries. Restrictive approaches are usually not sustainable long-term.

Read more: My thoughts on keto and intermittent fasting

Moderation and simplicity aren’t sexy, but they are the key to establishing lasting healthy eating and exercise habits. It is much more valuable to learn how to eat well and exercise while still living a normal life than it is to force yourself to give up things you love or completely overhaul your life. Seek out experts and resources that promote moderation, consistency, and balance in your quest to look great and live a healthy life. Experiment to find approach what works best for your environment, body, and values, or hire a qualified coach to help guide you through the process.

(Note: Some fitness pros that are especially awesome at promoting a sane, moderation centric-approach to food and exercise are Jill Coleman, Nia Shanks, and Precision Nutrition)

Getting in shape is simple, but not easy.

Just to be clear – I don’t claim that getting in shape is an easy or relaxing process. Just the opposite. Many people need to make big sacrifices or change a great deal about their lives to look and feel better. However, this does not mean you need to follow an extreme eating or exercise regimen that leaves you miserable, anxious, and in no way fits in with your current lifestyle.

Success comes from mastering the following things:

• The right calorie balance needed to achieve your goal
• Eating a diet rich in nutrient-dense whole foods that you enjoy, with some leeway to enjoy occasional treats
• Following a safe, smart, and progressive training plan tailored to your goals
• Managing stress and prioritizing sleep
• Having fun and building a lifelong love of exercise and healthy eating

If you can do these things consistently, you will never need to follow an extreme diet or fork over hundreds of dollars on crazy supplements. You can make better choices while still enjoying your life and avoid my path into disordered eating and misery.

Read more: The only 3 things you need to lose fat

If you need some help sorting out the good information from the noise or want a specific plan catered to your needs and goals, please fill out an application for my online training program.