Everyone is looking for that magical, painless shortcut to weight loss. Who wouldn’t want to eat cookies and lose weight, or consume tacos all day for a “cleanse”? (Speaking of tacos, there’s a 6-Week Challenge Taco Seasoning recipe below for you.)

Sorry, Cupcake. There are no magical shortcuts to permanent weight loss and health.

Why Fad Diets Don’t Work

Any time you change up your diet from the processed standard American Diet, you will likely experience some level of weight loss. The problem with fad diets, however, is that fad diets are difficult to maintain as a permanent lifestyle. You might lose 10 lbs. but once you go back to life as usual, it’s likely that you’ll gain back that 10 lbs. and then some. The other problem with fad diets is that, over time, the lack of variety of foods can deprive the body of necessary nutrients to function.

Lifestyle Change is the Only Thing that Works

Adopting a permanent lifestyle change, which includes a diet void of too many processed foods and rich in whole food nutrition is the only thing that will provide permanent health benefits, including weight loss and lower risk for disease. In many cases, the human body has an amazing ability to heal itself if you provide it with the basic building blocks to do so. Giving your body anything other than what it needs to function properly will usually result in a pattern of unhealthy up-and-down weight loss ( also known as “yo-yo dieting”).

The 6-Week Challenge – It’s About Nutrition

The 6-Week Challenge is our way of helping you learn the basics of building a balanced, nutrient-dense diet – as a permanent LIFESTYLE change. It’s a jump-start to learning how to use whole, nutritious ingredients to take back your health and form new habits to keep you there.

And while it’s not a fad diet, who doesn’t like tacos? This 6-Week Challenge Taco Seasoning recipe is void of the crap usually found in store-bought blends and delicious.

6-Week Challenge Taco Seasoning Recipe (Makes apx. 1 Cup)

• 4 TBSP Chili Powder
• 2 TBSP Ground Cumin
• 4 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt or Sea Salt (fine)
• 4 tsp Erythritol (optional; this is a sugar alcohol, found at Whole Foods or online)
• 4 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder or Granulated Garlic
• 2 tsp Onion Powder or Granulated Onion
• 2 tsp Ground coriander
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1-2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (more for spicier)
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano

Tip: Buy your ingredients in the bulk section of places like Sprouts, Winco or Whole Foods, shake it up and store in a small mason jar. Great for taco salads, fajitas, or tacos with lettuce “tortillas”.