—By Nutritionista
I originally wrote this post last June, but wanted to repost it now on Mary’s blog to remind all of us to avoid the hype of weight loss “miracle” drugs, foods, and workouts. It can be frustrating to work at losing weight for so long and see minimal results, but slow and steady is the only healthy, safe, and permanent way to lose weight.
In the past couple weeks, I’ve received several emails from people looking to drop weight quickly. Just a couple examples:
“is it possible to lose weight in two weeks like esp in the thigh area.”
“I was planning on going on a two week diet, that I feel people I know have followed - they lost 10 pounds on it.”
This isn’t a weight loss blog, but I realize a lot of people come here looking for ways to lose weight.
Well, I just want to go on the record and say I’m firmly against any “diet” that promises you’ll lose more than 2-3 pounds per week, has you eating less than 1,200 calories per day, includes lots of weird packaged/processed food, or cuts out any major food group (carbs, fat, protein, whatever).
JUST SAY NO.
If you lose weight on a diet like that, I can GUARANTEE you’ll gain it right back and then some. Those diets look so appealing. You think to yourself, “Well, I’ll just have perfect willpower for two weeks and weigh 10 pounds less for the effort.” What’s the point of that? You’ll be miserable. It’s not sustainable and you’ll get frustrated when the weight comes right back as soon as you let go just a little. Trust me, I know from experience.
The BEST weight loss advice I can give:
- BE PATIENT. Nobody wants to hear this, but there is no magic bullet. The more slowly you lose weight, the more likely you are to keep it off. Period.
- Eat food (REAL food, not processed food-like substances), mostly plants, not too much. It doesn’t get much simpler than Michael Pollan’s advice here. If you want to learn more about (what in my experience are) the foundations for healthy eating/weight loss, read my Six Nutritionista Principles.
- Cut out artificial sweetener. This has worked wonders for my sugar cravings and overall well-being.
- Do cardio and weight-bearing exercises. Break a sweat at least 4-5 days a week. No excuses, no substitutions. How you do it is up to you, but you can’t claim health if you don’t exercise.
- Filter out the food industry. The food industry doesn’t care about your health. Be suspicious of anything with “Low Fat!” or “Healthy!” on the label. Be suspicious of ANYTHING with a label and check it carefully before purchasing.
- Listen to your food voice and forget the noise.
- Learn and practice intuitive eating. This is something to really commit to heart for anyone trying to lose weight or just be healthier.
