 Eat less, burn more, lose weight
Many people tell me how they've tried this or that diet program and that it didn't work for them.
They tell me that they think their problem is that they are not eating enough, or that they are not eating right for their body / blood type. I always ask them, “Have you every truly followed any healthy food plan for any length of time?”
I know that my body does not tend to register results of my eating for almost two weeks. Because of this, it can be difficult to correlate efforts with results if my efforts are not consistent.
Have you ever experienced something like the following?
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Week 1: Strict adherence to the food plan - little or no results on the scale.
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Week 2: Feeling deprived as well as discouraged. Bites of this and tastes of that start sneaking in. The scale drops a bit. This is due to the efforts of week 1.
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Week 3: Falsely encouraged by the fact that eating more seemed to cause better results, even more bites and tastes are allowed. The scale may drop a bit because there was still some adherence to the plan in week 2.
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Week 4: Now, the behavior in week 3 starts catching up with you. The scale may even move back up a tick. The result is the misconception that it is the plan and not the planner that is not working.
Another common cause of failed weight loss is due to lack of compliance with the plan as a whole. There is a tendency to pick and choose elements to include, rather than incorporating the whole plan. For example:
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For those using Weight Watchers – Do you follow their “Good Health Guidelines” for including dairy, fruits, veggies, water, etc? Or are you just spending most of your “points” on poor food choices?
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If you are on a prepared food plan such as Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig – Do you incorporate fresh fruits and veggies as instructed? Do you stick with their meals or do you frequently substitute other foods out of boredom or because you are eating out?
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If you are doing Slim Fast – How big are the “snacks” you eat? How “sensible” is your dinner?
There is one and only one way to lose weight: Consume fewer calories than you burn. Unless you have a medical/metabolism issue, do this and you will lose weight. All weight loss plans are a variation of this fact.
My suggestion is always the same. I challenge the person to follow their plan strictly for one calendar month. I have yet to see anyone disappointed with their results after doing this. |
