Losing weight for many seems like an elusive goal. One reason is that there is so much conflicting information out there about how to achieve healthy and sustainable weight loss.
When you don’t know who or what to believe, it’s easy to fall into the “quick fix” of fad diets that are seemingly everywhere.
And with different diets popping up all the time, you’re hoping that one is bound to work. You start off motivated, telling yourself that “this time it will be different.” Different until deprivation sets in and you realize that being “on” a diet means that soon enough, you’ll be “off” the diet.
I want to get you off the dieting rollercoaster once and for all by sharing effective tips (and the research behind them) that you can easily and successfully incorporate into a healthy and sustainable weight management plan.
Why Fad Diets Fail You
Let’s start with my one-word response when clients ask me about fad diets: DON’T!
These fad diets may sound like the perfect quick fix, but they almost always require severe calorie restriction that is neither healthy or sustainable.
And though you may lose a few pounds fast, once you stop the diet the weight comes back, and you often end up gaining back more weight than you lost…leaving you further away from your goals.
And while you are restricting your diet and removing certain food groups your body needs, you are putting yourself at risk of nutritional deficiencies and loss of muscle. When we lose muscle (and not fat), our bodies are less efficient at burning calories.
On top of the weight coming back and any potential health issues, you’re often met with guilt and shame for “failing” your diet, creating a vicious cycle of moving on to the next fad diet to see if that will work.
This is why fad diets don’t work. It has nothing to do with you or your motivation and dedication to reaching your weight goals.
The only diet that works is the one you can stick with long-term. And that means taking a balanced approach to diet and exercise, making small habit changes, and getting support and accountability along the way.
Habits (Not Diets) for Losing Weight
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to eating, and that’s why traditional dieting doesn’t work for most people. Forcing yourself to eat in a way that you’re not accustomed to is simply not sustainable, which is precisely why I favor healthy habits and strategies that work with your body and can be adapted to fit your life—as opposed to modifying your life to fit your diet.
How a Mediterranean Diet Fits into Your Weight Loss Plan
A Mediterranean style of eating is something you can incorporate into your daily routine one meal at a time.
U.S. News & World Report ranked the Mediterranean diet No. 1 on its 40 Best Diets Overall list for 2022, citing a “host of health benefits, including weight loss, heart and brain health, cancer prevention, and diabetes prevention and control.”
More of an eating pattern than a calorie-restricted diet, the Mediterranean diet emphasizes lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, seeds, and fish, with liberal use of olive oil, a moderate amount of dairy foods, and a low amount of red meat — a way of eating common in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy, and Greece
Likely because of the focus on whole, fresh foods, the Mediterranean diet may help you lose weight in a safe, healthy, and sustainable way.
And the diet may help you keep the pounds off. A study found that those who followed a Mediterranean diet were twice as likely to maintain weight loss.
Regular Physical Activity is Important for Weight Management
While changing your diet and eating habits can help you lose weight, adding in physical activity can help you with weight loss.
It’s important to choose the types of exercise and movement that you enjoy so you can stay committed to exercise on a regular basis.
You don’t have to “hit the gym” either. Something as simple and low-impact as walking is very effective. One study found that when two groups started a new diet, the group who also started a walking routine lost more weight and total fat.
Participants walked on average 2.5 hours per week – about 20 minutes per day, which shows it doesn’t take hours at the gym to see benefits. Those who walked regularly lost more weight and their insulin resistance was also reduced. This means not only did they lose weight and fat – their insulin worked more effectively.
Incorporating weight training or resistance training into your regular daily activities is also important. Resistance training, which includes body weight exercises, weight lifting or using kettlebells or medicine balls has been shown to help people lose weight while increasing lean body mass. Oftentimes we lose muscle while losing weight, which can change our overall body composition (how we look overall). Resistance training can combat that, so you lose fat, not muscle.
The Takeaways
Find an eating pattern you can stick to, get moving on a regular basis with activities that you enjoy, and find support and accountability to help you stay on track with your healthy habits.
Helping you create a plan to meet your goals, reduce stress, manage your time, create an exercise schedule, eat better, practice self-care and more!
Habit change is not always easy, but when you work with a Board Certified Health and Well-Being Coach, you get the support and accountability you need to stay on track – – as well as evidence-based education to help you make informed choices for your unique goals and challenges.
Ready to take the first step? Contact Janine for a FREE Discovery Call to see how working with Coaching for Healthy Living can help you meet your goals.
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