Let's get something straight: there is no "right" way to lose weight.
The things I hear people say in the gym about how to lose weight just makes me want to SCREAM sometimes! Things like, 'Oh, just stop eating ____(usually bread, potatoes, rice, fruit, etc), or, 'Just follow this style of eating', or, 'Don't eat carbs at night'....and the list goes on.
People want to believe that it's one certain food or food group that makes you fat, so if you just eliminate that, you'll lose weight....But it just doesn't always work like that.
Because you know what? There are a million different ways to get to the same result.
People successfully lose weight eating carbs.
People successfully lose weight eating low carb.
People successfully lose weight eating clean.
People successfully lose weight eating junk food.
People successfully lose weight counting calories.
People successfully lose weight not counting calories.
The hard part is finding something that gets you results but that is also sustainable and maintainable. Completely cutting out ALL of your favorite foods may work initially, but it's probably not sustainable. Cutting out carbs will work initially, but it's not sustainable.
I don't care if I sound like a broken record here. It's just all too common that I see people struggling with weight loss, who have never found a sustainable plan because they are always either "on" or "off" a diet, or in the the unending restrict/binge cycle that is so common with dieting. I commonly see people who won't eat certain foods because they think those foods will make them fat. And I get it, I've been there!
I want so badly to help people find freedom and balance when it comes to eating healthy and losing weight. I want people to see that you CAN be on a nutrition plan that includes your favorite foods and still achieve weight loss. I know it's not easy to find that balance; it takes some trial and error. But most of all, from my own experience, it takes a huge shift in MINDSET-that is where the real transformation begins.
We have to stop viewing foods as good or bad. We have to stop feeling like if we slip up and eat something "bad" that we've ruined the whole day. We have to stop thinking that there is ONE single food or food group that makes people fat. Potatoes don't make people fat. Fruits don't make people fat. Meat doesn't make people fat. Carbs don't make people fat. It's a combination of many different factors that leads to weight gain.And we have to get rid of the mindset that there is one "right" way to do things when it comes to nutrition. There is more than one way, and different things work for different people!
So if you want to lose weight fast, sure-cut out an entire food group. Go on a restrictive diet. But if you want to lose weight and actually maintain it, find a balanced nutrition plan that fits with your lifestyle that you can stick with for the long run.
Amen. Great advice. I've found that people who have had success losing weight like to impose the particular method or diet that worked for them on others but that might not work or be sustainable for someone else.
ReplyDeleteYes to this - it is a fundamental mind shift. A person can do all the prescribed things and yes, many will work for a time period. When the rubber hits the road though - and you are tested on a day to day basis over time, your own particular combination works best and even the best laid plan that someone else followed may mean only partial success for you. When the mind makes that shift - and you all of a sudden realize that your habits are changing and that you really feel like it's happening - it is absolutely priceless! :-D ~Jenn
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