Skip the Diet. Make a Lifestyle Change.
Best Way to Lose Weight at Home
Want to support your immune system, feel confident and maximize your life? Discover why diets fail and virtual weight loss coaching offers the support to succeed.
Dr. Justin Hoffman, ND, NMD 
Do you dream about that little black dress or being the guy who needs his suit taken in? Did the CDC’s announcement that excess weight can put you at higher risk of suffering severe illness from COVID-19 make you consider your overall health?
Weight loss is a goal for 83% of Americans, reports the JAMA Network. Unfortunately, more than 70% of adults in the US remain overweight. And this number is climbing during the pandemic’s isolation period, warns John Morton, MD, MPH, MHA, medical director of bariatric surgery at Yale New Haven Health System.
However, research suggests the issue is not about diets, but a lifestyle change that needs to be addressed. For the vast majority of individuals, achieving long-term weight loss success comes down to making changes that can be maintained over the long haul.
When you try and make huge changes to your diet, such as cutting every indulgence, it's hard to maintain the rigid standards. Especially over the long haul. This is one of the major reasons 'diets' often fail.
A ‘diet’ is something you do temporarily. It’s a change you make until you achieve a specific outcome (often a specific weight goal) before returning to your original habits. ‘Diets’ normally involve changes in what you eat and drink. They also often include an exercise component.
1. Dieters Can’t Stick to Their Diet for the Long-Term
The way an individual responds to any [diet] has absolutely nothing to do with their blood type and has everything to do with their ability to stick to a sensible vegetarian or low-carbohydrate diet.
In short, diets can help you achieve results quickly. But if you are planning to return to your previous habits, you might not want to invest in a completely new wardrobe.
2. Dieters Often Gain Weight in the Long Run
If all you want is to look great for a high school reunion and you don’t care after that, there are a variety of diets that work. This may be the right choice for you. If, however, you want to keep the weight off and avoid getting bigger, you might want to think twice about ‘dieting’.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles found that nearly 70 percent of dieters regained the weight they’d lost while dieting – plus more!
3. Dieters are too Focused on Calories Instead of Quality
The Nutritional Department at Harvard School of Public Health looked at over 120,000 healthy women and men. Their research showed a strong correlation between the consumption of processed foods and weight gain. Furthermore, it highlighted a direct link between weight loss and an increase in vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yogurt.
4 Lifestyle Changes to Lose Weight & Keep it Off
Major 'diets' can often alienate you from the ones you love. Instead, focus on lifestyle changes which can be incorporated into your existing routine.
Shift your thinking from ‘how to lose weight’ to how to improve your lifestyle. This doesn’t mean you will never indulge. Nor does it mean you will never slip up. You are human after all. There are birthdays to celebrate. Holidays gatherings to attend. And, dinners out to enjoy.
Losing weight and keeping it off doesn’t mean you must jump on the Atkins diet, Bullet diet or Zone diet bandwagon. You don’t have to undergo multiple intense cleanses or tackle the Whole 30 challenge. Signing up for Weight Watchers or 30-10 Weight Loss for Life might not be for you.
As you think about diets vs. lifestyle changes, the real contemplation should be, “What changes can I make and live with?”
If you want to make lifestyle changes to lose weight, the following can help. Some may be the right choice for you. Others may not. Because we’re not one size fits all. Your body is unique. How you fuel it and move it should be too.
1. Keep Eating Healthy Fats
Not all fats are bad for you. Don't assume the olive oil in your salad dressing or the fat in your avocado will derail you. In fact, your body needs some fat in order to stave off hunger pains.
Health experts got it wrong, reported Christopher D. Gardner, a nutrition scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in the Scientific America article ‘Dropping Weight ... And Keeping it Off’. The article showed individuals who ate less fat were prone to consuming soda and corn-syrup heavy products.
By keeping healthy sources of fat in your diet, like fats and avocado, you can give your body the fuel you need, reduce cravings, and better maintain your weight.
2. Consistent Eating Patterns
Sticking to a consistent eating schedule can help you regulate blood sugar levels, avoid excess calorie consumption, and keep your weight in check. In the July 2005 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers reported that consistent behavior patterns, like eating breakfast regularly, were common among those who lost weight and kept it off.
3. Exercise
Trying to lose weight through diet alone can be difficult. By incorporating some additional movement in your regular routine, you can lose weight quickly and keep it off.
Exercise isn’t just something doctors talk about to torture you. It plays a substantial role in weight loss and maintenance.
The National Weight Control Registry established by James Hill and Rena Wing of Brown University shows definitively the impact of exercise. Individuals who maintained their weight had an average of an hour of physical activity every day. Furthermore, ‘42% of the sample reported that maintaining their weight loss was less difficult than losing weight.’
Your physical activity doesn’t have to be CrossFit or cardio kickboxing. It doesn’t mean you have to start running marathons or take up parkour. You can start with something as simple as walking.
4. Not Giving Up
Mistakes happen. Life gets complicated. You go on vacation. You make a batch of cookies and eat more than you care to admit. You have a series of holiday parties.
The biggest mistake you can make is giving up. Don’t let a slip-up spiral you right back to where you started. When you indulge a little more than you intended, pick yourself back up, and get back on track.
Medically Supervised Weight Loss Can Give You the Support You Need (Virtual Appointments Available)
Losing weight is tough. Medically supervised weight loss gives you the support you need to succeed.
No matter how you slice it, losing weight and keeping it off can be tough. As easy as it is to preach healthy fats, a consistent eating pattern, and exercise, sometimes sticking with those lifestyle changes can be hard. This is especially true if you’re trying to go it alone.
A medically supervised weight loss program gives you the expert advice and support you need to achieve your goals. At Premier Integrative, our doctors can help you identify your body’s unique needs, any deficiencies that may be holding you back, and help you start quickly achieving your goals.
We offer both in-clinic and virtual appointments. This allows you to be seen in the comfort and safety of your own home, wherever that may be.
