I’m going to talk about how you can find the diet that is right for you. So right up front, I’m going to give you the hard truth. And that is, there is no miracle or one size fits all diet because everyone’s lives, their goals, their preferences, are different. And there isn’t just one thing out there that’s going to work for everybody.

The best diet or weight loss plan for you is one that you enjoy and that you’re actually going to stick with, because if you only do it for a short period of time, and then you stop and you gain your weight back, what is the point? 

So, first of all, let’s talk about what you don’t want. When you’re looking for a plan, that’s going to work for you right off the bat. Let’s just forget about fad diets, and any kind of lose weight quick promises. They don’t work. You know this because you have tried them over and over again and they have proven to you over and over again that they don’t work. And if they haven’t worked in the past, why would they work now? A big one for a lot of people is cutting back on calories. You may lose some weight to begin with, but you’re doing damage to your overall metabolism. You’re making it slow down in the long run because our bodies are trained to prepare in case there’s a famine. And then your body stores all that food as fat because you’re going to need it later for energy.

Another thing you might have tried in the past is these diets where you’re cutting out entire food groups like no carb or low carb, or no fat or low fat. This isn’t healthy. You need these food groups to get all the nutrients that your body needs to function optimally. And if you’re cutting out an entire food group, there’s a lot of nutrition that you’re not going to get. And also you’re not getting foods that you enjoy. Let’s face it. We like carbs, right? And the thought of never eating another potato, never eating another piece of bread to me, is ridiculous. And just extremely unsustainable. 

There’s other ones out there where you order the prepackaged foods and you get the little frozen dinners in the mail. And the idea of it is enticing because it’s very controlled and you don’t have to think about it. It takes the guesswork out. The food comes in the mail, you pop it in the microwave, it’s ready to go. It’s all pre portioned, you know, no brainer, right? But it’s expensive. And it’s also really inconvenient. If you’re going out to eat, or if you’re going to a party or work function, or having dinner at someone’s house, what are you supposed to do then? I mean, obviously you’re not going to bring a frozen one over to someone’s house. So to me, that’s not really workable in real life. And then the other thing is you’re going to get sick of it. You know, like eating these frozen dinners over and over again. I don’t care how much variety they have. It’s all going to start tasting the same. And so for those reasons, I just think that the prepackaged way is also not the way to go.

There’s another one out there with fasting where you don’t eat at all for a week, or you restrict your feeding window to only certain hours during the day. And this is really just a fancy way of restricting calories. That’s basically all they’re doing is cutting back the amount of time that you’re allowed to eat so that you don’t eat as many calories altogether. But the problem with this is, when you have the feeding window, you’re going to be starving and you’re going to be missing out on foods that you enjoy. So you’re going to eat way too much during that feeding window. So you may or may not even get the calorie deficit. And also just the inconvenience of it. You have to have breakfast at a certain time, lunch at a certain time, and be finished with dinner, all within an eight hour period. 

Let’s talk about what your weight loss plan and your diet should look like. These are the things that I use with myself and with my clients, and that actually work long term. You want it to be practical, right? It has to work with your lifestyle. It cannot be an overwhelming, super complicated thing that is taking up all your time. You want it to be very common sense. So not cutting out major food groups, but eating in a balanced way so that you’re getting all of your nutrients. And it needs to be doable. So miserable, not going hungry, not feeling deprived all the time, because all that just adds to the stress of your life and to your schedule. So the key here is making small changes. One thing at a time that builds on itself and you continue to lose weight consistently.

Weight loss is a marathon. It’s not a sprint. There are no quick fixes out there. If those were going to work, they would have already worked by now. If it’s miserable, it’s not sustainable. If you’re miserable on any kind of eating plan, you’re absolutely not going to stick with it. Just know that you absolutely can do this. Do not get frustrated. Do not feel like you are a failure. You are not a failure because these diets have failed you in the past. We are going to get you on the right track. This is going to work. I see it working every single day. I live it myself. My clients see it. It does work and it can work for you.