Every month, it seems another new diet makes headlines, promising a quick, simple way to drop pounds. But the reality is there’s no magic bullet.
“Weight management and health management are synonymous,” says Karen Handy, adult weight management director at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. “If you focus on a healthy lifestyle, weight loss can follow.”
But weight loss theory can sound deceptively simple, says Mills-Peninsula primary care physician Lisa Hladik, M.D. “The less calories in, the more calories out through exercise – the weight comes off.” In practicality, however, people who are successful at losing weight and keeping it off make gradual - not drastic - changes in their diet and exercise routines.
“It’s about being realistic with yourself and asking, ‘What’s gotten in the way of me making these changes?’” says Handy. “See if you can problem-solve and come up with a new approach to weight loss.” Here are ways to help.
Keep A Food Diary
For three to five days track your eating behaviors – how much, when and why you eat. Are you skipping breakfast? Do you snack mid-day? Are you grazing in the fridge after dinner? If so, why? Identifying environmental and emotional triggers will help you uncover unhealthy eating patterns.
Studies have shown that people who write down their daily eating habits lose more weight than those who don’t. Personal coaching from a nutritionist or dietitian on how to make better choices and set realistic goals may also help.
Exercise Regularly
“Don’t wait until that an extra pound becomes 10 or 20,” Handy says. “Deal with it right away with physical activity, strength training and weight-bearing exercise.”
Although you can reap the health benefits of exercise with just 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, that won’t help you lose a lot of weight. Federal guidelines recommend at least 300 minutes of strenuous exercise per week for weight loss.
According to Handy, cardio workouts burn the most calories per minute, but strength training boosts metabolism over time, helping you burn calories outside of the gym, as well.
But every little bit helps. If you aren’t exercising at all, start by walking an extra 15 minutes per day. Invest in a pedometer activity tracker and work your way up to 8,000 to 10,000 daily steps. A smartphone app like MyFitnessPal or LoseIt can track both your exercise and calories taken in, Dr. Hladik says. The act of tracking what you eat and how much you exercise has been shown to be very effective in changing old patterns and losing weight.
Eat Right
You don’t need to go on a liquid diet to get health results. “Cutting 100 calories a day from your diet can lead to a 10 pound weight loss over a year,” says Dr. Hladik. Try these simple changes:
- Eat three well-balanced meals each day. While omitting a meal seems like an obvious way to cut calories, the result is often insatiable hunger, which leads to unplanned, unhealthy snacking and super-sized portions at lunch or dinner.
- Skip sugary beverages. Soda, alcoholic beverages and sweetened coffee drinks can add calories without curbing your hunger or providing nutritional value.
- Increase the amount of vegetables, fruits and whole grains in your diet. At each meal, fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. The other half should be a quarter starch and a quarter protein. Keep pre-cut veggies in your fridge and fresh fruit on your counter for easy access to healthy snacks.
Set a Healthy Goal
Setting a healthy weight loss goal starts with being honest with yourself says Tak Poon, an interventional cardiologist at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center. “Are you trying to achieve a certain weight so you can look like a model on a magazine cover? Or are you trying to achieve a healthy weight in relation to your body?”
For most people, losing even 7 to 10 percent of their body weight can reap many health benefits, says Dr. Poon. And losing the weight gradually over six to 12 months is the key to maintaining a healthy weight, which is why it’s important to avoid fad diets.
“Rather than dieting, intelligently re-design your eating and activity habits,” Dr. Poon says. “Don’t bother doing anything that you can’t maintain for the long haul. Remember, you want to create a sustainable lifestyle change.”