5 Pillars of Nutrition for Weight Loss

PILLAR 1: MAKE IT A LIFESTYLE

95% of people start a weight loss program and never stick it…mostly because people don’t make it a lifestyle.   They get caught up in trying ‘tricks’ that are completely unsustainable. Juice fasts, quick fat loss schemes, gimmick programs, and magic diet hacks don’t work.

Tricks and gimmicks are why the majority of people who lose fat will put it ALL back on and then some! Whatever strategy you pick for nutrition, make sure that it’s something that you can see yourself doing for YEARS.   Adherence is BY FAR the biggest determining factor in how effective a diet strategy is, far more important than your strategy of low carb, low fat, etc.

PILLAR 2: TRACK YOUR FOOD INTAKE AND KNOW YOUR ‘MAINTENANCE CALORIES’

Regardless of what your goal is, knowing how many calories, protein, carbs, and fats you are consuming per day is critical to your success. If you track your intake consistently for a month and see how your weight responds, you can determine your approximate calorie maintenance level.  Once your maintenance calories are determined you adjust your intake up or down depending if you want to lose weight or gain muscle.

PILLAR 3: GET ENOUGH PROTEIN AND FIBRE

High protein diets have been shown to increase lean body mass, improve body composition, recovery, and satiation.  Moreover, high protein diets have been demonstrated to increase lean body mass, improve recovery from exercise, and improve fat loss relative to calorie-matched, lower protein diets.

Fibre is often forgotten about.  Fibre is also satiating, it promotes good bacteria in your gut, helps with proper bowel movements, and binds up toxins and bad cholesterol.

PILLAR 4: CHOOSE A BREAKDOWN OF CARBOHYDRATES AND FATS

Currently, in nutrition there is an eternal battle between low carb high-fat proponents and low-fat high carb proponents and everything in between.   To date, there have been 32 studies examining carbohydrate vs fats,  when calories and protein are equated between diets there is virtually no difference in fat loss.  So, choose a breakdown of carbs and fats that you enjoy and will adhere to.

PILLAR 5: DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

FOCUS on the important stuff:  consistency, adherence, hard work, sustainability, and tenacity.

Changing your body takes discipline, hard work, proper guidance, and TIME!  Fall in LOVE with the process, and in time the outcome will be yours.

https://central.gymshark.com/article/nutrition-for-beginners-with-dr-layne-norton

Dr. Karen McGee, ND