Many people are frustrated and perplexed by why they are unable to lose weight and then keep it off. The truth is that weight loss is a complex process that’s affected by diet, exercise, metabolism, age, genetics, and various other factors. However, there are some simple steps that everyone can take to significantly improve the odds of achieving their health and fitness goals.
Brian St. Pierre, Nutrition Director at Precision Nutrition and member of the Men's Health Advisory Board,1 states, “Just because weight loss is complex doesn’t mean it has to be difficult. In fact, most of the work I do with clients involves them simplifying their approach to diet and exercise.”
Brian recommends concentrating the diet more on healthy fats that increase feelings of fullness, limiting the amount of alcohol you consume, cutting carbs back considerably, and redefining your relationship with food.
Healthy fats make you feel full
Many people fail at their attempts to lose weight with dieting because they feel hungry and miss the enjoyment that delicious food offers. Men’s Health asserts that eating various protein sources like fish and eggs can help to stave off hunger.
Healthy fat sources like avocados, coconut oil, nuts, and seeds help to increase satiation. You can also have all of the raw non-starchy vegetables you care for while losing weight (as long as you stay within 25 grams of net carbs per day).
Limit alcohol consumption
While alcohol consumption is permitted on keto, it can add a hefty amount of calories to the diet, contributing to the challenges of losing weight. The body also treats alcohol like a fourth macronutrient and stops all other digestive processes until the alcohol is metabolized. This can put a serious damper on your weight loss momentum if you drink regularly.
St. Pierre advises concentrating on other activities in order to cut back on your drinking if you feel it's affecting your weight loss. He says, “It helps to work on other coping skills and stress management strategies—things like meditation, yoga, playing with your pet, or whatever makes you happy.”
Other diet tips
Another piece of advice St. Pierre advocates is significantly reducing your intake of carbohydrates. He recommends cutting potatoes, grains, and other starchy carbs out of the diet. You ultimately want to get to 25 grams or less of net carbs per day.
Redefining your relationship with food is something many of us should consider. It’s important to eat for proper nourishment. The body needs healthy nutrients to fuel, grow, and repair itself. Brian says, “Spend more time in your kitchen getting to know the foods you put into your body. Enjoy the art of cooking healthy foods that encourage weight loss.” If you're unsure of what that looks like, check out our extensive list of free recipes online!
NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER
The content on this website should not be taken as medical advice and you should ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. We provide nutritional data for our recipes as a courtesy to our readers. We use Total Keto Diet app software to calculate the nutrition and we remove fiber and sugar alcohols, like erythritol, from the total carbohydrate count to get to the net carb count, as they do not affect your blood glucose levels. You should independently calculate nutritional information on your own and not rely on our data. The website or content herein is not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose or treat any disease. This website shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on the Website or actions you take as a result. Any action you take is strictly at your own risk.
Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.
- Just Because It Says It's Keto Doesn't Mean It's Healthy - July 15, 2019
- Men's Health Recommends Low-Carb Living - July 5, 2019
