Many people set weight loss goals, but dedication can wane after a few months. True weight loss takes time and effort. It's important to set a realistic weight goal and timeline to achieve it. Long-term weight management is a journey that takes time. Here's how to approach weight loss effectively, incorporating practical strategies and expert advice.
Understanding the Basics of Weight Loss
To lose weight, you need to lower the total calories you take in from food and drinks. Losing 5% of your current weight may be a good goal to start with. If you weigh 180 pounds (82 kilograms), that's 9 pounds (4 kilograms). Even this amount of weight loss can lower your risk of some long-term health conditions. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week over the long term. It's important to set a realistic weight goal and timeline to achieve it. Ask yourself what weight has felt comfortable for you before. Then ask yourself if you can achieve that target without feeling overly deprived.
Setting SMART Goals
It can help to set two types of goals. The first type is called an action goal. You can list a healthy action that you'll use to lose weight. For instance, "Walk every day for 30 minutes" is an action goal. The second type is called an outcome goal. You can list a healthy outcome that you aim to have. "Lose 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms)" is an example of an outcome goal. An outcome goal is what you want to achieve. But it doesn't tell you how to get there. An action goal does. These goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. For example, instead of "I will exercise more," say "I will work up to 15 minutes of strengthening exercises using an exercise band every other day by Feb. 8.
Nutritional Strategies for Weight Loss
Focus on eating fresh foods. They have more nutrition than processed foods. Processed foods often come in a box or a can. One way that you can take in fewer calories is to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. These are known as plant-based foods. They're low in calories and high in fiber. Fiber helps you feel full. Eat at least four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruits a day. Have whole grains, such as brown rice, barley, and whole-wheat bread and pasta. Find a meal pattern that includes healthy foods that you enjoy eating. Both the Mediterranean diet and DASH meal plan include whole grains, vegetables, fruits, lean protein, and some dairy products.
Prioritize Protein
Protein is still necessary. Aim for 60 to 80 grams of protein per day from food sources.
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Regular Eating Intervals
Eating at regular intervals will help manage hunger cues and prevent overeating due to being too hungry.
Limit Sugary Beverages and Dairy
Limit your sweetened beverage consumption. In addition, keep dairy to three total servings per day - including milk - unless otherwise instructed.
Making Mindful Food Choices
It's OK to enjoy foods that taste sweet. Make decisions that honor your taste and provide great nutritional value. Use healthy fats, such as olive oil, vegetable oils, avocados, nuts, nut butters and nut oils. Limit foods and drinks that have added sugar. These include desserts, jellies and sodas. Managing portions of all foods allows you to include foods you enjoy in moderation. It's easy to overeat when you’re served too much food. Smaller portions can help prevent overeating. You don’t have to give up all your favorite foods. Learn to make smart food choices and simple substitutions instead. It's a good idea to be mindful while you eat. Focus on each bite of food. This helps you enjoy the taste. It also makes you more aware of when you feel full. Try to not to watch TV or stare at your phone during meals.
The Importance of Physical Activity
Regular physical activity is important for both weight loss and weight maintenance. You can lose weight without exercise, but it's harder to do. Exercise has many other benefits. It can lift your mood, lower blood pressure and help you sleep better. Exercise helps you keep off the weight that you lose too. Set a goal of at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week. Aerobic exercises increase your breathing and heart rate, such as a brisk walk, bike ride or swimming. Add in strength exercises two or more days per week. Strength training can increase your metabolism which helps you burn more calories. How many calories you burn depends on how often, how long and how hard you exercise. One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking. Work up to at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days of the week. Also aim to do strength training exercises at least twice a week. Any extra movement helps you burn calories. So think about ways to move more during the day. You can set yourself up for more activity by wearing comfortable clothes and shoes. This may help you move more throughout the day. Physical activity is anything that gets your heart rate up, such as brisk walking. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week.
Maintaining Long-Term Weight Loss
It's not enough to eat healthy foods and exercise for just a few weeks or months. To keep off extra weight, you should make these healthy changes a way of life. Think about negative habits or other challenges that have kept you from losing weight in the past. You'll likely have some setbacks on your weight-loss journey. But don't give up after a setback. Simply start fresh the next day. Remember that you're planning to change your life. It won't happen all at once. Stick to your healthy lifestyle.
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Tracking and Planning
Keeping track of food intake and physical activity is a proven tool for managing weight. Tracking helps to increase awareness of our eating and physical activity behaviors. Meal planning and food preparation help ensure you have healthy meals and snacks available. Use a food diary or tracking app to understand what, how much, and when you’re eating. Learn your body mass index (BMI). Know where you are today so you know how to get where you want to be.
Seeking Support
It's up to you to make the changes that lead to long-term weight loss. But it helps to have support from others. Pick people who will inspire you. If you prefer to keep your weight-loss efforts private, take some steps to stay on course. Track your diet and exercise in a journal or an app. Also track your weight. Weight management programs offer support for your weight management journey. Be wary of programs that promise quick fixes. UC Davis Health patients can take a free class called Achieving a Healthy Weight.
Understanding Rapid Weight Loss Diets
Rapid weight loss diet is a type of diet in which you lose more than 2 pounds (lb) or 1 kilogram (kg) a week over several weeks. To lose weight this quickly you must eat very few calories. These diets are most often chosen by people with obesity who want to lose weight quickly. These diets are less commonly recommended by health care providers. People on these diets should be followed closely by their provider. Rapid weight loss may not be safe for some people to do on their own. These diets are only to be used for a short time and are usually not recommended for more than several weeks. People who lose weight very quickly are much more likely to regain the weight over time than people who lose weight slowly through less drastic diet changes and physical activity. The weight loss is a bigger stress for the body, and the hormonal response to the weight loss is much stronger. Rapid weight loss is more about cutting calories than exercising. Talk with your provider about what type of exercise you should do while you are on this type of diet. Rapid weight loss diet is usually for people who have health problems because of obesity. You should only follow one of these diets with the help of your provider. Losing more than 1 or 2 lb (0.5 to 1 kg) a week is not safe for most people. It can cause you to lose muscle, water, and bone density. Rapid weight loss can also cause some side effects including: Gallstones, Gout, Fatigue, Constipation, Diarrhea, Nausea. People who lose weight quickly are also more likely to gain back the weight quickly. This can lead to other health problems. In general, a rapid weight loss diet is not safe for children. It may also not be safe for teens, pregnant women or older adults unless a provider recommends it.
Types of Rapid Weight Loss Diets
Several types of rapid weight loss diets exist, each with its own characteristics and potential risks.
Very-Low-Calorie Diets (VLCDs): Most VLCDs use meal replacements, such as formulas, soups, shakes, and bars instead of regular meals. This helps ensure that you get all of the nutrients you need each day. A VLCD is only recommended for adults who have obesity and need to lose weight for health reasons. These diets are often used before weight-loss surgery. You should only use a VLCD with the help of your provider. Most experts do not recommend using a VLCD for more than 12 weeks.
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Low-Calorie Diets (LCDs): These diets usually allow about 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for men. An LCD is a better choice than a VLCD for most people who want to lose weight quickly. But you should still be supervised by your provider. You will not lose weight as fast with an LCD, but you can lose just as much weight with a VLCD. An LCD may use a mix of meal replacements and regular food. This makes it easier to follow than a VLCD.
Time-Restricted Eating: This diet strategy is becoming more popular. It is often compared to fasting, but the two strategies are slightly different. Time-restricted eating limits the number of hours per day that you can eat. A popular strategy is the 16:8. For this diet, you have to eat all of your meals during an 8 hour period, for example, 10 am to 6 pm. The rest of the time you cannot eat anything.
Fasting: Fasting is an ancient form of caloric restriction. It has become more popular recently. This is partly because some animal and human studies have shown benefits to fasting for people with diabetes and obesity. There are many different fasting regimens and it is unclear which may be the best. One of the most popular is the 5:2 system. This involves 2 days a week of fasting or VLCD and 5 days a week of eating your normal diet.
Fad Diets: Some fad diets also severely limit calories to achieve rapid weight loss. In some cases, these diets are not safe. In most cases, these diets are not sustainable for long enough to cause long-term weight loss. Once you stop the diet, you are at risk for regaining the weight if you return to your old eating habits.
The Dr. Now Diet: A Closer Look
One of my favorite TV shows is “My 600-Lb. Life,” so I’m pretty familiar with Dr. Nowzaradan - also known as Dr. Now - and his no-nonsense approach. The diet program he uses to prepare patients for bariatric (weight loss) surgery has recently gained popularity as the Dr. Now Diet. This restrictive diet should only be attempted by people who are preparing for weight loss surgery or who are at imminent risk of serious health concerns due to weight. In addition, they should only follow the diet under the supervision of a medical team, including a doctor or surgeon and bariatric dietitian. The Dr. Now Diet is a very restrictive low carb, low calorie diet.
Dr. Nowzaradan is a Houston-based bariatric surgeon who specializes in weight loss surgery for people with morbid obesity. He became famous for the reality show “My 600-Lb. Life,” which documents the lives of his patients who weigh more than 600 pounds (272 kg). The show follows their journey before, during, and after weight loss surgery. Dr. Now is well known because he takes on patients many other surgeons think are too risky to operate on. Before the patients have surgery, many of them need to lose weight to reduce their risk of complications and show they’ll be able to make the lifestyle changes doctors prescribe after surgery. Dr. Now puts the patients on a strict low carb and low calorie diet to help them quickly lose weight in preparation for surgery. He details the diet in his book, “The Scale Does Not Lie, People Do.”
Dr. Now’s book explains the three main principles of his diet approach using the acronym “FAT”:
Frequency: This refers to how often you eat. Dr. Now recommends eating two to three meals per day with no snacks.
Amount: This means how many calories you should consume. He says to limit calorie intake to 1,200 calories or less each day, divided evenly - so 400 calories for each meal 3 times daily, or 600 calories for each meal twice daily.
Type: The types of food you eat are also important. He says to strictly avoid sugar and choose low fat and low carb foods while increasing the protein and fiber content of each of your meals. Protein and fiber can help make your meal more filling (1).
Dr. Now says that when you begin, make a list of all of your favorite foods, and then remove all the sugary, high fat, and high calorie foods from the list. What remains should be a regular part of your daily meals while you’re doing the Dr. Now program - that way, it’s easier to stick to. He also says to focus on minimally processed food and choose small portions, which will help make it easier to meet the restricted calorie count. This diet is designed for short-term use in the lead-up to bariatric surgery, so don’t follow it for longer than a month or two. Always make sure you’re under close medical supervision while you’re on this diet.
Foods to Eat: Dr. Now’s diet plan allows these foods, along with other high fiber, high protein, low fat, and sugar-free foods: Lean protein sources: egg whites, lean cuts of meat, chicken breast, turkey breast, beans, tofu, fish; Fats and oils: cooking spray, small amounts of oil for cooking; Lower sugar fruits: all whole fruits, except watermelon, cantaloupe, banana, and mango; Most vegetables: all vegetables, except potatoes; Certain nuts and seeds: flax seeds, chia seeds; Nonfat dairy: plain nonfat yogurt, skim milk; Whole-grain carbs: wheat bread, wheat or corn tortillas, whole-wheat pasta in moderation; Zero-calorie sweeteners.
Foods to Avoid: Dr. Now provides his patients undergoing bariatric surgery with a list of foods to avoid on the diet. The list includes foods you would expect, like cookies and French fries, but also some surprising foods, like oatmeal, popcorn, and peanuts. His reasoning is that oatmeal is high in carbs, popcorn is often doused in fat, and peanuts are high in calories and easy to overeat. Here are the foods to avoid on Dr. Now’s diet plan: Some sources of protein: high carb or sugary protein shakes, high fat meats, processed meats (like hot dogs, bacon, sausage), battered and fried meats (like fried chicken), eggs; Some fats and oils: butter, olive oil, vegetable oils; Fruits higher in sugar: fruit juices, fruit canned in syrup, fruits that have more natural sugar (watermelon, cantaloupe, banana, and mango); Potatoes: includes French fries; Most nuts and seeds: peanut butter, peanuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, sunflower seeds; Full fat and sweetened dairy: sweetened yogurt, sorbet, ice cream, milkshakes, chocolate milk, full fat cheese; Certain carbs, especially refined products: crackers, chips, popcorn, white rice, brown rice, waffles and pancakes, white bread, pasta; Sugar-containing sweets: cookies, candy, cakes and pastries, ice cream, honey, syrup.
Sample Menu: Here’s a sample menu you could follow for 3 days on the Dr. Now Diet. Since there are no snacks allowed on the diet, you’ll only see breakfast, lunch, and dinner suggestions below:
Day 1: Breakfast: 2 ounces (57 grams) egg whites with spinach, mushrooms, and 1 ounce (28 grams) part-skim mozzarella on 2 pieces whole-wheat toast, ready-to-drink low carb protein shake; Lunch: 3 ounces (85 grams) grilled chicken, salad with 2 tbsp. (30 grams) vinaigrette dressing; Dinner: 3 ounces (85 grams) broiled salmon with asparagus.
Day 2: Breakfast: 1 cup (245 grams) plain nonfat yogurt with stevia and 1/2 cup (75 grams) blueberries, 1 cup (240 mL) skim milk, 2 pieces turkey bacon; Lunch: 1 cup (238 grams) tuna salad made with nonfat Greek yogurt instead of mayo, whole-grain pita, celery, and carrots; Dinner: spiralized zucchini with 4 ground turkey meatballs, marinara sauce, and 1 ounce (28 grams) part-skim mozzarella.
Day 3: Breakfast: fruit smoothie with 1 cup (240 mL) skim milk, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 cup (150 grams) strawberries, 1/2 avocado; Lunch: 1 cup (240 grams) broccoli stir-fry with 3 ounces (85 grams) tofu; Dinner: 2 cups (478 grams) low fat chicken and vegetable soup, side salad with 1 tbsp. (15 grams) vinaigrette dressing.
Effectiveness of the Dr. Now Diet: This strict, low calorie diet plan does result in fast weight loss, especially in people with higher body weight. Dr. Now encourages many of his patients who weigh more than 600 pounds (272 kg) to try to lose 30 pounds (14 kg) in just 30 days, and many of them are successful. In fact, the 1,200 calorie diet is commonly used for preoperative bariatric surgery patients, not just in Dr. Now’s practice. Doctors often recommend preoperative weight loss for people undergoing bariatric surgery because it appears to help reduce complications after the operation.
Is the Dr. Now Diet Right for You? The Dr. Now Diet plan isn’t a good choice, except for those who need to lose weight to have a safe operation. The 1,200 calorie limit is excessively restrictive for most people and therefore not sustainable. In fact, long-term extreme calorie restriction might make it harder for you to lose weight. That’s because your body adapts to calorie restriction by slowing down your metabolic rate, meaning you burn fewer calories. Low calorie diets may also affect your hunger hormones, making you hungrier than normal (5). Research shows that many of these diets lead to rebound weight gain because of these metabolic changes. As a result, this and other crash diets aren’t a good choice if your goal is long-lasting weight loss (5). Additionally, very calorie-restricted diets often provide inadequate amounts of nutrients, even if they’re rich in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables. Restrictive diets also cause changes to the gut microbiota, the beneficial bacteria that populate your large intestine. Maintaining a healthy balance of these gut bacteria is crucial for optimal health and digestion. However, restrictive diets may reduce both the overall population and the diversity of the bacteria present (7). Finally, don’t attempt the Dr. Now Diet without medical supervision, especially if you have any medical conditions or are taking medications. If you’re looking to try this diet, be sure to speak with a healthcare professional beforehand.
Avoiding Fad Diets and Scams
Hundreds of fad diets, weight-loss programs and outright scams promise quick and easy weight loss. Be wary of programs that promise quick fixes. Staying away from fad diets.