When You Want to Lose Weight Quickly…

When You Want to Lose Weight Quickly…

This article (link above) was written by Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD a well-known sports dietitian. I think this might be the number one thing I have to remind clients of over, over, and over again. In our busy crazy world, we Americans want everything to come immediately. I don't think it is our will power we have lost sight of; rather, our PATIENCE! I'll admit it - I LOVE immediate gratification -but we can't always have things just the way we want them. I have had to learn to help people see, that when reaching a weight goal, the only way you can get there and stay there - is to take it one day at a time. Stay consistent, minimize time spent "off the wagon" or however you put it, and believe in the science of nutrition. Otherwise, it's like your running to a finish line that keeps moving and you'll never get there. Can you accept that there is no magic pill, magic drink, or magic diet?

Losing weight is a journey. It takes time. It is a living, changing, flexible, unpredictable journey. You will face new barriers and old barriers multiple times. If you think weight is a destination... that one day you will be there, at your goal weight, and you don't have to keep up with healthy behaviors, you're fooling yourself. Imagine you can wake up tomorrow morning at your goal weight, with your dream body. Are you ready to eat, drink and live the way you will need to in order to maintain that body size and weight? Maintenance is just as important as the losing part. So - if you say "Yes, I am ready to live the way I need to to maintain my goal weight" then go ahead - start today! You'll have to do that eventually to maintain your weight anyway - right? This includes exercise and food. So, Ive been lecturing recently on fad diets and how to avoid falling victim to them. That led me to choose a "Fad Diet of the Year Award". Here's the winner:

The fad diet of the year award goes to... The Lap Band! Not only is it the number one fad diet advertised in LA, but it is also the most mis-understood diet based on what I hear from people. I have to say, it was a tough call between The Master Cleanse and the lap band, but I went with the one that gets the most publicity. I think I've been getting a lap band flyer in my mailbox once a week for a while now. What bugs me the most are the billboards, the radio commercials & the signs on the side of public buses. You, your friend, your parents, the guy next door.... we are all victims of clever marketing tactics from the fad diet industry. The fact that there is so much money being spent on lap band procedures (in order to take up all the most expensive advertising space in Los Angeles) is incredibly upsetting. So... where are all the people who are losing weight, changing their lives, and getting healthy from the lap band? I have worked with numerous post-lap-band clients. I feel sad for them. Sad that they are in pain, not able to enjoy food in a natural way. The worst part is, they have subjected themselves to a surgical procedure, that implanted an inflatable tube around the top portion of their stomach, and still - they don't lose weight. Why not? Because the physicians and staff at the money-hungry lap band office neglected to disclose all the information. The patient is too-often not informed of the necessary changes you have to make in order to be successful with the band. You see, the truth is, losing weight with a lap band is NO DIFFERENT from losing weight naturally on your own. You have to eat healthy foods (with protein and fiber), in smaller portions, exercise regularly, and confront your emotional eating triggers and habits. Thousands of people are now paying for these "safe, one-hour, outpatient procedures" without sitting down to talk to a dietitian who can help them determine if they are honestly ready to change. A couple years ago, when I worked with patients who were in the process to get lap bands - I'd say "You've got to go home and try to live the way you'll have to live with the band. Try it out, see how you do. No soda, no juice, no ice cream or milk shakes, small meals, 6 x day. and exercise most days of the week. You see, a self-confessed chocolate addict, (or soda, cookies, ice cream...) is not going to lose any weight with the band if chocolate is the problem unless they learn to foster a healthy relationship with food. Overeating with the band is still totally possible. You just know how to "cheat". Candy goes down really well, so do creamy rich soups and sauces, liquid calories, potato chips.... all the junk. It has no protein, no fiber so it basically dissolves when you eat it and slides right through the narrow band opening, allowing you to continue to eat the way you always have. If you're not losing as fast as possible, the doctor will "fill" the band more. It is like an inner tube - they inject saline into a port directly under your skin on your abdomen, and the tube fills up, creating a smaller and smaller hole for food to fall through from the upper portion of your stomach to the lower portion. So, sometimes they fill the band so much that patients vomit up most of what they eat. But hey ... as long as that weight comes off, what's the problem, right? WRONG.

You should know by now, after reading some of by blogs, that the best indication of fat loss is not how fast you are losing. Quick, drastic weight loss from severe calorie restriction results in loss of lean body mass aka muscle. You will store fat and lose muscle, making your body fat % even higher than it was when you started. Don't do this to yourself.

You can lose weight. You can do anything you put your mind to. Don't start tomorrow, start right now. Go take a 5, 10 or 30 minute walk. Make your next meal or snack something nutritious. Something with a good balance of carbs and protein. Try to eat less foods out of boxes and wrappers, and more foods from the ground. One thing at a time, one day at a time. But please - beware of fad diets. You're smarter than that.