Q: What’s the single most frequent piece of advice you give clients who want to lose weight?
A: At the most basic level, weight loss is no mystery. It’s a simple calculation – fewer calories in than out for as long as it takes to get to your ideal weight. That’s accomplished most healthfully by exercising regularly at progressively challenging levels for a few to several hours a week while eating foods with a higher ratio of nutrients to calories (vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber) and avoiding excessive volume.
But on an individual basis, what you need to make a primary focus depends on what you’re not already doing but should be.
For many people, exercise and healthful eating habits need to be addressed to make significant progress toward losing weight. But for some, more attention should be paid to one area or the other. I have clients who already are conscientious about the quality of the calories they take in and rarely overeat. But they are a small minority. Most people who exercise are not nearly as disciplined during the day about their eating choices. If I had a dollar for every regular exerciser who is frustrated about not losing the fat they had hoped to peel off at the gym, I’d be a wealthy man.
Why is that?
Because the momentum of our past eating habits is very strong. When we start exercising, although we’re burning more calories, the natural adaptation is to eat just about as many additional calories as we burned. The result is a weight loss plateau. Again, this is extremely common.
Now, if you were paying attention, you may have noticed that we’ve narrowed the area of weight loss to the topic of nutrition, and further still to composition, or “what” you’re eating rather than how much. Overeating is common, especially “back-loading," or consuming more calories late in the day when the metabolism has slowed.
But the question was about the most common piece of advice I give clients. You may be surprised to find out that most people have an easier time being conscious about how much they’re eating than what they’re eating.
So now we’re down to the heart of the matter, which is, what one thing you can do to have the biggest impact on your effort to lose weight. Here it is. Are you ready?
Eat more vegetables.
What? Nothing radical? Nothing revolutionary? Nope. Simple, powerful and reliable, but not glamorous.
But consider this: A single tablespoon of peanut butter is nearly 100 calories. You would have to eat nearly two cups of broccoli to match that.
I’ve had clients shift from less than 10 percent of their diet composed of veggies to a more reasonable 20 to 25 percent and trim 500 calories or more off their daily calorie totals and still feel satisfied. Do that for a week and you lose a pound. Do it for a season and lose 15. In a year, a significantly overweight person could lose more than 50 pounds with no other lifestyle changes.
Simple, right? So, get out there and stock up on veggies! Here are some great sources for local, fresh produce:
