Weight Loss Tip: Don’t fix what isn’t broken

Have you ever gone on a restrictive diet to lose weight? Many of our clients have been there, done that, and were left in worse shape than when they started.

We get it. If you’re frustrated with lack of weight loss and want to make progress, going on a diet seems like the natural solution.

But is it?

We want to share a case study with you that exemplifies how most women go to much greater (and painful) lengths to lose weight than is actually necessary.

Meet Lisa, a post menopausal woman who was frustrated with the 20+ pounds she had been carrying around for the past few years.

When we first met Lisa, she shared that she’d been on and off a few different diets with varying amounts of success.

Problem was, she kept giving up after a period of time once she got tired of the food or other numerous restrictions she was required to follow.

Lisa’s assumption for her lack of progress was that she was eating too many carbs . . . which included occasional toast at breakfast, banana in her smoothie, potatoes at dinner, and a couple slices of pizza on Fridays, all of which she loved.

But when we reviewed Lisa’s food and lifestyle intake form, we noticed that she actually was eating quite healthfully!

What stood out to us was not Lisa’s carb intake, but that she was eating too much at night.

Digging deeper, we discovered this was mainly because she skipped an afternoon snack, so once dinner rolled around, she would overeat (and eat too quickly). Then she would often continue to snack into the evening, feeling like she had “blown it” at dinner.

NEWS FLASH: Lisa did not need a complete diet overhaul filled with unnecessary restrictions. What she needed was a few key habit changes.

So we sent Lisa home with these 3 pieces of advice.

• Eat a healthy mid afternoon snack to calm down her blood sugars
• Slow down her eating pace at dinner to allow the fullness hormone (leptin) to kick in before eating more than her body needs (and hence feel more satisfied without turning to night snacking)
• Fast from after dinner to breakfast the next morning

With that in mind, we designed a few personalized mid-day snacks for Lisa, and discussed strategies for how to eat more mindfully at dinner.

We continued to work with and coach Lisa for the next few weeks as she slowly shed her unwanted weight. She was thrilled because as it turned out, carbs were not what was “broken” in her eating plan and she realized she did not have to give up some of her favorite foods, as long as she ate them in moderation. A few key habits changes did the trick 🙂

Bottom Line? You don’t need to fix what isn’t broken!

Often, you don’t need a complete diet overhaul, but we frequently see many post-menopausal women not getting the nutrients in the proper balance they need to thrive after 50. That’s why we designed PM Meal Mastery, a scientifically-backed nutrition plan for optimal health, energy, and confidence after menopause. PM Meal Mastery is the nutritional program for post menopausal women who want to fuel their bodies, feel their best, and live and active, engaged life. You can check it out here.