Watch now on Netflix. It is with this context that I give you what I hope is a helpful guide to thinking about weight loss. Again, I know how difficult it is to manage one's weight, and how annoying it is to see articles about "10 tricks" that will help bust your belly fat or promises about magic diet-pills and potions.

I know from personal experience that there are none, and I wanted to offer you an alternative, something that actually reflects clinical experience and what science tells us about keeping healthy. I conducted more than 20 interviews with leading diet and nutrition researchers, registered dietitians, physicians, and evidence-based thinkers on weight loss from across North America.

Together, they've written or reviewed hundreds of studies and treated thousands of patients. I asked them pretty basic questions: based on the best-available evidence, what advice do you have for people who struggle with their weight?

What do your patients who lose weight and keep it off have in common? Where do people go wrong? I distilled what they told me, for you. The experts I spoke to all emphasized that science has now shown us, pretty much unequivocally, that all diets — low fat, low carb, Weight Watchers, Atkins, etc.

Consider the findings of Dr. Mark Eisenberg , who looked at the research on the South Beach, Atkins, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets for his recent review. He and his co-authors found that no matter the diet, people tended to lose about five to seven pounds in a year, eventually regaining some of that weight later.

This latest bit of research follows other large-scale studies that have come to the same conclusion. This randomized trial involved women on either low-carb, high-carb, or low-fat diets. The researchers found that, while women on a low-carb diet specifically Atkins lost a little more, weight loss through this diet was "likely to be at least as large as for any other dietary pattern.

Instead of studying the effectiveness of one diet over another, the researchers I spoke to said they were moving toward trying to understand better how individuals — with their varied personalities, preferences, and genetic makeups — respond to different lifestyle changes. The future is in figuring out more tailored alternatives to the current one-size-fits-all approach, they said.

But science and experience have shown us that that's not true. You can save your money, and tune out fad diets that will inevitably come in and out of fashion. There's no need to wedge your habits and preferences into an unreasonable or unsustainable diet plan that time has shown will fail.

Instead, the experts suggested cutting calories in a way that you like and can sustain, and focusing on eating more healthfully. As a guiding principle, Dr. Arya Sharma , director of the Canadian Obesity Network, simply tells patients, "The first thing you want to do is eat regularly.

If you're starving, you're not going to make sensible choices. Then, he tells patients to eat more fruits and vegetables, and fewer "empty calorie foods" such sugary drinks and processed snacks. That's similar to the approach Matt Fitzgerald, author of the book Diet Cults , takes.

He told me he ranks foods on an evidence-based quality hierarchy, from more healthy to less healthy:. If you need an even simpler guide, there's the " half-plate rule ": make sure half of your lunch and dinner plates are composed of vegetables and fruits; the other half, protein and starch.

These are reasonable approaches to eating more filling and fibrous foods that aren't calorie dense — which is what everyone I spoke to recommended. Some of the most compelling research on what works for weight loss comes from the National Weight Control Registry, a study that has parsed the traits, habits, and behaviors of adults who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a minimum of one year.

They currently have more than 10, members enrolled in the study, and these folks respond to annual questionnaires about how they've managed to keep their weight down.

The researchers behind the study found that people who have had success losing weight share a few things in common: they weigh themselves at least once a week. They exercise regularly at varying degrees of intensity with the most common exercise being walking.

They restrict their calorie intake , stay away from high-fat foods, and watch their portion sizes. They also tend to eat breakfast. But there's a ton of diversity as to what makes up their meals. Read: again, there was no "best" diet or fad diet that did the trick.

And they count calories. That last point is one that obesity physician and Diet Fix author Dr. Yoni Freedhoff dwells on.

The food diary should be used before you begin changing your eating habits, to reflect on where you're at, where you may be going wrong, and where you can cut back. Then as you go along in your weight-loss quest, he said, the food diary can help you stay focused.

One of the big limitations of the National Weight Control Registry is that it's not a controlled experiment; it does not randomize various weight-loss interventions to groups of people and then see which ones lose weight. Instead, it takes people who are already successful and examines what they did to be so.

One thing that this group has in common is that they're clearly highly motivated: they continued weighing themselves, tracking their calories, and limiting their diets — long after they lost weight.

A number of the experts I spoke to said the people they've seen experience a sustained weight loss identified their goals and motivations and hung on to them for the long period it took to slim down and keep the weight off.

To tease this information out of patients, Dr. Matthew Gillman, director of the Obesity Prevention Program at Harvard Medical School, said he always starts by interrogating people about their weight-loss intentions.

Equally as important, said Dr. Sharma, is to identify barriers to weight loss. It could be genetic. It could be stress, having a chronic illness, a medication you're on. Obviously, some of these barriers will be easier to overcome than others. Autism Childhood Issues Learning Disabilities Family Caregiving Parenting Teen Issues.

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What's the best diet for healthy weight loss? Weight Loss How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off There's a better way to lose weight. Copy Link Link copied!

Download PDF. By Melinda Smith, M. and Lawrence Robinson. Four popular weight loss strategies Control emotional eating Stay motivated Cut down on sugar and refined carbs Fill up with fruit, veggies, and fiber Take charge of your food environment Get moving Keeping the weight off.

Four popular weight loss strategies 1. Cut calories Some experts believe that successfully managing your weight comes down to a simple equation: If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.

Weight loss isn't a linear event over time. When you cut calories, you may drop weight for the first few weeks, for example, and then something changes.

You eat the same number of calories but you lose less weight or no weight at all. That's because when you lose weight you're losing water and lean tissue as well as fat, your metabolism slows, and your body changes in other ways.

So, in order to continue dropping weight each week, you need to continue cutting calories. A calorie isn't always a calorie.

Eating calories of high fructose corn syrup, for example, can have a different effect on your body than eating calories of broccoli. The trick for sustained weight loss is to ditch the foods that are packed with calories but don't make you feel full like candy and replace them with foods that fill you up without being loaded with calories like vegetables.

Many of us don't always eat simply to satisfy hunger. We also turn to food for comfort or to relieve stress—which can quickly derail any weight loss plan.

Cut carbs A different way of viewing weight loss identifies the problem as not one of consuming too many calories, but rather the way the body accumulates fat after consuming carbohydrates—in particular the role of the hormone insulin.

Cut fat It's a mainstay of many diets: if you don't want to get fat, don't eat fat. Not all fat is bad. Unsaturated fats found in avocados, nuts, seeds, soy milk, tofu, and fatty fish can help fill you up, while adding a little tasty olive oil to a plate of vegetables, for example, can make it easier to eat healthy food and improve the overall quality of your diet.

We often make the wrong trade-offs. Many of us make the mistake of swapping fat for the empty calories of sugar and refined carbohydrates. Instead of eating whole-fat yoghurt, for example, we eat low- or no-fat versions that are packed with sugar to make up for the loss of taste.

Or we swap our fatty breakfast bacon for a muffin or donut that causes rapid spikes in blood sugar. Follow the Mediterranean diet The Mediterranean diet emphasizes eating good fats and good carbs along with large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, fish, and olive oil—and only modest amounts of meat and cheese.

Control emotional eating We don't always eat simply to satisfy hunger. If you eat when you're: Stressed — find healthier ways to calm yourself. Speak to a Licensed Therapist BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more.

Take Assessment HelpGuide is user supported. Learn more. More Information Helpful links. How to Stay Motivated - Srini Pillay, MD, psychiatrist and brain imaging specialist, discusses the missing rewards that motivate healthy lifestyle change.

Harvard Health Publishing Lose Weight and Keep It Off - Smart approaches to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Harvard Medical School Special Health Report Weight-loss and Nutrition Myths - Debunking myths about food, dieting, and exercise.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease Losing Weight - Including tips for recognizing roadblocks and keeping the weight off. American Heart Association Cutting Calories - Strategies for eating more while still losing weight, avoiding portion size pitfalls, and using fruits and vegetables to manage weight.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Low-Carbohydrate Diets - How a low-carbohydrate diet may help some people lose weight more quickly than a low-fat diet. Harvard School of Public Health Just Enough for You: About Portion Sizes - Tips for managing portion sizes at home and when eating out.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease. Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar The Nutrition Source Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health. Retrieved May 15, , from. Fats and Cholesterol The Nutrition Source Harvard T.

Ma, Y. Single-Component Versus Multicomponent Dietary Goals for the Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Trial. Annals of Internal Medicine , 4 , — Making one change—Getting more fiber—Can help with weight loss—Harvard Health. Nelson, J. Mindful Eating: The Art of Presence While You Eat. Diabetes Spectrum , 30 3 , — Research Findings.

Richter, J. Twice as High Diet-Induced Thermogenesis After Breakfast vs Dinner On High-Calorie as Well as Low-Calorie Meals. Struggling with emotional eating?

Sugar American Heart Association. What is the Mediterranean Diet? American Heart Association. More in Weight Loss Healthy Eating Refined Carbs and Sugar: The Diet Saboteurs How choosing healthier carbs can improve your health and waistline 8 mins.

Healthy Eating The Mediterranean Diet This diet can help fight heart disease, diabetes, cognitive decline, and more 7 mins. Weight Loss Emotional Eating How to recognize and stop emotional and stress eating 14 mins.

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Instead, people can consume monounsaturated fatty acids MUFA or polyunsaturated fatty acids PUFA , which are types of unsaturated fat. In some cases, removing certain foods from the diet might cause a person to become deficient in some necessary vitamins and minerals. A nutritionist, dietitian, or another healthcare professional can advise a person how to get enough nutrients while they are following a weight loss program.

Self-monitoring is a critical factor in successfully losing weight. People can use a paper diary, mobile app, or dedicated website to record every item of food that they consume each day. They can also measure their progress by recording their weight on a weekly basis.

Those who can track their success in small increments and identify physical changes are much more likely to stick to a weight loss regimen. People can also keep track of their body mass index BMI using a BMI calculator.

Regular exercise is vital for both physical and mental health. Increasing the frequency of physical activity in a disciplined and purposeful way is often crucial for successful weight loss.

One hour of moderate-intensity activity per day, such as brisk walking, is ideal. If one hour per day is not possible, the Mayo Clinic suggests that a person should aim for a minimum of minutes every week.

People who are not usually physically active should slowly increase the amount of exercise that they do and gradually increase its intensity.

This approach is the most sustainable way to ensure that regular exercise becomes a part of their lifestyle. In the same way that recording meals can psychologically help with weight loss, people may also benefit from keeping track of their physical activity. If the thought of a full workout seems intimidating to someone who is new to exercise, they can begin by doing the following activities to increase their exercise levels:.

Individuals who have a low risk of coronary heart disease are unlikely to require medical assessment ahead of starting an exercise regimen. However, prior medical evaluation may be advisable for some people, including those with diabetes.

Anyone who is unsure about safe levels of exercise should speak to a healthcare professional. It is possible to consume hundreds of calories a day by drinking sugar-sweetened soda, tea, juice, or alcohol. Unless a person is consuming a smoothie to replace a meal, they should aim to stick to water or unsweetened tea and coffee.

Adding a splash of fresh lemon or orange to water can provide flavor. Avoid mistaking dehydration for hunger. An individual can often satisfy feelings of hunger between scheduled meal times with a drink of water. Therefore, people should avoid estimating a serving size or eating food directly from the packet.

It is better to use measuring cups and serving size guides. Guessing leads to overestimating and the likelihood of eating a larger-than-necessary portion. These sizes are not exact, but they can help a person moderate their food intake when the correct tools are not available.

Many people benefit from mindful eating, which involves being fully aware of why, how, when, where, and what they eat. People who practice mindful eating also try to eat more slowly and savor their food, concentrating on the taste. Making a meal last for 20 minutes allows the body to register all of the signals for satiety.

Many social and environmental cues might encourage unnecessary eating. For example, some people are more likely to overeat while watching television. Others have trouble passing a bowl of candy to someone else without taking a piece.

By being aware of what may trigger the desire to snack on empty calories, people can think of ways to adjust their routine to limit these triggers. Stocking a kitchen with diet-friendly foods and creating structured meal plans will result in more significant weight loss.

People looking to lose weight or keep it off should clear their kitchen of processed or junk foods and ensure that they have the ingredients on hand to make simple, healthful meals. Doing this can prevent quick, unplanned, and careless eating.

Planning food choices before getting to social events or restaurants might also make the process easier. Some people may wish to invite friends or family members to join them, while others might prefer to use social media to share their progress.

Weight loss is a gradual process, and a person may feel discouraged if the pounds do not drop off at quite the rate that they had anticipated.

Some days will be harder than others when sticking to a weight loss or maintenance program. A successful weight-loss program requires the individual to persevere and not give up when self-change seems too difficult.

Some people might need to reset their goals, potentially by adjusting the total number of calories they are aiming to eat or changing their exercise patterns. The important thing is to keep a positive outlook and be persistent in working toward overcoming the barriers to successful weight loss.

Successful weight loss does not require people to follow a specific diet plan, such as Slimming World or Atkins.

Instead, they should focus on eating fewer calories and moving more to achieve a negative energy balance.

Weight loss is primarily dependent on reducing the total intake of calories, not adjusting the proportions of carbohydrate , fat, and protein in the diet.

A reasonable weight loss goal to start seeing health benefits is a 5—10 percent reduction in body weight over a 6-month time frame. Most people can achieve this goal by reducing their total calorie intake to somewhere in the range of 1,—1, calories per day.

A diet of fewer than 1, calories per day will not provide sufficient daily nutrition. After 6 months of dieting, the rate of weight loss usually declines, and body weight tends to plateau because people use less energy at a lower body weight. Following a weight maintenance program of healthful eating habits and regular physical activity is the best way to avoid regaining lost weight.

People who have a BMI equal to or higher than 30 with no obesity-related health problems may benefit from taking prescription weight-loss medications. These might also be suitable for people with a BMI equal to or higher than 27 with obesity-related diseases.

However, a person should only use medications to support the above lifestyle modifications. Achieving and maintaining weight loss is possible when people adopt lifestyle changes in the long term.

Just know that because muscle is denser than fat, you might be losing body fat even if the number on the scale doesn't reflect weight loss. Instead of restricting different foods and food groups, focus on incorporating an abundance of nourishing foods that you can add into your diet to promote overall health and weight management.

The water and fiber in produce adds volume to dishes and are naturally low in fat and calories but nutrient-dense and filling.

You can create lower-calorie versions of delicious dishes by swapping out higher calorie ingredients for fruits and veggies. A balanced breakfast — one that is stacked with fiber, protein, healthy fats, coming together in a delicious dish — will revolutionize your day, especially if you are currently skipping it and still find yourself struggling to prioritize a healthy lifestyle.

Skipping breakfast may influence your hunger hormones later in the day, leading to you feeling "hangry" in the afternoon which makes it harder to refrain from oversized portions or cravings for sugary and refined carbohydrate foods. The best, heartiest breakfasts are ones that will fill you up, keep you satisfied, and stave off cravings later in the day.

Starting your day with a blood sugar-stabilizing blend of nutrients will help you slim down. We just don't feel full by liquid calories in quite the same way as we do real food. Drinking a juice or caramel coffee drink just isn't as satisfying as eating a bowl of veggie- and protein-packed stir-fry.

Skipping sugary beverages is often the easiest way to lose weight faster, and bonus, it's good for things like heart health and diabetes prevention too. Monitor your intake of juice, soda, sweetened coffee and tea and alcoholic beverages. If you consume each of those beverages during the day, you'll have taken in at least extra calories by nighttime — and you'll still be hungry.

Incidentally, alcohol may suppress the metabolism of fat, making it tougher for you to burn those calories. Movement of any type can be a very useful weight management tool.

Walking is a great, inexpensive option that doesn't require any extra gym equipment except for a good pair of kicks. One study showed that people who walked 8, steps per day were less likely to become obese, suffer from major depressive disorder and others chronic health related conditions, but any amount is good.

Consider walking for weight loss and better overall health. Slowing down to focus on things like the taste, textures, temperature and smells of what you're eating can help with portion control. But mindful eating also means really focusing on what you're eating and when—this can help you identify unnecessary munching moments you may not realize you're engaging in throughout the day that may be tacking on extra calories.

More importantly, try to avoid eating foods that you don't choose for yourself. Mindful eating can help shift the focus of control from external authorities and cues to your body's own inner wisdom.

Noticing where your extra calories actually come from is another step to making better choices in the short and long term. Spicy foods can actually help you cut back on calories.

That's because capsaicin , a compound found in jalapeño and cayenne peppers, may slightly increase your body's release of stress hormones such as adrenaline, which can speed up your ability to burn calories. What's more, eating hot peppers may help you eat more slowly and avoid overeating.

You're more likely to stay more mindful of when you're full. Some great choices besides hot peppers are ginger and turmeric.

There's a ton of research that demonstrates getting less than the desired amount — about seven hours — of sleep per night can slow down your metabolism. Chronic sleep deprivation may even alter hormones that control hunger, and some studies show that there is a connection between poor quality food choices and less sleep.

Good sleep has a ton of other benefits too, like boosting alertness, improving mood and overall quality of life. So don't skimp on your ZZZ's, and you'll be rewarded with an extra edge when it comes to overall health and losing weight.

Start small with just pushing up bedtime by 15 to 30 minutes, every minute counts! People who log everything they eat — especially those who log while they're eating — are more likely to lose weight and keep it off for the long haul, studies consistently indicate. The habit also takes less than 15 minutes per day on average when you do it regularly, according to a study published in the journal Obesity.

Start tracking on an app like MyFitnessPal or use a regular notebook. It'll help you stay accountable for what you've eaten.

Plus, you can easily identify areas that could use a little improvement when it's written out in front of you. Our nutrition experts stress that skipping meals will not make you lose weight faster.

If a hectic day makes a sit-down meal impossible, stash a piece of fruit and pack of nut butter in your car or purse and keep snacks in your desk drawer — anything that will keep you from going hungry!

Going long periods of time without food does double-duty harm on our healthy eating efforts by both slowing down your metabolism, and priming you for a binge later in the day. Make it your mission to eat three meals and two snacks every day, and don't wait longer than three to four hours without eating.

Set a "snack alarm" on your phone if needed. Potassium , magnesium and calcium can help to serve as a counter-balance for bloat-inducing sodium. Foods that are rich in potassium include leafy greens, most "orange" foods oranges, sweet potatoes, carrots, melon , bananas, tomatoes, and cruciferous veggies — especially cauliflower.

Low-fat dairy, plus nuts, and seeds can also help give you a bloat-busting boost. They've also been linked to a whole host of additional health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, controlling blood sugar, and reducing risk of chronic disease overall.