“The most common question patients ask me is, which weight loss diet works? My answer usually surprises them, ‘They ALL work!’ Whether it’s eating for your blood type, Atkins, Paleo, Whole30, keto, intermittent fasting, Nutrisystem, or Weight Watchers; if you follow the program, you will experience weight loss. Unfortunately, the results are usually just temporary. Ninety five percent of people that lose weight on a diet will gain it back within a year.
One of the main reasons why so many different diets initially work is because they all have one thing in common—they change a person’s routine. They all promote eating different foods, different ways, at different times. Whether it’s eating grapefruits, or steak, three times a day, changing your portion sizes, or going vegan; when you mix up your daily routine, you will alter your metabolism, change your blood glucose levels, which in turn, can lead to weight loss. The challenge is keeping it off!
The word diet comes from the Greek word diaita, which means way of living. That’s the key to achieving permanent weight loss. In Food Sanity, I share how to get in touch with the true meaning of the word diet, your way of living. This doesn’t just include your eating habits. Permanent weight loss can be achieved by doing three things: Eating healthy, avoiding obesogens (chemicals that cause weight gain!), and getting deep restorative sleep.
Here’s my easy 3-step process for achieving permanent weight loss:
Step 1: Avoid White Foods
If you want to lose weight, live by the mantra, ‘If it’s white, keep it out of site!’ Stay away from white foods! Doing just this, will help keep your blood sugar balanced, increase your energy, help you sleep better, and lose those unwanted pounds! White food refers to those that have been processed and refined, and include milk, flour, pasta, bread, cereal, and anything sweetened with white processed sugar. Consuming these foods can make your blood sugar spike, then drop, causing you to overeat and gain weight. There are a few exceptions to the ‘no white’ rule. Natural, unprocessed white foods are good, including cauliflower, garlic, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, bananas, white fish, and white poultry meat.
The bad white foods make portion control very difficult because they do not satiate well. The more you eat, the hungrier you get. By increasing your consumption of veggies, fruits, and whole grains like oats, barley, rye, and quinoa, you’re getting a great source of fiber, which creates a slower absorption rate and keeps you feeling fuller longer.
Step 2: Deep Restorative Sleep
There’s been a plethora of research showing how a lack of sleep contributes to obesity. A study published in The American Journal of Human Biology, showed that sleeping less than six hours increases a person’s body mass index (BMI), leading to obesity. Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, analyzed sleep behaviors in a completely controlled laboratory environment. The evidence shows short or poor quality sleep is linked to an increased risk of obesity.
When we are sleep deprived, it can wreak havoc on the hormones that affect our appetite and metabolism. Two of the big culprits are the appetite regulating hormones ghrelin (tells your body to eat), and leptin (tells you when you’re full). A lack of sleep causes you to have more grehlin, telling you to eat, with less leptin telling you to stop! Another hormone that rises when you are sleep deprived is cortisol. This is a major contributor to fat accumulation in the abdomen and also increases blood sugar levels.
You should get at least 7 hours of deep restorative sleep per night. Research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows women average just 6.3 hours of sleep per night and men sleep only 5.6 hours. In Food Sanity, I share why we’ve become so sleep deprived and give tips on how to achieve 7 to 8 hours of deep restorative sleep.