In spending years reading, writing, and becoming trained on nutrition and weight loss, I’ve learned that every single program boils down to 3 simple things you need to do to lose weight: eat less, eat more whole foods, and reduce processed food and sugar.
Where we get wrapped around the axle – and where the controversy, complexity, and confusion come in – is how you do them.
Read on for more detail on the 3 simple things to do to lose weight (and how to do them).
Eat less to lose weight
Eating less is a pretty simple way to lose weight. This seems obvious in theory, but difficult in practice for a couple of reasons. First, we don’t know how much we should be eating in the first place. Second, portion sizes have become so distorted that we don’t know what a real portion size is anymore. Third, we don’t know what we should be eating less of.
You must know where you’re starting from so you know where you’re going. And by that, I mean you should know how many calories your body needs so you know how many calories you should eat – or not eat – in order to lose weight. There are lots of calorie calculators out there, but Calorie Calculator is the one I primarily use.
How to eat less:
Eating less doesn’t mean cutting out foods altogether, but it can. However, there’s are simpler ways to approach this without counting and tracking calorie intake to effectively eat less:
- Reduce your portion size: Eat half a serving of french fries, cut your burger or steak in half, and go a little lighter on the food you scoop onto your plate.
- Skip the second helping: Trust me, the 2nd helping is going to taste the same as the first. Take you time to eat and savor the first, and don’t go back for more.
- Don’t super-size: Super sizing seems like a bargain for the buck – and it is, if we’re strictly talking about money. But the extra calories aren’t the kind of currency you can afford to bank.
- Don’t have dessert every night: As a kid you dreamed about being allowed to have dessert every night. As an adult, you now have the power to do so, but it doesn’t mean you should. Make that treat a true treat and indulge fewer nights per week.
Eat whole foods to lose weight
First, it helps to understand what ‘whole foods’ are, aside from it being a trendy supermarket. Whole foods are foods that are not processed at all, or minimally processed. They typically don’t contain food labels with a mile-long list of unpronounceable ingredients. Think whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, eggs, lean proteins, and nuts. They are largely unaltered through the manufacturing process.
How did whole foods make the list of simple things you need to do to lose weight? Well, for one, whole foods leave you feeling fuller longer – without the heavy calorie cost. A pound of watermelon has 140 calories. A pound of milk chocolate has well over 2, 400. A drastic comparison for sure, but you see where I’m going.
How to eat more whole foods
Unless drive-through eating is the only way you feed yourself, this won’t be as drastic of a change as you think. In fact, you might already be eating some whole foods, so introducing a few more as one of the 3 simple things to do to lose weight, you can be won’t be a stretch.
- Fall in love with the produce section: Ninety percent of the foods in the produce section don’t come in packages with long ingredient labels. And you can literally buy one potato, one apple, and yes – one banana. There’s no law that says you must buy the whole bunch.
- Behold the egg: Eggs were once demonized as cholesterol laden villains. Here’s the real deal – eggs contain the good cholesterol and are a powerhouse food that provides valuable protein for your body. If you want, skip the yolk to save on fat or go with one whole egg and one egg white in your omelet or scrambled eggs. All of the flavor with less calories.
- Appreciate frozen fruits and vegetables: Frozen vegetables – and fruits for that matter – get a bad rap. Yet they are fresher than many items in your produce section because they’re frozen at peak freshness. Frozen chopped broccoli can be scrambled up in eggs. Add frozen berries to your protein shakes or smoothies.
- Skip the breakfast cereal: Breakfast cereal, even those that are labeled ‘whole grain’ seem harmless enough, right? Not always. In many cases, you’re better off seeking oatmeal or whole grain breads. These healthy grains contain fiber, which keeps you fuller longer and helps to move cholesterol out of the body.
Reduce processed food and sugar to lose weight
Heavily processed foods are devoid of nutrients like protein and fiber that help keep you full. They also break down differently from unprocessed foods, and your body absorbs more calories as a result, which it stores as fat. Think anything you get at the drive-through window, microwave dinners, sugary cereals, the entire snack food aisle, and anything with a mile-long list of ingredients that don’t roll off the tongue.
Americans consume about 57 pounds of sugar per year, per person. Whether it’s soda, cereal, candy, sugary desserts, or a vanilla latte, regular consumption of refined sugar has a direct correlation to weight gain.
How to reduce processed food and sugar
The simple answer to this is to eat more whole foods. But there are more strategic ways to reduce processed food and sugar as one of the 3 simple things to do to lose weight.
- Reduce consumption of soda and sugary coffees: A Starbucks caramel macchiato contains 240 calories. Even if you substitute skim milk, they’re still empty calories with no nutrition value. Same thing for a can of Coke; 140 calories, lots of sugar, no nutritional value.
- Hit the drive through less: Fast food meals have one thing going for them. They’re fast. Other than that, they are high on fat, low on fiber and protein. Limit your trips to once per week or less, if you must at all.
- Limit white pasta, bread: It’s not about the carbs, it’s about the nutrient density in these foods. White pasta and breads are more processed and have less nutrients than their whole wheat counterpart. Two choices here: limit your consumption of these or swap whole wheat options.
- Skip the snack aisle: Unless you’re checking out the nuts section (in which case almonds, pistachios and walnuts are good choices), skip the snack aisle altogether. Whether you’re cruising through the chips, cookies or crackers aisle, each will have one of these three in unhealthy quantities: fat, carbs and sugar. Instead, get your crunch from nuts or a crunchy veggie, and your sweet from fruit.
Final Words
You don’t have to jump into a whole diet or weight loss program to shed unwanted pounds. By incorporating these 3 simple things to do to lose weight, you can be just as effective with much less stress.