So, you read my last guest entry about how you shouldn't lose weight for your wedding, but you're not convinced. You really, really, really want to lose weight. You need to lose weight. Or at least eat better or exercise or something.
Fine.
First, you should ask yourself, Why do I want to lose weight?
Be honest. Is it because you want to look good (or worse yet, fit) into your dress? Is it because everyone else you knew went on a wedding diet? If so, go back to my last post and read it again. Maybe more than once.
But maybe you're thinking that this wedding represents a new chapter in your life and the perfect time to make some lifestyle changes that you'd like to carry on for the rest of your life. OK, now we're talking. But where do we start?
Realistic Expectations
While we've all seen the ads of the miracle diet or supplement that guarantees losing 10 pounds in two weeks, a realistic amount of weight loss is 1-2 pounds maximum per week. Yes, weight loss can happen faster than that, but usually the faster the weight is lost, the easier it is to gain it back.
Part of the reason behind that is because, believe it or not, our bodies are not simply sacks of fat. There are lots of different things that make up that number on the scale, including bones, muscle, blood, fluid, partially digested food, etc. If you're losing weight quicker than 1-2 pounds per week, in most cases, it's not related to fat loss. That's partially why I don't recommend weighing more than once a week either, so you're not fretting with all those ups and downs.
Should I go on a cleanse?
Cleanses and detoxes have grown in popularity over the past few years. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow boast about cleansing twice a year to "give the body a boost" and help "reset" the system. Many people like the idea of kicking off a diet with a cleanse because they feel that it'll help their bodies burn calories more efficiently.
There is really no scientific evidence behind cleanses and detoxes. If you type in "cleanse diet" in http://pubmed.org, one of the biggest databases of scientific/medical journal articles, the four results that appear talk mainly about bowel prep diets for colonoscopies, and if you type in "detox", most of the articles are about drug detox. Most cleanses and detoxes are vague about what the toxins actually are and don't provide tangible outcomes of when you're clear of these "toxins". Think about it - how is it possible that only being able to choose from five foods for three weeks has the same effect as drinking lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for 10 days?
Yes, many people do lose weight on cleanses and detoxes, but that is only because you're probably eating a lot less food than you usually do, not because you're spilling out poisons from your body that have been trapped for a lifetime.
Should I cut out carbs? Go gluten-free?
While we're no longer at the height of the Atkins craze, many people out there still have a fear of pasta and potatoes. While it's true that we can all benefit from removing refined carbohydrates like added sugar, white bread, white rice and regular pasta from our diet, not all carbs are equal/evil.
One of my theories of why gluten-free has caught on so quickly is because it feeds on that carb fear that a lot of people still have. "Gluten! Now there's a specific reason why carbs are bad, right?"
The reason why low-carb or gluten-free diets work for some people is partly because grains and starchy foods are a staple. Many of us grew up eating huge portions of bread, potatoes, pasta or rice with our meals. When we cut out a substantial part of our meal and don't really replace it with anything, we're cutting out a lot of calories! In the case of gluten-free, it's not just starches. Gluten can be found in lots of processed foods, so some people going on a gluten-free diet end up cooking more from scratch and eating more foods that are naturally gluten-free, like vegetables, fruit and lean proteins, again reducing a lot of calories and leading to weight loss.
You've said "No" to everything! So how do I go about losing weight?
As you can probably guess if you've managed to read everything up to this point, calories count when it comes to losing weight. Unfortunately, there are no exact numbers - because there is so much that affects our weight and because the way we calculate calories in foods can be inaccurate, we can't say that eating X calories will lead to Y amount of weight loss. What we do know is, at the end of the day, any diet that leads to weight loss decreases your calorie intake in some way. Picking a specific diet that works for you means picking changes that you can make that will last for a lifetime. In the last part of this series, I'll share some tips for reducing calories that can be done any time - not just when your wedding's coming up!
Vincci is a Calgary-based dietitian who loves nutritious food that nourishes. She has featured on a variety of local and national media, including Breakfast Television Calgary, Global Calgary, Fairchild Radio, Canadian Living and Best Health magazine. For more information on Vincci and her services, please visit www.vinccitsui.com.
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