“Eat more veggies”
This advice on weight loss – although not necessarily harmful but still particularly unhelpful is thrown around more than food puns on #NationalFoodPunDay.
Now you might be thinking, “what?! April, of course vegetables are good for weight loss. They’re so healthy!”
Let’s get one thing straight:
While yes, vegetables certainly supply us with loads of nutrition like:
- antioxidants
- vitamins
- minerals
- fibre
But weight loss is a side-effect of something much more than just munching on a few extra carrots every day.
If weight loss was as easy as eating more vegetables, you wouldn’t be looking for a solution to tame your muffin top!
And now you’re thinking, if vegetables won’t help me lose weight, April then what do I eat?!
Look, the struggle to know what to eat is real.
You want to lose weight but you don’t want to have to suffer.
And you don’t want to have to give up your favourite foods.
And you certainly don’t want to order grilled fish and tossed salad when you go out with the girls (where’s the fun in that?)
Plus, when you have a young family, you don’t want to be cooking 2 suppers every night.
But you have to get supper on the table every. Single. Night.
It’s not easy.
But it can be easier.
You can lose weight.
And reverse your prediabetes.
You can cook healthy meals for your family and still have time to go for a walk with your neighbour or help your son with his Math homework.
But here’s the thing my friend:
To do this, you’ve got to set yourself up for success.
There are countless diets to try and oodles of gimmicks to follow but if your weight loss strategy doesn’t do these 2 things, you may as well have a Snickers for supper.
And it’s these 2 things:
- Your plan must work
- And be one you can follow for life.
A little back story on this….
I remember I was at a conference in Toronto last year and a weight loss researcher was giving a presentation.
After she was done, she stayed on stage to take audience questions.
Now keep in mind, this woman is one smart cookie:
- she’s got a PhD
- she’s the author of several best-selling books on diet, nutrition and weight loss
- and she’s clearly a respected expert in her field as a go-to expert
Personally, I respect her and her opinions too.
But what happened next was the most interesting thing to me.
Someone asked her what she thought the “best diet” was.
And she replied that that the best diet is the one you can follow.
And I thought about that for a while. And in part I agree with her.
But only about ½ way.
And that’s because there’s actually another part that in my opinion just as important.
And that part is that it must work. It must get you results.
Like if you go to a wood sign making class and come out with a balloon animal, as cute as it may be, that’s not what you went in for.
Because if you can follow it for life but it’s not effective then what’s the point?
And if it’s effective but you can’t follow it for life, insert many high protein/low carb diets here, then you’ll lose weight but just put it right back on again.
Because why start a diet and then stop?
You’re not interested in quick fixes anyways.
This has gotta be for life.
It doesn’t have to be hard or a struggle.
All you need is a plan that works, for life.
Forget the quick fixes and empty promises.
Fuel with whole food and make peace with carbs – you can eat carbs and get rid of your prediabetes.
Start with my latest freebie:
14 Healthy Lunches You Can Make in 90 Seconds Flat (they’ll help you tame your muffin top, too)
Hugs and high fives,
~April
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