Have you ever gone to your doctor, knowing you need to lose weight, only to have him or her say, just eat less and exercise more? Or perhaps they told you to start tracking your calories and keep them under a certain number. Those are very generic recommendations and depending on why you are overweight to begin with they may or may not even work. One of the very first weight loss clients I ever worked with completed her food logs and questionnaire and my first comment was that she wasn’t eating enough! In some instances, that can stall weight loss and in her case it was.
One size never fits all, which is why there is no one perfect diet for everyone! Even a recent study confirms that generic weight loss advice not only doesn’t work, but patients tend to lose less weight! The study revealed that patients who received more explicit advice lost an average of 7 pounds more than the generic advice group.
Telling someone to just “clean up your diet” or “eat healthier” is also way too generic. What do either of those things actually mean? So when I work with someone doing my Today is Still the Day 7 Week plan it all begins with a phone consultation, food logs and a detailed questionnaire. Unless I understand where you are when we begin, I can’t personalize the plan to fit your specific needs. And that is the critical piece of the puzzle most generic diets overlook. As I mention in the preface to Today is Still the Day, “any diet will cause you to lose weight, temporarily.” Making lasting changes that improve your overall health is key. And generic recommendations will never address that.
Please don’t think I am criticizing doctors for not giving patients more specific recommendations. I am, however, suggesting that also working with a health coach who is able to focus on you specifically and tailor a plan to address your needs and fit your lifestyle will make all the difference.
I shared my daughter’s personal experience in a recent newsletter and Cindy’s story in a past newsletter, and they both very clearly illustrates exactly why a health coach can turn things around when you are doing all you know to do and are still stuck. Sometimes being overweight is a symptom of another problem, not the problem itself.
Would you consider investing in yourself by working with a health coach? Can you see how it may just shed light on the true issue?
Want to see more articles like this? Subscribe to this blog (just click on “Follow”) and get each new post delivered to your email or feed reader. To follow me and get even more tips on how to live your life in 3-D, including improving your diet, choosing cutting edge nutritional products and effective weight loss strategies be sure to like me on Facebook here and here, sign up for my FREE weekly No-Nonsense Nutrition Report (and get a free gift!), follow me on Pinterest and Twitter!
Make gradual changes. Boost health, vitality and energy. Become your best YOU.
3-D Vitality 
This is so true that docs tell you to eat less and exercise more. I am also not trying to pick on them but they are too busy and too general to know how you personally lose weight.It really was hard to hear the last time my doc said that as I had been eating well and exercising a fair amount. It kinda made me want to give up but thanks to Ann, we kept working at it and found the foods/plan that was better for me to eat that helped with weight loss. She is there to listen and research/give ideas whenever i need them and I absolutely could not succeed without you, my coach, Ann!
Oh I am so happy to work with you and to see you succeed!
Ann, rarely does one size fit all in any area of life. How did we get programed to this it is that way in diet? I appreciate your common sense and informed approach.
Thank you Debbie!
All of this!!! Plus, accountability is huge! It’s easier for most of us to follow through if we made a promise to someone else. Not to mention most doctors have very little training in the area of nutrition.
Thanks Holly.