We Don’t Want Sustainable Weight Loss
I’m beginning to learn something as a dietitian. I have been interested in “weight loss” since I went back to school almost 10 years ago. I learned over the years how absolutely pointless dieting is. We gear up, clean out our pantries, buy all new “healthy” foods that we are going to prepare suddenly from scratch, and then hold our breath while we attempt to go against all of our recently abandoned habits. Some of us last long enough to see a change on the scale or in how we are feeling. We feel super satisfied that we stuck to our diet and are seeing results. Except eventually, life happens. And we miss our old way of doing things. Or we are too busy to prep all our healthy foods. Or something stressful happens. Or this or that….
Diets that are strikingly different than our normal way of eating never stick around too long. They feel restrictive. They are restrictive. When we white knuckle anything, we are holding on for an end. With this approach, true, lasting lifestyle change isn’t usually the result.
Except the thing is, we don’t want sustainable. We want NOW. We want quick results. We want a program. We want a magic pill that solves our problem today. And we pay for it. Americans spent around $75 billion in 2022 on weight loss efforts. Obesity drugs like Wegovy and Ozemipic take huge market share, even though research shows that weight gain is highly likely after stopping the drug. Fad diets, often led by uneducated Instagram influencers promise quick weight loss results, which are often temporarily delivered and then disappear as quickly as you lose your money.
I’ve often heard that working with a Registered Dietitian is people’s “last, best option.” It is not glamorous or sexy to tell someone to be moderate. That it is OK to eat fruit. That eating breakfast is a good idea. That eliminating entire food groups is not advised. But truth is truth. I went to school and put myself on this 10 year path to become a Registered Dietitian to know what the truth is. And I found it. I learned that nutrition can be customized to each person- there is not just one way to be healthy. Sustainable weight loss is weight loss that fits with a person’s individual preferences and lifestyle. Weight lost sustainably doesn’t often come back.
If you are tired of yo-yo dieting and want to know a better way, reach out to a Registered Dietitian that specializes in weight loss. Learning and implementing healthy habits will help you meet your goal in both the short AND long term.
Wilding, JPH, Batterham, RL, Davies, M, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2022; 24(8): 1553-1564. doi:10.1111/dom.14725
