What To Eat To Lose Weight

What can I eat to lose weight?

This is a question that I get all the time. Here are a few of the ways this question gets asked:

(Direct) I just need to know what to eat so I can lose 15 lbs.
(Confused) I’m eating ‘right’ but I’m not losing any weight.
(Fed-Up) I’m so hungry but I’m not losing weight.

What can I eat to lose weight is a big question and a lot of people will dance around the answer with:

There’s no one diet that works for everyone
There is no simple answer because of bio-individuality
You’re unique so it depends…

While I do believe everyone is unique and no single ‘diet’ works for everyone. And that bio-individuality is real. I do believe there is a simple answer to this question and it’s all about broad strokes.

Just Tell me what to eat!

Ready to just dive in? Please add your name and email to the form below to get my free 7-Day Meal Plan. You get a daily, visual outline of what to eat (including snacks and convenient store bought substitutions), 25 full recipes, a shopping list and nutrition info. for each day as well as for each individual recipe so that everything is SUPER EASY. No kitchen math for you!

Weight Loss: Things You Need to Know

Health & Body Change, Broad Strokes
Spectrum of Dietary Principles
Spectrum of Health
What not to eat to lose weight
What to eat to lose weight
A 7-Day Eating Guide

Health & Body Change, Broad Strokes

I like to think of health and body changes as working down a funnel. Big, broad changes to start. If those changes don’t get to the desired result then you move down the funnel. As you slide down the funnel recommendations get more and more specific.

The broad changes, at the top of the funnel often create the desired results for ‘most’ people WITHOUT a lot of discomfort due to abrupt lifestyle.

Spectrum of Dietary Principles

I have been working in the nutrition-wellness field for over 10 years. During that time I have had my moments of dogmatic dietary beliefs. I remember thinking ‘this is it, this is the only way’ and ‘I’ll never believe anything else’.

Fortunately, I love to learn. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new. 10 years is a long time and I’ve learned a lot. Over the years I’ve discovered that there is no single answer for how to eat right and stay healthy.

I believe, when it comes to diet and health there are many roads to the same destination. The road you choose has to work for YOU in your real life.

Yes, I love a low carb diet. I also like a keto diet. I’m fond of a paleo diet and for some I think a carnivore diet is great. While I’m not a fan of vegetarian or vegan diets I know that for some that’s what works.

I like to think of all diet frameworks as living on a spectrum of dietary principles. The one thing that I believe healthy dietary principles have in common is WHOLE, REAL FOODs.

Spectrum of Health

Which dietary principles will help you eat and lose weight?

Knowing where you fall on the spectrum of health will help find this answer.

Things to consider when determining where you are on the spectrum of health:

Your Age
Your Gender
Your Current Weight
Your Lifetime Average Weight
Your Health Conditions
Your Prescribed Medications
Your Family Health History
Your level of Stress & Quality of Sleep
Your ability to Exercise

This information will help determine the best (dietary) broad strokes to start with.

What NOT to Eat

Everyone always wants to know what TO EAT but before we can go there we have to talk about what NOT to eat.

Inflammatory foods. Don’t eat inflammatory foods.

Of course now you’re asking ‘what are inflammatory foods’. Again, this can be very individual so it’s best to start with a broad stroke.

The one thing that makes the biggest difference for the most people is getting rid of SUGAR.

Sugar is inflammatory. Sorry, it’s true.

It gets worse. I’m not just talking about candy, cake and ice cream. I’m talking about sneaky sugars, the ones you don’t even know you’re eating.

‘Sneaky’ sugars are any food that converts quickly into sugar once you swallow it.

The easiest way to ditch sneaky sugars without too much thought is to drop the packaged foods. That’s right the easiest way to cut back on sugar ditch prepared, processed foods. Foods that don’t look anything like the stuff they’re made of.

Crackers, cookies, pretzels, pasta, bread, cereal, chips, fruit juice, popcorn, granola bars etc…

Avoid everything that combines high sugar, high fat and high calories. Examples: ice cream, pop tarts, snack cakes, candy bars, cupcakes, donuts etc…

What To Eat

Now that you have an idea of what to avoid let’s talk about what you should eat.

Protein. Eat protein.

I mentioned that there are many ways to get to the same destination but I admit I have my favorites.

Certain dietary principles have proven to be more useful than others for ‘most people’. Remember, broad strokes.

I don’t like to feel hungry or count calories and I don’t want my clients to feel hungry or count calories.

Change is easier when it feels good and it’s fun. For this reason I like my clients to EAT. I want them (YOU) to feel full and satisfied.

When you cut the sugar and eat healthy fats and more protein you don’t feel hungry. You don’t have to count calories. You actually EAT LESS NATURALLY.

When it comes to what to eat to lose weight it’s all about adjusting carbs, proteins & fats.

Think of carbs, proteins and fats as levers. Your sweet spot on the spectrum of dietary principles is all about how these levers are set. Broad strokes will set these levers at a place that helps ‘most people’. As you close in on your health and body goals you’ll adjust these levers more specifically for YOU.

Cheat Sheet

Let’s talk about broad strokes again.

The dietary principles at the foundation of a low sugar (low carb) diet are a great starting place for most people with:

a history of yo-yo dieting
sugar addiction / cravings
daily fatigue
disrupted sleep
weight loss struggles
belly/abdominal fat
low calorie dieting
low fat dieting

A ketogenic diet is a good starting point for those:

with pre-diabetes
with type 2 diabetes
with any inflammatory condition
with a history of obesity
with a family history of Alzheimer’s or dementia
with a neurological condition

A paleo diet is a great starting point for those:

wanting to transition to whole foods
not suffering with a sugar addiction or demanding cravings
who exercise often
who are mostly healthy without a big weight loss goal

Let’s Eat!!

Are you ready to try making some broad dietary changes?

Want to see how it feels to kick sugar to the curb while feeling full and satisfied?

If you’d like to give this idea of eating low-sugar, protein rich real food a test run I’ve made it super simple. No kitchen math, no wondering what to eat. I even give you some ideas for quick, prepared food substitutions that make eating right easy even when you’re tired or short on time.

Just fill out the form below to grab my done-for-you, free 7-Day Low Carb Meal Plan. This meal plan is designed to help you feel hungry and satisfied so you eat less naturally which is the easiest and best way to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF.

It’s a week of real food made easy!! Here’s what you get:

a visual meal outline for each day with daily nutritional information
25 full recipes (enjoy the leftovers) with nutritional information for each recipe
a full grocery list for all ingredients
snack options
no-cook substitutions

Amy White, Functional Nutritionist

I’m Amy a board certified holistic nutritionist, certified functional nutritionist and lifestyle practitioner and certified Life Coach. I help women in midlife understand the changing needs of their body so that they can stop dieting and lose weight permanently. At 56 I live what I teach. Don’t believe the story that your best years are behind you. They are not. Your best years are just starting!

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