The Secret to Weight Loss

Come one, come all! Gather around as I tell you tales of my super secret way to instantly drop pounds while not having to change any of your habits. Is it a pill? Is it a wrap? Is it a cream? Is it a mysterious surgery?

My secret: Those secrets don't work,. If a pill could make you drop pounds and not do long term damage to your body, it would be readily available and everyone would be taking it. If a wrap could melt away pounds, dietitians would readily have them on hand instead of helping people create a diet that works for them. Body builders and athletes would spend their day spreading creams all over their body instead of hitting the gym. The only surgery that will get you long term weight loss results is if you cut off an appendage. So if you want to sacrifice your leg to drop some pounds, be my guest, but removing a part of your stomach will certainly cause long term damage to your body's metabolism and ability to properly absorb nutrients. If these secrets worked there would be no overweight people and gyms would be closing all around the world. Instead obesity is on the rise and gyms are almost as closely clustered as fast food restaurants.

The secret to weight loss is not so much a secret. It is hard work with meal planning, preparation and exercise. It is having the commitment to your program to stay consistent with it through your proper phases of weight loss, maintenance and/or mass gain. It is acceptance that you and no one else is perfect. What you see on social media and in magazines are what people want you to see. Do you really think the Rock eats 6 pounds of cod every week? I bet a doughnut or 3 sneaks in his diet every once and a while.

At Ideal Core we like to follow some hierarchy of importance when taking a look at your nutrition plan. We commonly see two types of people. The majority of our clients are very step oriented. Focusing on behavioral changes such as increasing the amount of protein and vegetables in each meal, tracking food, drinking more water...

We start these clients with making better meal choices then progress to putting an emphasis in tracking their nutrition and manipulating macro nutrients (carbs, proteins and fats). A common mistake I see for many people is that they automatically start eliminating food groups or start trying to manipulate the amounts of carbs and fats they are taking in when a simple step of "having more vegetables with each meal would make a better long term result for that client. It would be silly for someone to ask you to run before you walk.

The second type of client we see is the all in member. This is a very small percentage of people who are successful with this path, but most members will automatically be drawn to this path because they feel it will lead them to quicker results. Notice consistency and calorie balance still dominate this path. Without these two keys the timing of your carbs around your workout or changing the amount of carbs and fats will have very little importance in long term results.

This path takes much more discipline but may be necessary if you are looking to drop those last five to ten pounds to let that six pack shine through, but if your just looking to drop some weight supplements, food composition and nutrient timing only make up 15% of your journey! Very little return for the hard effort.

As you can see from the paths above, there is no secret pill, wrap, patch, surgery etc. The key to weight loss is finding the right steps that work for your lifestyle and applying those with 80-90% consistency. Most people want a quick fix and solution to their problems. Quick weight loss fixes always have their results quickly return. Having a certified Fitness and nutrition coach can greatly increase your chances of having the long term results you are looking for. They are trained to help develop the proper steps for you and help you to keep accountable to your goals. So take a look at your next year weight loss plan: Would you rather drop 30 pounds and put on 35? Or have a plan that took you through 3 phases of 12 pound weight loss results that had a net loss of 36 pounds over the year?

If you want to take the time, put in the work and get the results that will last, head to our page Ideal Core and let us know you want to schedule your free nutrition consultation.

Photo Credit: Renaissance Periodization: https://renaissanceperiodization.com/