Meal Mentor

How I Stopped Yo-Yo Dieting

A meal plan user emailed:

"I was wondering if you could address the yo-yo diet effect. I've been trying to lose the same 20lbs that have come and gone from my body for years."

I did talk a little bit about yo-yo dieting in my post about my experience with it here:

I Have a Confession... (my battle with weight, yo-yo dieting and food addictions)

For me (and the majority of my clients who are former yo-yos) I found we had to come to a place where we accepted some things were just off limits, and that we also had to stay with whatever was working for us. (For me, that's following the meal plans strictly).

Any time I slip and start eating a lot of nuts or avocado, my stomach hurts, and I gain weight. I can't deny that anymore.

I also can't deny what vegan junk food does to me (physically and emotionally) now that I've faced it. And I think THAT is what needs to happen to break the yo-yo cycle. That breath of personal honesty, and then, a serious commitment to do what's right for us.

AND when the temptation hits, I think back to all of my past indulgences. How awful my stomach hurt, the 2-day headache, how I beat myself up as soon as I was done eating, and then bonked myself over the head for days for eating junk, and so on. That helps me grab the strength not to fall down the slide again :) Plus I know I could never stop at one bite, or one brownie. It's not worth opening pandora's box!

The truth is, and I say this as a former yo-yo, there are reasons I gained it all back, or some of it back, and most often, (okay always!), it was my diet. I'd changed my diet. Slipped on my nutritional excellence. Now that I've accepted this, I've maintained my loss for 16 months! And I feel better than ever! (physically and psychologically).

You can do it!

Having a plan in place makes it so much easier -- the meal plans save me from my bad habits!

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Why You Shouldn't Rely on the Scale For Results

A client emailed:

"I am trying to lose 15 lbs. I do some running/walking and some exercise most days just because it makes me feel better, but my weight is creeping up! Could the exercise be a factor?"

It's hard to say much without knowing your stats, and seeing a precise food journal. I'm sorta shooting blind here ;)

What I can say is: Numbers on a scale aren't terribly helpful if that's how you are measuring -- especially if you are exercising, because you could be putting on muscle, which will make the scale go up, but it's muscle, not fat, so you're not *really* gaining. Similarly, you could be retaining "water weight" if there is any sort of inflammation from exercise.

More reading: What Weighs More: A Pound of Fat or Pound of Muscle? (& Why the Scale is a Frenemy!)

That said, exercise *can* inhibit weight-loss efforts (there are just so many ways it can go wrong). I generally advise my clients to lose weight through diet on the meal plans, and then when they reach their goal, to start incorporating more exercise, though it wouldn't cause a gain per se, except in the case of added muscle, as discussed above. Light walking and gentle yoga is fine, however.

More reading: Why Exercise Doesn't Help With Weight Loss

More reading: Why you can't lose weight from exercise combined with caloric restriction

How clothes fit is typically the best indicator, though that can be problematic for women who are lifting weights or doing activities that power up big muscle groups, like, say, training for a marathon or triathalon. Although uncommon, I did have a few clients who worked out against my suggestion to lose weight first, and they came back complaining that while they felt better, their legs/stomach/etc got bigger. Measurements explained the phenomenon: They increased muscle under the curtain of fat which explained the larger physical appearance. (Once they shed the fat through diet, the problem resolved itself and they had very shapely, fit bodies). Though these were isolated instances and as I mentioned, typically only happen with weight lifting or endurance activities.

In nearly every instance of every person I've worked with -- it all came down to diet. Diet was the problem and the solution with weight-gain and weight-loss.

More reading: How the Plant-Based Diet Made Me an Overeater {REVISITED with more honesty}

Good luck!

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My Secret to Losing Weight Without Hunger or Deprivation

If you were given the option of eating 400 calories worth of vegetables or 400 calories worth of chicken, which one do you think would leave you feeling more satisfied?

If you said vegetables, you're correct! But why is that?

While they may contain the same amount of calories, there's one BIG difference: caloric density, or the concentration of calories in a portion of food.

I talk about this in detail in my latest cookbook, Happy Herbivore Light & Lean. In fact, caloric density is the principle on which I base the 7-Day Meal Plans.

I get SO many emails from meal plan users saying how big the portions are and they can't believe how full they feel after each meal. It's simple: More food, fewer calories.

Want to lose weight without feeling hungry or deprived? Focus on foods with lower caloric density (like vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fruits) and you won't have to worry about how much you're eating. Or get the meal plan and let us do the work for you!

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Should You Eat When You're Not Hungry?

A meal plan user emailed:

"How do you feel about eating when you are not hungry? Sometimes the day goes by and I realize I am not hungry enough for all the food on the plan for that day. Is it more important to get the 1200 calories each day or eat according to hunger?"

Generally, you shouldn't force yourself to eat if you're not hungry, though since the meal plans are only 1200 calories, which is usually too few calories for most people, you should be eating the entire meal plan (and have the appetite for it). Eating too few calories won't leave you feeling your best.

If you can't eat the entire meal in one sitting, you could try breaking the meals up into little meals over the day.

That said, you should also never force yourself to go hungry. Most people need more than 1200 calories a day, so it's okay to add a side of greens, a salad, another potato, a can of beans, etc. See the welcome letter with each meal plan for more information, as well as the "add on" suggestions attached to each recipe.

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Not Seeing Results? Here's Why

I recently received an email from a client, who had struggled with her weight for years, saying she didn't see results until she made health a priority, not just weight-loss.

I've actually seen this with a lot of clients, and it's why I preach "lifestyle" and not "diet" because diets only work as long as you're on them.

Sure, weight-loss is one of the many benefits of going plant-based, but there are so many more advantages like better health and overall quality of life.

I love Pam Popper’s combination lock example from her book Food Over Medicine:

“The [plant-based] diet is like a combination lock. If you have to dial four numbers to open a combination lock and you dial up three correctly, you don’t get 75% of the results. You get nothing until you get that fourth number right. And so, we have a society filled with people who are doing 75% of what they need to do or 50% of what they need to do. They don’t get 50% or 75% of the results; nothing happens until they get the whole thing right.”

When I was a personal trainer, and my clients asked me about "cheating" or "cheat" days, I always told them "cheats cheat you." The decision is always yours :)

If you're not sure where to start, try the meal plans! They're great for both individuals and families!

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How To Blast Belly Fat

A client emailed:

"Over the course of a year and a half I have managed to lose over 50 lbs. However, I still have quite a bit of fat on my belly. I've tried different exercise routines in an effort to lower my body fat percentage, but with no results. I eat a plant-based diet with no oil and lots of vegetables. Any ideas as to what's the problem?"

Congrats on the loss -- that's terrific!

See this post about how to lose belly fat: How To Get Rid of Belly Fat (and All Trouble Areas)

If you're not already doing the lower fat meal plan options, try those. It could also be helpful to try the gluten-free options on the meal plans as well. Some users report wheat causes belly inflammation. I have not experienced this personally, but like to pass on their experiences in case it's helpful.

This post might also shed some light: How to Avoid (and Fix) Loose Skin After Weight-Loss

Exercise also complicates things and often makes it harder to lose fat, especially when you don't have a lot left to still lose. There are just so many ways it can go wrong. Exercise creates all these crazy variables. I ran into this all the time with my clients. It got to the point where I wouldn't work with them until they achieved their desired weight-loss through diet alone (or diet + walking or light yoga).

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