Have you been trying to lose belly fat? Are you struggling with liking what you see in the mirror?

Well, the answer to weight loss may be different than what you expect! You may be planning right now that once and for all, you are going to go into OVERDRIVE with diet and exercise.

Maybe you promised yourself that you are going to wake up every morning at 5am, only eat oatmeal for breakfast (instead of Dunkin’), and you are buying everying fresh and organic.

However, I have seen in the 10 years that I have worked as a dietitian that this does not work for most people.

Why? Because most Americans are TIRED and STRESSED, and eventually this schedule will become too much for the average person.

Yet, don’t give up hope, I have a few suggestions…

First and foremost, I want you to start seeing your body differently. Rather than continuously wishing that you were the same size that you were at 19, are you having REALISTIC expectations for your body?

Here are some realistic expectations:

1. BMI is NOT an accurate marker for a healthy body. Yes, you can have a BMI that is higher than what is recommended and be healthy. BMI does not take into account muscle mass or variations in body types amongst ethnic groups.

2. Your body will not be the same size that it was in your teens or 20’s. Your body was still developing at that age and everyone’s metabolism changes as they age.

3. You may be struggling with a healthy body image because you still believe that only skinny people are healthy (which is not true)

4. If you are (or know someone who is) a postpartum mother, it is not realistic to go back to your pre-pregnancy weight immediately. Body changes in pregnancy are not just realted to fat. Sometimes mothers struggle with muscle loss as well (such as diastasis recti)

Now, since we addressed setting realistic expectations, here are some suggestions I have:

1. Make sure you are getting enough to eat. No… salad (with no protein or carbs) is not enough for a meal. Not eating enough food wrecks your metablism and increases your chances of developing diabetes. If you struggle to have an appetite, it’s common for low appetite to be related to excess stress (I have holistic recommendations for that… keep reading).

2. Yes… chronic stress can decrease your appetite. Interestingly, it can also lead to excess weight gain.

   • Some holistic recommendations for stress management include…

     • Replace “doom-scrolling” with an audiobook. Excessive screen time right before bed increases your body’s stress response.

     • Try meditating for 5 minutes sometime during the day to RESET.

     • Re-evaluate who you say “yes” to. There may be some people in your life that you are giving too much of your energy to

     • Look at your “go-to’s” when you are stressed. If you have habits that are more hurtful than helpful, it may be helpful to work with a therapist to build different habits.

3. Stop following diets (including 75 Hard, going Vegan just to lose weight, Raw Diet, Mediterranean Diet, Keto Diet, Noom, or anything that you are doing temporarily to lose weight). Reseach shows that diets may have temporary effects, but most of the benefits are lost after about a year.

4. Are you trying to get healthy alone? Consider joining our monthly coaching program. Our program not only provides you with access to educational video content, live group nutrition sessions with a dietitians, an app with access to a nutrition database & barcode to use while grocery shopping, and 24/7 access to our online accountability group in which you can connect with others!

Have a great day! Share this with a friend if this was helpful!