Sustainable Weight Loss: What Really Works

Sustainable Weight Loss: What Really Works

We have sifted through all the best-tested weight loss strategies and come up with what really works. Try these best practices for losing weight and sustaining an optimal weight.

We looked for studies, evidence from real people, and finally tested them on ourselves because we too needed to lose a stubborn belly bump. It was not easy and took us nearly 8 months, with several falls off the bandwagon due to social situations.

While exercise will not help you lose much weight, it is important for improving mood and building strength because, as you lose weight, you will also lose muscle mass. The key is to train your body to a new normal in terms of food intake, moderate exercise, and making good food choices despite an onslaught of social pressures such as family dinners and gatherings with friends.

SOLID WEIGHT LOSS STRATEGIES

  • 1. FASTING

    Many cultures have one form of fasting or another. Only with American marketing did this valuable tool fade away. There are many studies that show intermittent fasting is effective for dramatic weight loss.Watch this interview with Dr. Fung to understand. Start with an 18:6 fasting. That means no eating for 18 hours and eating within the next 6 hours. Then go one better and do the 20:4 fasting. You can try limited dry fasting, but only after you have gotten used to normal fasting. We recommend 14 hours per day.Here is a brief explanation of dry fasting.

  • 2. FRESH FOOD

    Throw out all the processed food, and that includes any frozen dinners. Cooking fresh meals is probably one of the most difficult tasks for people. Learn to cook, experiment with spices, and add plenty of vegetables. (See meal plan below). But don't eat the same healthy food over and over again because even good stuff can become toxic if overeaten. Eating a variety of food also gives you a diverse range of nutrients as well as bacteria that are essential to the proper functioning of our immune system .

    Weight Loss Meal Plan (Pdf) 

  • 3.ELIMINATE BAD BACTERIA

    There is evidence that people with diabetes or weight issues lack certain bacteria or even have bad bacteria. Different types of pickles (Kimchi, Sauerkraut, lime, etc.) will help you populate your gut with good bacteria. Eat this 1-2 times per week. We are not fans of commercial probiotics. Pickles are a better source of good bacteria, can be homemade, and are much cheaper. However you must also feed the good bacteria with plenty of fiber fespecially from vegetables especially dark leafy green vegetables which is their food of choice. Otherwise they die off. Check this video out.


  • 4. LESS CARB MORE PROTEIN

    This is a radical diet involving 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs. .Visit our Keto diet resource guide here. It is very tough to do as your body has to be keto-adapted.

    Watch this video from Dr. Burg which really explains it very well. Watch all his videos. We are fans. It took us nearly six attempts, but it works. You will get Keto flu at the beginning, but push past that.

  • 5. GET RID OF SUPPLEMENTS

    Like drugs virtually all forms of supplements contain all manner of additives. And they are corrosive on your stomach lining. And some like Omega 3 according to thisHealthline article, can raise blood sugar levels. In some ways, supplements are even worse than medication.We list dangers of Cinnamon supplement here, which applies to most supplements. Spend the money on real food.

  • 6. CUT THE SUGAR

    • That includes honey and fruits, which are sugar. All indications are that sugar is more addictive than cocaine. Emerging evidence suggests sugar is the major cause of cholesterol, brain illnesses like Alzheimer's/ADHD/Parkinson's, wrinkles on your face, Candida overpopulation, toenail fungus, and cancer. It seems like a heavy price to pay for having something sweet even occasionally.Watch this documentary on sugar.

  • 7. AVOID SWEET THINGS

    Did you know that sugar stimulates hunger?This NY times article confirmed our suspicions. That means your sugar has to be zero before you even start to lose weight. There is plenty of residual sugar in your system which might take 2-3 days or even a week to purge from yourbody, as shown on this Dr. Oz show.

  • 8. CUT THE FRUITS

    You probably thinking surely you need Vitamin C from fruit. This is not true. Most vegetables provide plenty of Vitamin C without the sugar. Yellow Bell pepper for example has 305% Daily value of Vitamin C compared to 88% for orange juice. Vegetables will provide all the vitamins and minerals that fruit will provide without the sugar.Read our blog post on what cravings mean and which vegetables can replace fruit. Avoid all forms of sugar, even honey.

  • 9. GET SLEEP

    Without a doubt, proper sleep is essential for weight loss, which means 7-8 hours of continuous sleep per night. We have tested it and it works. More than 80% of your weight loss is exhaled as carbon dioxideaccording to this cool video. So, maybe that is how good sleep works. Dr. Matthew Walker in this speech at Google tells you how lack of sleep can destroy your healthin this video.

  • 10. WATCH THE CALORIES

    You should aim for even a small a caloric deficit. Start small (say 500 calorie deficit), maintain that for 2-3 weeks. Then go to a lower level in a step pattern. Remember, your calorie targets will have to be reduced as you get slimmer. Use this Calorie counter to calculate your calorie target.

  • 11. ADD PICKLES

    Get yourself a variety of pickles. Studies show people with weight issues or diabetes have a very limited amount of good bacteria in their stomach. Good bacteria are essential to your immune system, especially for weight loss. Make some homemade pickles, but eat a wide variety of pickles.

  • 12. SET WEIGHT GOALS

    Weigh yourself everyday. It will make you self aware and make your more accountable. Use this site to calculate your ideal weight. Then calculate your ideal waist size which according to Dr. Oz should be half you height. Print this in big bold letters and paste it to the wall in your bathroom.

  • 13. WATER

    As we get older our thirst receptors become inefficient and we mistake hunger for thirst. While Water doesn’t “burn fat” directly, but it plays a surprisingly important supporting role in weight loss. Most of its effect is indirect—helping you eat fewer calories and keep your metabolism working efficiently. Water also supports fat metabolism indirectly. Your body needs adequate hydration for normal liver and kidney function, and for breaking down stored fat efficiently. When hydration is poor, energy levels and workout performance often suffer, which can slow progress over time.

  • 14. MCT OIL

    Watch this video by Thomas DeLauer on the benefits of MCT oil for fat loss and appetite suppression. We found that taking MCT oil in the evening in lieu of a meal works best.

    When you first take 1-2 tablespoons of MCT oil, your stomach will rumble, and you might need to rush to the toilet a few times, so it's best to be at home. After a few times, this rush to the toilet will subside. We recommend taking it three times per week because too much MCT can upset your stomach. Besides, it's not exactly pleasant tasting, but it's very effective.


  • 14. MAINTAIN WEIGHT

    Once you have reached your weight loss goal, maintain it. Eating a dessert? Chase it with a cup of Ceylon Cinnamon to wash away the blood sugar. You can have an occasional cheat meal but you will have to compensate by getting into a caloric deficit equal to the excess you ate and perhaps some high intensity exercise and fasting is needed then. But don't overdo the exercise

WEIGHT LOSS HACKS

Everyone tells you what to do to lose weight but nobody tells you how to overcome all the challenges of weight loss. Like nausea, fatigue, brain fog, lethargy, and generally just not feeling well. We all know it is easier said than done. How do you overcome the feeling of hunger, reduce cravings, and the pain of weight loss? We think these points will help you. It did for us.

  1. Take a photo of your body everyday. Strip down to your underwear and take a front and side profile shot every day. With the advent of cell phones, this is easy to do. Watch plenty of before and after weight loss videos on YouTube, which are inspiring. These people have done it and show the evidence, unlike those who just preach.

  2. Measure your belly every day and write it down. This frustration will be motivating. Then suddenly, when you start to see the belly go down, you will get excited. Be warned, it will take many weeks before you start to see the belly size go down. You will lose fat from every other part of your body first.

  3. Weigh yourself every day - We know everyone says not to weigh yourself every day, but that is nonsensical. Although your weight will vary widely from day to day, you will start to notice the trend. Smart scales that measure body fat, muscle mass, water weight although not accurate is very helpful to measure the the general direction of weight loss. But the cheapest one which is about $20. All you need is the trend not accuracy per se.
  4. Avoid social eating - That means you will have to cut off yourself from any social eating situations, be it a family gathering or meeting friends for a meal. This is a huge area where people fall off the bandwagon. The social pressure to eat, often bad quality food, is one of the biggest setbacks you can experience.

  5. Nausea, cravings and carb withdrawal - Nausea, cravings, and carb withdrawal - This hit us pretty hard, especially due to the lack of carbs. We went zero carbs, which was too much. So we set a target of three months and gradually reduced carbs. First, we cut the bread and pasta and just kept the rice. Gradually, we reduced the rice to one cup. That is the best we could do, and it was good enough.

  6. Sugar cravings - This was hard. We discovered that adding heavy whipping cream to our coffee cut the sugar cravings. This is an interim measure as cream will also spike insulin. Add some some lime with crushed ice to our water, helped cut food cravings. Also, try dark vegetables drizzled with toasted sesame oil, which also dull the sugar cravings. Eat some nuts, but not too much.

  7. Extra salt - The recommendation to cut salt is for people who eat highly processed food. If you eat healthy fresh meals, add sufficient salt to make it tasty, maybe even a little extra. . This article from the Guardian raises some interesting questions about salt. We found adding lemon and lime, as well as Cinnamon, made our food very savory and tasty. It compensated for the sugar and carb withdrawal.

  8. Eat high quality food - This often means organic. It is so expensive you will have to buy less, but they also taste far better. Plan your meals. We fell into this trap too, running out of healthy meals after 4 days and reaching for sugar. It takes practice.