A Focus on Habits, Not Weight: A Case Study

Some people think that because I don’t “sell” weight loss, I’m against if you lose weight.

This is just not true.

What I don’t support is intentionally pursuing weight loss through dieting and restriction.

The reason? Because dieting causes weight gain. Think of all the times you’ve lost weight on a diet. How long did that weight stay off? My bet is that within a few years (if not sooner), that weight came back, plus some.

When you restrict your food, count your calories, and track every morsel of food you eat with the sole focus on losing weight, the focus is on all the external forces that manipulate your food intake and how you can shrink your body. The focus is not on the reasons why you eat and how you eat. The focus is not on behaviors that support or don’t support good health. And that’s why the pounds inevitably come back.

Let me explain further with a case study.

A Case Study

J.B. is a 60-year-old man who contacted me at the start of the pandemic. He shared with me that for the past 30 years, his wife has been nagging him to change his eating habits and lose weight. But he had no interest.

A health scare changed all that. He wasn’t feeling well and visited the urgent care center. The doctor took his blood pressure and asked him what medication he was on. He said he hasn’t taken his medication in over a year. The doctor’s response: “do you want to make your wife a widow?”

That was enough for him to reach out to me and make an appointment. I told him at the first session that we will NOT be focusing on weight loss. Instead we will focus on how to best nourish himself, identify his habits that have not been supportive of good health, and also look at how he handles stress, his sleep pattern, and of course, movement. We did this within The 5 Step Nutrition Pillar Program.

Fast forward 8 months, J.B.’s blood pressure is within target levels, his blood glucose has come down to normal levels, and he has lost 43 pounds. The only reason he knows the number of pounds he lost is because he went for a check-up at the doctor and he got weighed. Otherwise, not once in the 8 months did he get on a scale or did we discuss weight loss.

J.B. is amazed that he can turnaround his health without feeling restricted. He is eating delicious satisfying meals and if he wants dessert, he eats it. The difference is, now he is skilled at tuning into his hunger and fullness, respecting those cues, and has more energy at 60 years old than he has had in years! And he takes his time eating, often eating even slower than his wife! This helps him have the greatest pleasure in his meals.

Weight loss is not a behavior. It’s an outcome of habit and behavior change.

In Summary:

Pursuing weight loss → leads to yo-yo dieting and disordered eating → body dissatisfaction → worsens health

Focusing on habit changes → leads to nourishing your body → body appreciation → improved health

If you’re ready to improve your health, without a focus on weight, check out The 5 Step Nutrition Pillar Program, and Contact me.