I’m a dietitian, and I’ve been in this field for almost 20 years. But I recently had an experience that made me question just how much of what we’re being taught is really true. The last two weeks have been particularly frustrating because I don’t know if it’s the season or if it was just a bad week — but my clients’ frustrations with their weight loss are also showing up on mine.
The first client I saw during this particular period wasn’t doing too well. She had been taking a “miracle” weight-loss supplement for about six months now, and she hadn’t lost any weight at all. At her next appointment I asked her if she’d started eating more and exercising less since our last visit, and she said yes, so I asked her to keep track of everything she ate and did over the course of the day for one full week.
After reviewing the results from her food diary, I was astounded by just how little she actually ate. We were talking about a few hundred calories per day, which was nothing! And not only did she not lose any weight — she actually gained a pound! Even though she thought she was eating better than before, we both knew that couldn’t be the case. So then I asked her if there were any changes in her exercise habits, and she said no, they were pretty much the same as always.
We discussed this for a while, and eventually I gave her some tips to help her make these small changes, plus some ways to get motivated to stick to them.
When I met with her again after a couple of days, she told me that although she still didn’t feel like she was eating enough (she admitted she was probably right), she felt a little bit better about herself because she was seeing progress. She’d lost another half-pound! And when I looked at her records, I noticed that she had stopped using the miracle pill that she’d been taking since the beginning of our relationship and replaced it with something else.
So I asked her if this new product worked even better than the other one, and she said yes, it definitely did. Then I got curious and asked her why she switched brands; she responded that she was disappointed with the way the old one made her feel. I asked her if she could describe how she felt, and she said, “It felt like I would never lose weight.”
That sounds exactly like what you hear from people who take products containing stimulants such as ephedra or phenylpropanolamine, doesn’t it? They say that the pills will help them lose weight faster, and they think that means they’ll be slimmer sooner. It turns out that these products can cause a host of negative side effects including high blood pressure, insomnia, headaches, and heart palpitations. As a dietician, I am very familiar with these types of stimulants. In fact, some of my colleagues don’t think that the FDA should regulate them because they consider them safe and effective. What makes them dangerous is that they may work temporarily, but once they wear off, people gain back all the weight they lost.
This is exactly why I wanted to see how she’d done on her own without any outside intervention. When I reviewed her food intake records, I found that she really wasn’t eating enough to maintain her current weight. If she maintained her current calorie intake, she would end up around 350 pounds. That’s pretty big! I also learned that she exercised regularly, and she did seem to be losing some weight.
So I asked her if she was getting tired of working out and wanted to do something different. She said she was, so I asked her if she wanted to try the second brand of pill that she’d been taking. Now, this was a real breakthrough — this time she said yes.
As time went on, I noticed that she was taking fewer and fewer capsules, and she was exercising more frequently than ever before. She was eating even less than she did before, and she was looking thinner and healthier. This was good news for her, but it also showed me that there was something wrong with the way she viewed herself. If she was gaining weight when she took the first pill, and now she was losing weight, shouldn’t she be happy? The answer is yes. But what if there’s a problem? Maybe it has nothing to do with the pills at all.
I started asking questions about her health history and how she feels about her body, and I found that she was unhappy. She said that she hates her stomach and is self-conscious about her appearance. She said she wants to lose weight, but she thinks it won’t happen unless she changes the way she looks. And even though she knows that she needs to eat to live, she can’t stand the thought of putting anything into her mouth.
At this point, I knew that we might need a more holistic approach to weight loss. So I suggested that she join a fitness center and start working out with a trainer. I also encouraged her to find a healthy way to deal with stress, and I recommended that she use a journaling system to write down all of the things that bother her about her weight, her body, and her life.
She did decide to give the fitness center a try, and I think it helped her. Her workouts became more intense, and she learned some great exercises to strengthen and tone her muscles. She also began to appreciate her body for what it does, rather than what it looks like.
Her attitude changed, too. She realized that she was the one making her own choices about what to eat, and she was the one ultimately responsible for her weight. She also discovered that she loved being active and having fun.
In addition to the fitness center, I introduced her to a nutritionist who specializes in helping people like her to lose weight safely and effectively. Together, we developed a plan based on foods that are low in fat and sugar, and plenty of fruits and vegetables.
For example, the nutritionist created meals for her that contained whole grains instead of refined ones, and she made sure that most of her carbohydrates came from fruit and vegetables. She also taught her how to create recipes that included lean proteins and healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, and avocados.
And she encouraged her to keep a food journal to record all of the food that she eats and to exercise every day. This helped her realize how many calories she was consuming, and it enabled her to avoid falling into the trap of thinking that she was overeating when she wasn’t.
The change in her mind-set was incredible. After a year of working together, she was able to lose 60 pounds and keep it off!
If your mindset is similar to hers, then you can achieve the same success. All you have to do is look at yourself differently. Instead of focusing on your problems, focus on your strengths. Focus on the fact that you’re alive and strong and healthy, and that you deserve to enjoy life.
Focus on the fact that you have choices that allow you to shape your destiny, and that you can choose to accept responsibility for the outcome of your actions. Finally, remember that you deserve to love your body and treat it with respect and care.
These are the various benefits that a person will get who will plan to use the Leanbean. They are the supplements that are available in both the online and offline store. A person needs to be alert in choosing the set one.
You can do it. I believe that you can succeed in your quest to lose weight and become healthy.