Dietician’s Diets……Which Diet Would a Dietitian Actually Do?

Editor’s Note: As we all continue to be in constant pursuit of the perfect answer to weight loss, particularly as we are aging, I invited my well-respected, tenured Nutritionist/Dietician consultant who works closely with MRG to share her best advice for tips on weight loss and weight loss maintenance. That is what this article from Catherine Kruppa is all about……..

From Catherine: We often get asked which diet we think is best and would recommend. The quick answer is, at Advice for Eating, we do not believe in diets.  You go on a diet and off of a diet.  We believe in living a healthy lifestyle.  However, the answer to this question is not this simple. 

There are ways of eating or “diets” that are specific for helping certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure, inflammation, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and many more.  Yet the majority of people who follow a diet do so to lose weight.

Trendy, popular diets get all the media hype.  Why?  You lose weight fast!  This includes diets like Keto, Paleo, Intermittent Fasting, Ideal Protein, Optavia and everything in between.  The way you lose weight is what you will need to continue doing to keep the weight off.  Here are some questions to ask yourself before starting one of these fad diets:

1. Can I continue eating this way for the rest of my life?
2. Can I eat this way in all situations i.e., dining out, social settings, travel, during athletic training etc.?
3. Does the diet cut out food groups which could leave me deficient in important nutrients?
4. Will this help me change my lifestyle in a healthy way? Or will I do this diet and go back to my former ways?
5. Will the yo-yo dieting that typically accompanies these diets be harder on me emotionally and physically?

One other thing to be aware of with fad diets comes fast weight loss (more than 2 pounds per week) that is not only fat.  Those pounds lost are also water weight and muscle mass.  When you lose muscle mass, you lower your metabolism (the number of calories you burn at rest).  This makes maintaining your weight loss even harder than maintaining at your current weight.

Instead of focusing on a particular “diet”, we recommend primarily choosing whole, less-processed foods.

It is time to ditch the fad diets and try adding more nourishing foods into your day-to-day eating:

• Learn to prepare a few nutritious, easy meals.
• Make eating healthy a priority instead of an afterthought.
• Plan your healthy meals so you rely less on restaurant and fast food.
• Make a grocery list from your plan and go to the grocery store at least once a week.  Stick to the list.
• Stick with regular meal and snack times that work for you aiming to eat every 3-4 hours.
• Eat a minimum of 3 fruits per day and a serving of vegetables at both lunch and dinner.
• Choose healthy snacks such as fruit and a protein (handful of nuts, low sugar yogurt, string cheese or hard-boiled egg)
• Make it easy! Buy fresh or frozen precut fruits & vegetables, pull out your crockpot, or have a handful of go to 30-minute meals.

Depending on where you are in your wellness journey, we recommend that you only pick one of the suggestions above.  Once you have mastered it, move to another one.  Eventually, eating healthy will be a part of your daily life and not seem like an uphill battle. 

For more information and/or assistance with your dieting plans, please contact Catherine Kruppa direct at Advice for Eating(click on website).