By Andrea Goto
I know the secret to weight loss and it came to me from an expert, my BFF and running partner, Robin, who also happens to be a dietitian.
And here’s the kicker: it’s been the answer to weight loss since the beginning of time.
Robin says it so often—to really anyone who’ll listen and especially to those who don’t want to—that I can recite it on cue: “Eat lean meats, whole grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables and limit sugars and fats.” Sorry if you were expecting something ground-breaking, but the truth is, when the fad diets circle out, we always come back to this simple equation.
Because it works for most people.
Here’s another part of the same equation: weight loss is a matter of “calories in versus calories out.” Figure that most women need somewhere around 2,000 calories to maintain their current weight. Take in less calories and you’re likely to lose weight. Better yet, you can subtract calories by working out and reap plenty of other body and mind benefits.
I can’t even help my 13-year-old with math, so I prefer an app to do the work for me. I like the free MyFitnessPal app for a number of reasons. It has a seemingly endless database of foods so, again, I don’t have to do math. For prepackaged products, I scan the barcode with my phone to log the calories and nutrients (a pie chart even shows my protein-carb-fat ratio at the end of the day). It’s also very satisfying to upload workouts and see my calorie requirement actually increase. Yep, sometimes the app tells me to eat more, and I happily oblige.
The real mind melt comes when I complete my entry and MyFitnessPal reports, “If every day were like today, you’d weigh (insert goal weight) in X days.” The app isn’t clairvoyant; it’s just doing math. Calories in versus calories out.
So why have we been torturing ourselves for years with new diets that promise health and weight loss, most of which aren’t sustainable let alone enjoyable? I guess we like to overcomplicate things; also, the fitness and diet industry makes gobs of money off books, products and (often empty) promises.
The problem with what actually works in the long-term—eating lean meats, whole grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables while limiting sugars and fats—is that no one in the industry is going to get rich selling this “secret.”
Robin and I work out a lot. We also eat a lot. And while I always seem to hover within 5-10 pounds of what I call my “fighting weight,” I’m clear as to why I’m not there (hello, wine and portion control), which also means I’m 100 percent aware of how to get there.
Whether I do it or not, is another thing.
