13 Things Nutritionists Wish You Knew About Weight Loss

If you've ever wondered why you've plateaued, or feel like you're stuck in a losing and gaining cycle, your stress and anxiety levels can be to blame. "While calories count, so does the environment into which the calories are entering. Your body maintains a delicate balance of hormones at all times, and if stress hormones are running high, even if you're also [being active], you may find that you're not able to lose weight easily," says Diane Sanfilippo, New York Times bestselling author of Practical Paleo. "We all know someone who seems to 'run a lot' or 'works out all the time' yet maintains an otherwise stressful lifestyle and can't seem to shed the pounds — the reason could be the stress."

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This means you should tune into hunger/fullness cues to determine whether you reallllly want that second chocolate chip cookie or not, and not just rely on what other people around you are eating or seductive marketing. "Are you really hungry? Ask yourself whether a celery stick or apple sounds delicious — if not, you're probably not hungry," says Julieanna Hever, R.D., author of The Vegiterranean Diet.

"Diets lead to deprivation and they just make you want to eat that thing you swore off even more! If you find that you are not able to follow your own food rules, i.e. 'I will never eat pizza again' despite it being one of your favorite foods, eventually your 'rebel' voice says 'screw it' and you overeat," says Rebecca Scritchfield, R.D.N., author of the book Body Kindness. "When you focus more on what you add into your healthy eating patterns — like adding a side of veggies on pizza night — rather than taking away foods you love, you free yourself from 'the diet crazies.' You silence the constant thoughts around food and build trust with your body in a more of a positive way."

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Here's a powerful reminder from Scritchfield: "We are all a part of diet culture that says our worth is in our appearance. Far too often I have seen people espouse their weight loss in before-and-after pictures, selling the secret supplement, plan, or book that works. When a person gives credit to weight loss, rather than the real effort they put in — learning new information, putting time into meal prep and movement, overcoming emotional eating or excessive drinking — it really fuels diet culture by rewarding appearance." This cycle influences everyone and holds us all to unrealistic standards. "It is possible to enjoy your body at any size and take good care of it," says Schritchfield.

"While there are certainly cases where I wouldn't recommend tracking or counting what you're eating (if you have struggled with disordered eating, I caution against tracking), in most cases where weight loss is the goal, tracking is one of the major keys to success," advises Sanfilippo. "I don't encourage micro-managing down to the level of every gram of everything ever eaten, but overall, this awareness tends to create the most success. Weight loss certainly becomes an easier process when you're aware of what's going in on a regular basis, and the mystery is removed when something doesn't seem to be working."

If you're logging a lot of time walking, taking fitness classes, or on the exercise bike, but still feel stuck in a rut, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may give you the jolt you need. "Forget the 60 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical. Instead, opt for a HIIT workout to torch calories in as few as 10-15 minutes a day. When you boost your muscle mass, you will increase your fat-burning potential all day long," says Kansas City Royals' nutritionist Mitzi Dulan, R.D.

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This goes hand-in-hand with the advice above. "The key to success is getting back on track if you have a little splurge or miss a workout. Consistency is the key," says Dulan. Don't let one tough day turn into a bad week or month, but just remember moderation is the goal to any healthy eating plan, and slipping a bit doesn't need to create a domino effect.

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Whole wheat bagels with cream cheese. Fruit and oatmeal. Brown rice with salsa and plenty of guac. A crusty multigrain baguette dipped in olive oil. The reasons to love carbs are endless... And that's perfectly fine! "Carbohydrates are essential in our diet," says The WellNecessities' founder Lisa Hayim, R.D. "In fact, it is the only source of fuel our brains can utilize for energy. However, not all carbohydrates are created equal. You will want to avoid the processed carbohydrates such as white sugar and flour, but tons of unprocessed carbohydrates like fruit and brown rice can actually play a key role in weight loss."

"The number one mistake people make is their belief that they need to lose weight in order to get healthier," says Scritchfield. "In reality, better health is accessible to everybody. All you [need to] do is start making choices that feel good to you and spiral up from there! Studies show that our health improves even in the absence of weight loss with simple physical activities like walking or swimming and intuitive eating (when you listen to your stomach tell you it's hungry as opposed to the clock on the wall)."

Reaching into your inner stores of PMA, or Positive Mental Attitude, is pivotal for lasting, healthy weight loss. "I've had so many clients over the years who have made great changes but feel discouraged by the number on the scale. If you are moving your body and eating clean, keep it up. Often times, you're just a few days away from seeing changes on the scale," says Dulan. And be sure to look for more subtle signs of weight loss such as looser-fitting jeans, a thinner face, and less belly bloat, which don't always register on the scale.

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"We're humans, not calorie equations. We all have a stable, natural set-point weight that is partially determined by genetics, environmental factors, and habits — and not everyone is meant to be skinny!" offers Scritchfield. "It's better for your health to focus on your choices and habits. This approach is better for your mental health, body image, and overall wellbeing."

"When people engage in weight-cycling behaviors, they are actually causing their metabolism to slow down. Repeated weight-cycling also causes disruption in the ability to regulate appetite by decreasing the body's production of leptin, the 'satiety hormone' that helps the body sense fullness after eating," says Scritchfield. "That can cause an individual to no longer able to regulate natural hunger and fullness cues." The bright side? If you positively change habits to improve your health instead of dieting, you won't experience these side effects.

"You often hear that in order to lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit —meaning you need to eat fewer calories than you burn in a day to progress towards weight loss," says Sanfilippo. "While that's true to a degree, the quality of the food you eat can contribute a huge amount to how successful your efforts will be, and how easily you can maintain that deficit long enough to see the weight loss you're working to achieve. Real, whole foods that are high in vitamins and minerals but overall lower in calories — like crunchy and leafy vegetables — will provide your body with the deep nutrition it needs to feel more satiated."

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