1. Does Diet and Exercise Really Work?
2. What is the Best Way to Lose Weight?
3. How Fast Can You Lose Weight?
4. What are the Best Weight Loss Goals?
5. What are Some Easy Ways to Lose Weight?
6. What is a Healthy Weight? What are the Dangers of Overweight?
7. Why am I being limited to losing only a pound or two per week? I thought that if you had a lot to lose you could lose a lot of weight fast.
8. Do I have to exercise? I’m so tired all the time, and I just don’t have the energy or the time.

1. Q: Does Diet and exercise really work?

A: Yes. Diet and exercise work well when properly applied to your unique situation. There are no “one size fits all” plans that work for each of us. Because everyone’s situation differs, most successful weight loss programs must be custom fit to your lifestyle in order to be successful for you. Healthy, permanent, weight loss isn’t only about eating the right things, but eating proper quantities and at the right times. Additionally, weight loss usually doesn’t remain permanent without an exercise program to go with it.

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2. Q: What is the Best Way to Lose Weight?

A: The best way to lose weight is to become educated in what foods nourish your body and which foods are deleterious to your health. Education is KEY to successful weight loss.

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3. Q: How Fast Can You Lose Weight?

A: Healthy fat loss (the loss of fat without the simultaneous loss of lean muscle tissue) should be only about ½ to 1 pound per week.

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4. Q: What are the Best Weight Loss Goals?

A: Realistic goals are best. The concept of losing weight “fast” for a specific event usually leads to “yo-yo weight loss” which is very unhealthy. If you need to lose weight for a specific occasion we suggest that you leave yourself enough time to accomplish your goal in a realistic period of time. Truthfully, you should be losing weight for the reasons of being healthy and feeling vital and energetic and for staying that way for the rest of your life.

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5. Q: What are Some Easy Ways to Lose Weight?

A: Weight loss can be easy and believe it or not REQUIRES eating lots of food! You shouldn’t be hungry if you are eating the proper types of food, and you shouldn’t have to weigh or measure portions. Begin by looking at your present diet and honestly evaluating where you are at before you begin to make changes. This can be an emotionally difficult task and may require the help of a professional skilled in weight management, diet, and nutrition. Try to make changes slowly and stick with each change before adding a new one. Severe caloric restriction never works and can be harmful to your health. Too many changes too fast will set you up for failure. A coach or someone you can talk to who is knowledgeable about nutrition can make all the difference.

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6. Q: What is a Healthy Weight? What are the Dangers of being Overweight?

A: There are height/weight tables set up that can give you a general idea about what your “ideal” weight should be, however the concept of a ideal weight is misleading. We are all individual and if you eat a well balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with minimal saturated fats and minimal junk foods your body will seek and maintain its own healthy weight. Being overweight can set you up for increase risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer as well as spinal and joint related problems and arthritis.

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7. Q: Why am I being limited to losing only a pound or two per week? I thought that if you had a lot to lose you could lose a lot of weight fast.

A: Healthy weight loss usually regulates itself to about 1/2 - 1 pound per week because you are losing fat and not lean tissue (muscle). Some people do experience greater initial weight loss which usually settles down to 1/2 -1 pound per week. This process, while slower, produces an overall change in your metabolism so that the weight loss becomes permanent. Yo-yo dieting (the rapid loss and regaining of weight) causes your body to lose lean muscle tissue, which negatively impacts your metabolic status, setting your body up for failure to maintain the weight loss for any extended period of time and usually causing an additional weight gain over and above where you began.

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8. Q: Do I have to exercise? I’m so tired all the time, and I just don’t have the energy or the time

A: Exercise is a critically important part of weight management. It helps to increase cardiovascular fitness and to maintain the all-important lean muscle tissue, which in turn causes a permanent shift in the base metabolic rate of your body (the calories you burn while not doing any activity). Exercise, when performed routinely, will make you feel more energetic. It burns calories, causes increased circulation, decreases stress and leaves you with an overall feeling of well being. Taking control of your health/weight involves treating yourself better. Giving yourself time on a daily basis that is special time just for you is therapeutic and will result in regaining control over this aspect of your life.

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