Know Thy Enemy—Understand the Science of the Plan You’re On

All weight loss plans are not created equal.  All of them that get any popular traction work, at least for some people who go on them.  But why do they work?

Low carb plans get ketosis working for you.  When you keep your daily carbs below a certain level, you enter a fat-burning state that speeds the process along.  If you’re on a low-carb diet, eating a lovely “healthy” piece of fruit can throw you off for 3 days, but eating some bacon would barely cause a blip.  Carbs are the enemy.

Calorie-restricted plans work a little differently.  The basic equation is: when (calories in) < (calories burned), you lose weight.  Calories are the enemy.  But you have to stay within certain parameters.  I could eat 900 calories a day on Medifast because it was nutritionally enhanced and kept me in ketosis.  But if someone ate a different 900 calories a day, it would shut their metabolism down into starvation mode and they wouldn’t lose weight at all.  There’s a calorie and nutrition threshold you have to stay above on a straight calorie-restricted plan.

There used to be more diets where fat was the main enemy.  However, that’s a great way to lose your gall bladder.  The body needs a certain amount of fat to have your organs function properly, and healthy fats help break down bad fats.

I’m not saying you should be planning to cheat on your diet.  But you need to know how it works, in order to be able to work with it.  You might find yourself having to choose the lesser evils from a work buffet, or being stuck at Disneyland a day longer than planned.  You’ll need to know what things you can fiddle with and what things are hard limits.

Do the research about the diet you’re planning to use.  Make sure it’s one designed by doctors and nutritionists.  Understand why they made the choices they made.  Talk to people who’ve been successful on that diet and find out what worked for them.  Talk to people who failed on that diet and learn why.

You’re choosing health, after all.  In order to choose health, you need to be armed with the right information for making healthy choices.