Ask Keri: What’s the best way to lose 10 pounds?
Keri Says: There are many healthy, balanced ways to lose ten pounds that don’t involve yo-yo dieting. But here’s a question you should ask yourself before you start making a plan:
Do you really want to lose ten pounds?
“Losing ten pounds” at some point became a sort of shorthand for “resetting your health.” It’s a go-to strategy people turn to after an extended period of indulgence (i.e. holidays or vacation) or anytime they’re feeling like their health needs a kickstart.
Why ten pounds? Maybe it’s just a round (no pun intended) number that appeals to our desire for simplicity. And you know, it’s a small enough number that it sounds doable but a big enough number so that it could really make a difference. For some people, losing ten pounds could be a great first step towards adopting a healthier lifestyle.
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The problem is that we end up mixing up—or equating—the idea of “losing 10 pounds” with “getting healthy.” “If only I could lose ten pounds,” we think, “then I’d look better, I’d be more self-confident, I’d want to exercise more, I’d have more energy…”
In fact, the change you need for all of the elements of your most Nutritious Life to fall into place is totally unique and may or may not have anything to do with pounds. The questions you need to ask yourself are:
Is weight really the issue?
For instance, maybe you’re at a healthy weight for you, even if it’s not the weight you wish your body was made for, and “losing ten pounds” is something you try over and over only to gain it right back and end up miserable. In that case, you’re going to be much healthier if you work on your inner self rather than cutting carbs. Maybe that means committing to a meditation or self-care practice to boost your confidence and cultivate happiness from the inside out.
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Or maybe you’ve got that “heavy” feeling for underlying reasons that need to be addressed. For instance, you’re not sleeping properly or you’re insanely stressed, so your cortisol levels are spiking all over the place and you’ve got no energy to get out of bed, let alone go to the gym. In that case, forget about focusing on dropping weight—focus on the specific issue that needs work, and fixing it will lead you closer to your healthiest weight, naturall
Do you really want to do the work?
It is super easy to “want” to lose ten pounds, but most people don’t want to adjust their lifestyles to meet that goal…and that is often okay.
Living ten (or, okay, maybe five ) pounds heavier in a healthy way while enjoying indulgences here and there may actually be how you want to live; you’re just so used to saying you want to lose weight, you assume you should. I’m not making excuses to keep weight on, but it is important to reflect on how much you really want to lose vs. how much work it’s going to be and and whether you’ll be able to make and sustain the changes that need to be made. Ultimately, if you live your most Nutritious Life, it won’t feel like work at all and you will fall at that best weight.
In the end, if you do ask yourself the question and find that you’ve been living a pretty healthy lifestyle and just fell off track for a bit, get at those ten pounds the healthy way, with these ten tips.
Or, perhaps YOU want to be a nutrition coach and learn how to help yourself AND then make an impact and help others. If so, check out the Nutritious Life Studio—to get started!
(Photo: Shutterstock)
