Thinking about losing weight? You’re bombarded with miracle pills and 4-minute workout programs promising rapid weight loss, but what about shedding pounds healthily? It’s refreshing to see someone achieve weight loss the right way!
If losing a specific amount of weight is your goal, that’s fantastic! Maintaining a healthy weight significantly boosts your overall health since obesity is linked to heart disease, arthritis, cancer, and diabetes.
However, I always urge my clients to look beyond the scale and consider their overall health. Remember, being thin doesn’t necessarily mean being healthy.
Take my husband, for example. He struggled with being overweight throughout his 20s. Although I didn’t meet him until he was 32, he grew up in a typical Italian household where his mom ensured everyone ate well. At 30, he decided he’d had enough and shed 100 pounds, maintaining that weight loss for 35 years. That’s quite an achievement.
He has stayed trim by hitting the gym seven days a week, but his diet wasn’t ideal. Despite his physical appearance, his blood work showed otherwise. His doctor had been recommending statin drugs for years to lower his cholesterol, but he resisted due to potential risks. Living with me, he’s well aware of what I consider a “healthy” diet, yet being aware and committing to it are two different things.
Out of the blue, he opted to start a gluten-free diet on January 1st for six weeks—a bold New Year’s resolution that I was eager to support. He essentially followed the first two detox weeks of my “Today’s the Day” plan and extended it to six weeks. His aim was to lower his cholesterol and lose a few pounds, even though he was not overweight.
During the first week or so, he constantly talked about how he couldn’t wait for the six weeks to end so he could enjoy pasta on weekends again. Interestingly, he wasn’t deprived and often couldn’t finish his dinners.
Six weeks isn’t very long, but people often abandon their resolutions way before then. I was delighted to see he was committed and completed the entire six weeks.
On February 12th, he got his blood work done again. Besides losing eight pounds without ever feeling hungry, his total cholesterol dropped by 35 points, and his LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) fell by 31 points. These impressive results in just six weeks motivated him to continue eating healthily, understanding that his numbers and overall health will keep improving.
I’m extremely proud of him and thrilled he’s experiencing the significant impact of nutrition first-hand. The truth is…
The numbers on the scale are not the only ones affected by what you eat.