NAVIGATE

Kris Carr

Wellness

How to Lose Weight the Healthy Way

Hiya Gorgeous,

Fast and unhealthy weight loss is one of the most widespread obsessions in our culture today.

Why wouldn’t it be? On a daily basis, we’re bombarded with unrealistic body messages in the media, we’re part of social conversations and judgments focused on physical appearance, plus we put pressure on ourselves to be a size “perfect” every time we see ourselves in the mirror.

I know how harmful this can be. In my teens, I was a hardcore ballet dancer. At dance school, my weight was constantly scrutinized by teachers and peers. I became so obsessed, I weighed myself twice a day, cut my calories in half and developed an eating disorder. Those scars and my unhealthy approach to dieting stayed with me long past my dancing career. It wasn’t until my cancer diagnosis inspired me to take care of myself—inside and out—that I healed my relationship with food and my body and started building a positive self-image.

How many of you were raised in a family or environment where people were constantly dieting, saying they were “fat” and putting themselves down because of the numbers on the scale?

Raise your hand if you start sweating when you think about how you’ll look at an upcoming high school reunion, wedding, holiday party or beach vacation. The pressure we put on ourselves to drop pounds fast is not only bad for our hearts and minds, it also takes a toll on our bodies. Frankly, the lose-weight-quick promises on books and products are ridiculous and dangerous.

Let’s get one thing straight before moving on: You are gorgeous, valuable and amazing just the way you are.

What I’m about to share is for those of you who want to lose weight in a healthy, balanced and realistic way. The weight loss process can actually be a healing experience when you focus on your overall wellness and accept that it will take time to reach your goals.

When it comes to sustainable, long-term weight loss, slow and steady is the name of the game. Last year, about 3,000 people participated in my 21-Day Total Wellness Program, Crazy Sexy You (CSY). And, they lost over 10,000 pounds, but more importantly, they became healthier, happier, more connected folks who reached countless other health goals—beside weight loss.

That said, the average weight loss was about 6 pounds over the course of those three weeks. SIX! That may not sound like a lot to you, but keep in mind that these pounds are far more likely stay off. And, that’s because Crazy Sexy You includes healthy whole grains, plant-based protein, fruits and veggies, lots of water, proper rest, meditation and simple exercise.

Now, some people lost significantly more than the average, but that often depended on how much the person had to lose and generally settled into the range I’m describing. The point is, if we want to get healthy, we need to do it in a sustainable way that works for our bodies and lives.

I’ve kept up with our program participants and those who continued to follow the principles of the plan are still losing weight in a healthy way. No deprivation, harsh inner critics, yo-yo dieting or obsessive weight checks. Just good food, self-care and movement. You can actually hear their inspiring stories first-hand by watching their transformational stories unfold in these videos.

So, if you’re ready to approach weight loss with a self-loving, body-nurturing attitude, read on…

 

How to Lose Weight in a Healthy and Sustainable Way

1. Shoot for no more than 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week

Again, I know it might sound like a snail’s pace, especially if you have 50 or 60 pounds you want to lose, but shedding 1-2 pounds per week is going to get you to your goal and help you stay there. One pound is equivalent to 3500 calories. So if you lose 1 pound in a week, that means you’ve eaten 3500 fewer calories that week or burned an extra 3500 calories (or a combo of the two). Here’s a fun way to think about it: If you were to hold a pound of fat in your hand, it’s about the size of a small butternut squash. Oh, my gourd! At that rate, you will have lost 25 squash in six months. Bravo!

2. Switch your weight loss mindset

Slow it down and be gentle with yourself. Take the pressure off and open your mind. Let go of the all-or-nothing beliefs, fads and myths you’ve picked up along the way, especially when it comes to carbs. Sometimes we can feel like a big failure when it comes to weight loss if we slip up and eat the “naughty” foods. If you’re feeling caught up in the stress, then I’m handing you a free pass to forgive yourself! Focus on all the other areas of your life that you’re successful in.

Instead of striving to just drop a certain amount of pounds, shift your mindset to improving your overall wellbeing with healthy foods, exercise you like, and self-care. When you do, the weight loss will inevitably follow.

3. Weigh yourself no more than once a week

To be honest, I stopped weighing myself long ago. But if you’re curious (and hopefully not obsessed) here are some things to keep in mind. Your weight can fluctuate 3-4 pounds from day to day due to sodium intake, water loss, dehydration and even hormone levels. If you’re stepping on the scale each morning, you may feel on top of the world one day, only to find yourself frustrated the next. Avoid this roller coaster by picking one morning a week to weigh yourself, and do it before you eat or drink anything. These numbers will be much more reliable. There’s a caveat, though. Don’t panic if you’ve been eating a veggie-loaded healthy diet, guzzling H2O and exercising regularly and your weight is going up. You’re likely building muscle. Just keep up the great work and read tip #4. In time, the number on your scale will shift.

Our Nutrition Director, Jen, also recommends skipping the scale altogether, especially in the beginning. Instead, wait until your clothes start fitting more loosely. In the meantime, just focus on getting in touch with your body’s hunger and satisfied cues, as well as your energy level. Since you know that eating healthy plant-powered foods, skipping the junk and alcohol, prioritizing sleep and exercising more will get you to your goal, it’s helpful to create habits that will support sustainable weight loss and health first. The scale can come later when you know you’re moving in the right direction and just need a motivational boost.

4. Consider taking your body measurements and tracking body fat percentage weekly

As we just discussed, it can take a few weeks for the scale to reflect overall weight loss, especially if you’re exercising and eating a balanced, non-fad diet. Again, this often means that you’re building muscle. So, your fat cells are decreasing in size while your muscle cells are growing and getting more dense. If you’ve taken your “before” hip, thigh, waist and arm measurements, as well as your body fat percentage, you’ll likely see all those numbers drop on a weekly basis. This lets you know that you’re on the right track at a healthy pace. Plus, seeing improvement through this lens boosts your confidence and commitment. Crash diets and fad diets typically result in fast weight loss, but you’re losing muscle, not fat. So, you may be getting thinner, but your body is less toned. And, I assume that’s not one of your goals!

5. Beware of the things that can hinder weight loss success

Stress is probably the biggest block to weight loss, and being stressed about your weight can really slow down your progress. If you’re feeling this way, consider using some relaxing essential oils, routinely getting a good night’s sleep and meditating daily. Practices like these will help calm your nerves and promote balanced and long-term weight loss. And stress can often be the result of the pressure we place on ourselves. Sometimes when we stop trying, things happen naturally—even weight loss. Make a promise to yourself that for 3 weeks you’re only going to focus on healthy foods, movement, and getting rest. Without unhealthy expectations, you’ll feel better, stress less, adopt healthier habits and focus on your wins, instead of a number.

A slow metabolism can also make weight loss more of a struggle. Check out my metabolism-boosting tips here for ways to help your metabolism work in your favor. Most of them are easy things you can incorporate into your everyday life. Calorie cycling—eating more calories on some days than others—does the trick for some people. And it can be incorporated into your life in a healthy way (keep in mind that I’m not promoting eating a large cheese pizza one one day and only rice cakes the next!).

For example, you can plan to enjoy a special healthy treat every other day. Or because you know that the weekends will probably include more calories, you make smarter meal choices Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you follow these guidelines, cycling calories can rev up your metabolism and give you the weight loss edge you need in a nourishing and balanced way.

If you feel bummed out by the idea of taking a slow approach to weight loss, take this into consideration. Rapid weight loss is—believe it or not—a weight loss killer. Losing more than 3 or 4 pounds a week is OK for a week or two if you have a great deal of weight to lose, but keeping up this pace not only lowers your metabolism significantly and permanently, it also lowers your nutrient reserves. This often leads to energy crashes and cravings, but it can also mean that your weight will be quick to return and more difficult to lose next time.

Creating a clear-headed and well-paced approach to weight loss is the first step in developing a healthy relationship with your body. Now that you have the building blocks, I hope you’ll shift your attention to giving yourself more love and giving your body more time to achieve its goals.

Your turn: If you’re looking to lose weight, how will you honor your body and approach it differently and more mindfully this time? Let’s support each other in the comments below.

Peace & patient pounds,

Add a comment
  1. Stephanie Smith says:

    Hey! Thanks for the great tips, these came just at the right time! How do you feel regarding intermittent fasting? I find that this method of eating my counter act the “weekend social events” where i am prone to over indulging, and quite frankly, I don’t want to feel guilty or stressed about doing. Is it okay to take one or more days a week where i’m just having a cleanse? Maybe a juice or smoothy for lunch and a light sensible dinner? Thanks for your time and guidance on this! Maybe this may not be ideal, but what are your thoughts on making it work for my lifestyle, where I’m out alot! All plant based of course. THanks!!

    • Kris Carr says:

      Hi Stephanie, I checked in with our Dietitian, Jen Reilly on this one and here’s what she had to say:

      “Intermittent fasting is becoming a fad, which means that even though it may be healthy and helpful, some may take it to an extreme and cycle through bingeing and fasting (not good!). Short-term fasting puts stress on the body that can actually have a positive psychological and mental effect, similar to the way the stress of exercise helps your mental state. If fasting helps you to limit overall calories on certain days without overeating on non-fasting days, then it will promote weight loss. Many folks have trouble with this however! I’ve seen more success when people eat lighter foods on the days before and after a heavier eating day. This is called “calorie cycling” and can actually be helpful for your metabolism as it never comes to expect a certain quantity of food.” – Jen

      I hope that helps! xo, Kris

  2. According to longevity researcher Dr. Luigi Fontana, periodic fasting and low protein diets are great for fighting cancer and losing belly fat.

  3. Sandi says:

    Hi Kris – I love this article. It most certainly resonates with me. It gives me confidence with my own journey back to health this year. Early this month I posted a couple of blogs to my LinkedIn followers. We normally talk about business in our blogs, but this year I wanted to add a personal note for health. Like me, many business owners work far too many hours and health can be pushed aside. Also, I hope you don’t mind, but I referred your website in one of them.

    I have enjoyed your blogs over the last few months. Thank You!

  4. These are really great tips. I’ve found it’s best for me (mentally and physically) to not weigh myself. Like you said our weight fluctuates so much that it can mess with your head. Doing girth measurements and calculating my BMI has been much more user friendly, and accurate!

  5. Stephen says:

    My weight cycle over the last year saw a gradual drop to some 20 lbs over 9 months, a creep back up over the holiday season by 8 lbs. Looking forward to a fit driven 2017, I was hit with a severe case of vertigo. Now just working on getting balance back in my life. Just the old fashioned stand up balance not the work life balance thing. The unexpected unwanted always a challenge mentally as well, so I guess some of that mental balance challenge as well. Trying to remember the beauty of the unexpected in that it gives me room and opportunity to make change, positive change.

    • Kris Carr says:

      Wishing you the best on your journey. I’m rooting for you! xo, kc

    • Cathy says:

      Stephen, for the vertigo try the half-somersault Epley maneuver. It worked for me after weeks of disabling vertigo. You can do it at home by finding the YouTube video. Or a physical therapist can do the Epley maneuver on you. It repositions the little crystals in your inner ear which are in the wrong place, causing the vertigo.

  6. Mandy says:

    Perfect timing. It was my wakeup call to quit my chip snacking. Stress got the better of me so far this day. Last year was my personal worst. Body-wise I’m accepting but meh, having a healthy baby at 40, but while nursing my chub hasn’t decreased like it did at 26. I don’t even seek to lose the chub but to quit feeling meh about myself, and eating like I did before preggers which was produce heavy, nuts, and carb on occasion but not regularly.
    Thank you.

  7. Liza says:

    Hi, Kris!
    Thanks for sharing! We all need to hear more of “Being HEALTHY instead of being THING” wisdom! I just want to add that it isn’t only about the weight-loss. It IS about being healthy! Not Healthy-ish. Because as I’ve just recently discovered it isn’t even about being active and eating all the right stuff like I’ve been doing. Now that I’m 5’5 and weigh under 100 lb I’m thinking that I need to gain weight. Because my body seems to need it (I’m always starved, out of energy, etc). Now I need to figure out how, because I like the routine I’m in and I do not want to eat any donuts. I don’t crave them… Maybe… more avocados? 🙂 Thanks so much! 🙂

  8. Robin Cohen says:

    I have type 2 diabetes and have been told to keep my carb total under 60 per day. I would love to do vegan but I’m finding it hard to eat the grains and starches to satisfy me and keep my blood sugar low. Do you address that at all in your blog and books? Thanks

    • Rose says:

      I understand where you’re coming from. I have Lyme Disease & am on long term antibiotics which means low carb eating to prevent yeast overgrowth. When I read Always Hungry? by Gary Ludwig, it helped me see the role of fat calories to balance my diet. Things like nuts have protein & calories. And avocados & generous portions of olive oil are great with green veggies & tofu/tempeh/seitan etc. I plan my food as a cross between Kris’s ideas & the guidelines in Lidwig’s books. Also coconut milk is very satisfying. Good luck!

    • Kris Carr says:

      So glad you asked! I wrote this to address Type 2 Diabetes: http://bit.ly/2gd6gFb. Hope this helps! xx kc

  9. Teri Mackay says:

    I’m so blessed I saw you and your messages of guidance and help.
    It’s clear you’re an Angel dropped from heaven. You changed my Life.
    Thank you

  10. Nanusia says:

    I love your post 🙂 I suffer from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and I find your blog post very useful.

  11. hdubeauty says:

    I really can’t decide if I am more proud, concerned, scared, or pained by it. I’m reserving the right to change my opinion on a day-by-day basis.

    Of course, today meant traveling back home, so my eating wasn’t great. I’m happy that I tracked every bite. It would have been worse had I not be tracking diligently. It is what it is. Tomorrow is back to teaching!

  12. Nick says:

    Great advice 🙂 , this is exactly what I do. It’s best to focus on all of the gorgeous food you should eat and have it in abundance, you can eat so much more of the good stuff. The more you eat of it, the less you’ll crave the nasties- cakes, pastries, refined carbs. My best tip is to have satisfying treats with only natural sugars- dried dates, coarse natural nut butters etc. You don’t get the sugar spikes as your body has to work to digest the fibre as well as the (natural) sugar, so it’s slower released. Happy eating!! Love to you all and your bodies xxx

  13. Hi, Kris,
    Fortunately family or environment where not constantly dieting, saying they were “fat” and putting themselves down because of the numbers on the scale? – It was me that said it to myself constantly. hehe I had no fads in my life but the shadow of all-or-nothing beliefs had been for a decade or so since my 15 yo aprox. I weigh myself only as many times I go to the gym. Max 3 times a week but sometimes only 1. Ive lost 24 pounds in 8 weeks that is average.. but believe the fact that brought most success is cutting in more than half hanging out with couples/friends that did not care about health or fitness. That helped mostly. I started turning more into people with other more beneficial habits like recycling, not drinking beer etc much, preparing their own meals for work etc.
    Went fine really. Now its my wife that its loosing without effort.

    I found nowhere you mentioning you are a coach, but you very much could be called a Wellness Coach and much more. Congrants for your success!

  14. alankrita says:

    Hey! I really loved this article! people often try out everything to loose weight, but you have come up with such sustainable ways of losing weight. Keep writing on such topics! All the best!

  15. Susan Lerner says:

    Yes, I want to lose weight because I am obese and it is not good for me. But my mother was thin and died terribly from Parkinson’s with dementia. So I want to just feel good and I am vegan and I don’t know if my mother’s Parkinson’s had anything to do with her eating animal foods. But great article. Thank you.

  16. Phenq says:

    These are really great tips. I’ve found it’s best for me (mentally and physically) to not weigh myself. Like you said our weight fluctuates so much that it can mess with your head. Doing girth measurements and calculating my BMI has been much more user friendly, and accurate!

  17. Lauren Jones says:

    My little sister’s wedding is coming up, and I want to look trim for the event. I did not know that stress was the biggest block to weight loss. I like what was suggested about routinely getting a good night’s sleep and meditating daily to reduce stress levels. I will put this information to good use, thanks.

  18. Stacey McGregor says:

    There are many rules and tips for weight loss, but let’s not forget the most valuable ones which actually help you lose weight.

    In order to avoid trying the countless diets coming out of everywhere and the yo-yo effect you get from most of them, we made a list for you with 10 rules every nutritionist suggests for losing weight.

    These are very simple rules and they are the basis for your weight loss process.

    Many of us forget about these ways and search for complicated solutions. However, if you don’t follow these steps, you won’t get good results no matter which weight loss tactic you use.
    Thank you for the article.

  19. I love these tips. There are so many good tips for the people who are on diet, which also helps to lose weight. I am currently following one of those tips now

  20. Stacey McGregor says:

    Fasting diets include many types of fasting such as not eating at all for 24 hours, or reducing drastically the number of calories you intake for two days during the week.

    Although the effectiveness of this diet is questionable some benefits of this diet are decreasing the level of insulin, increasing human growth hormone and transforming fat into energy.
    Great article, thank you.

1 2 3 10

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

KrisCarr.com