Hello,
What do you feel is the best strategy to return to eating “normally” (ie not tracking calories, eating to satiety and getting adequate nutrition without fat gain or muscle loss) longer term?
Or, is the modern food environment, coupled with greater prominence of overeating and hidden calories too great for most to succeed without some kind of tracking system?
Thanks
Winston
This is a good question, and one that deserves careful consideration. I have a few different “takes” depending on who I’m talking to:
1. The person who is trying to lose weight- I do not think most lifestyle-only (diet and exercise) interventions are likely to produce clinically significant weight loss (>5% initial BW) without some form of quantity control, whether that be tracking Calories, servings, macros, etc. There usually needs to be a more diligent period of tracking, measuring to anchor people appropriately, kind of like using ascending RPE sets (e.g. RPE 7,8,9) in lifting to get people oriented to their current strength level and rating RPE.
2. The person who is maintaining weight loss- I think we should focus on the micro-food environments, e.g. at home, at the office, and any other “third space” someone spends a lot of time in (if possible). Setting up these food environments with healthy options and limiting access to UPFs with added sugar, sodium and fat, would be great. I’d also encourage a satiety-promoting eating environment, i.e. eating meals sitting down, no electronics, similar time of the day, and so on. Some periodic “spot checking” of quantity may be useful. I also would emphasize meal prep to have something ready to go when needed. Lastly, I would encourage 1-2 meals prepared outside of the home per week for balance and social connection. Limiting alcohol, focusing on high fiber and lean protein intake apply.
3. Person who is not actively managing their weight- same as the #2, but with an additional recommendation to not generalize their experience on food and weight management to other people.