How to Lose Weight Sustainably
Why everything you’ve learned about weight loss is wrong and what to do instead.
Raise your hand if you’re tired of diet culture (I know I am!). The sad truth is, there’s a lot of bad information out there around how to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. Most of the advice focuses only on body size or numbers on the scale and completely ignores the true indicators of health and wellness— metabolic health and longevity.
Let’s cut through the lies, shall we? Read on to learn science-backed ways to take control of your health while still allowing yourself to be human (no crazy diet rules here!). First, I want to unpack some common myths around losing weight…
What are Common Weight Loss Misconceptions?
The #1 biggest weight loss myth I hear over and over again is that you can achieve weight loss with just the basic principle of eating less and burning more calories. By the way, most of this advice is given by men. Most women will say that although caloric intake is important it is not the whole picture–we need to consider the other variables that affect our metabolism.
Think BMI is the key indicator of healthy weight? Think again…BMI or body mass index is also pretty deceiving as it doesn’t take into consideration muscle mass, bone density and body fat distribution and percentage. A better analysis would be a DEXA or InBody scan that can provide more insight into lean muscle mass proportion compared to fat and total weight.
Okay, so what about increasing cardio? Surely if you just run more or join a spin class, the weight will start melting off, right? Wrong.
Increasing cardio is also not the way to burn fat and lose weight. Many people are becoming more aware that weight lifting can also include a cardio component and that it is much more important to focus on building lean muscle, which will support metabolic health including reducing insulin resistance and improving blood sugar levels.
What are Weight Loss Truths?
First and foremost, any workout or dietary plan will be ineffective without balancing key hormones including: thyroid, cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, insulin and IGF-1 all of which impact our body composition. Feel like you are doing all the right things, but nothing is budging? A hormone imbalance is very likely at play!
Also, most people aren’t lifting enough weights or are doing the wrong weight exercises.
If you’re trying to build lean muscle mass —and for most women this means trying to achieve anywhere between 62-73% and as high as 83% lean muscle mass— you can’t do that with yoga, pilates or small weights. Joining a gym, hiring a personal trainer or joining a program that can walk you through how to do this is essential. Many do this on their own, when they should really invest into someone who knows what they’re doing and can help them achieve their goal of building healthy muscle.
You’ve also probably heard about intermittent fasting, but while this approach works for a lot of people, intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone.
But what is 100% universally important for everyone is optimal protein intake. We need at least 30 g of complete protein (which mostly comes from animal protein), per meal to stimulate muscle synthesis and repair. Starting your day with at least 30 g of protein and focusing on getting 30-40 g of protein over the other 3-4 meals throughout the day will lead to better blood sugar balance, insulin response, and visible results from workouts. If you can’t plan your meals, having a meal delivery service like Trifecta or Factor can be a great help.
How Can We Lose Weight Sustainably?
Before you do anything else, balance your hormones! Find a provider who will work with you to make sure these are optimized. I share a lot of information about what this means in my Hormone Potential Foundations course as well as the Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy masterclass. After you do take that foundational step, you can move onto…
Optimize your protein intake. Track and see for yourself what you’re eating and how much you’re eating?
Change up your workout routine–you may not be exercising properly, enough, or limiting yourself to what you consider is exercise.
Consider monthly, fasting mimicking programs and even once a week fasting mimicking protocols by Prolon. You can use code ProZinkov to get a 20% discount!
When all else fails, improve GLP-1 receptor (glucagon-like peptide receptors) activity with peptide therapy such as Semglutide. Most people who have trouble losing weight and are doing all the right things, have an underlying insulin issue. Test your insulin levels two hours after a meal–if they are above 6-8 mIU/mL, then it can signal a potential issue. Very, very few people are talking about this!
How Should You Eat for Weight Loss?
This one is a doozy! There are so many diets making the rounds and it’s easy to get overwhelmed— is fruit okay or not? what about brown rice? red meat or no red meat?
Try not to get caught up in all the diet talk. You can instantly improve your health and see changes in your body (over time! nothing happens overnight) if you start by optimizing protein intake. Yes, it’s really that simple!
Ideally protein intake should be 1 g per lb of desired weight.
So if you want to be 130 lbs for example, that’s your protein goal. In terms of carbohydrates, this is where it can vary between 50-150 g depending on workouts, stress, energy levels and sleep. An average American consumes 300 g of carbs a day! Many people also overeat fats. Fat intake should be around .4 g x your target body weight. The focus in all of this is of course on clean, organic, properly sourced foods and ideally with emphasis on protein as with Paleo and Whole 30 guides for choosing best foods and ingredients.
I don’t like tracking, but it can be super helpful to see what your current macros are like and where you can be. Once you see what your plate looks like, what 30g of protein looks like, you’ll have an idea and become intuitive.
In terms of intermittent fasting (IF)–this is very individual! If you are naturally skipping breakfast and eating later, you may benefit from a condensed eating window (8 hours eating, 16 hours fasting). If you find that you are low energy, irritable or anxious, then intermittent fasting may not be a good option. Work on these underlying issues first and then introduce intermittent fasting. Pregnant, postpartum or nursing moms shouldn’t do intermittent fasting and neither should anyone with an eating disorder.
And remember: always consult with your health care provider before starting any diet, exercise or lifestyle change.
How Can You Burn Fat?
By following the above steps, you will be more successful in building muscle and burning fat. Other strategies to consider include:
Infrared sauna sessions 2-3 days per week focusing on active sweating for at least 20-30 minutes
Cold plunge or cryotherapy 4-5 days per week
Including walks after major meals for 15 minutes
Wearing a weighted vest when going for a walk to include more weight bearing exercises during the day
Building Muscle Do’s and Dont’s
DON’T:
Skip meals
Do tons of cardio
Stay up late and compromise sleep
Regularly alcohol consumption
Only walk for exercise
Work out while fasting or failing to fuel after workouts
DO:
Lift weights at least 4-5 days per week for 30-45 minutes
Move throughout the day
Diversify strength training–body weight, kettlebells, resistance bands etc.
Supplement with protein shakes as needed to meet the daily protein goal intake
Hire a pro who can help you or follow people like Heather Robertson online who have a great selection of weight training videos
Focus on consistency: don’t give up after 4-6 months. We all want lean muscle mass, but not all of us are dedicated to long term commitment of building muscle
Are Weight Loss Supplements Safe?
Avoid marketing schemes and weight loss targeted supplements. Talk to your healthcare provider about why your metabolism is sluggish and apply the strategies and tactics shared here. Most weight loss supplements can contain harmful ingredients and can be contaminated.
Green coffee beans and green tea are natural substances that are safe to include and can improve metabolism and glucose control.
Can Weight Loss Reverse Health Issues?
Yes and no. Metabolic conditions including cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes can also strike people who are fit. Genetics and epigenetics play a huge role and a number of people may need further interventions to reverse or prevent these conditions.
In terms of hormonal conditions like hypothyroidism, the thyroid issue needs to be corrected first in order to achieve weight loss, not the other way around. Optimizing thyroid function can also prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes as it regulates many processes in the body.
