What You Need to Know Beyond Nutrition Facts for Successful Weight Loss

From where I'm looking, American culture has us pretty well programmed to focus on the practical things about losing weight more than anything else. We tend to think most about how to do it, what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat, whether to eat organic or conventional, whether it's this diet or that diet, what type of exercise is best to do, etc, etc. That kind of information is powerful, but if we put too heavy of an emphasis on the "facts" of weight management we can end up taking focus away from some of the other key factors that come into play.

Going Beyond Basic Facts

Losing weight isn't just about how you eat and exercise.

Losing weight isn't just about a number on a scale.

Losing weight isn't just about meeting a goal.

Losing weight isn't just about your body.

It's about how you relate to food and nutrition.

It's about how you feel about yourself and your body.

It's about the kind of life you want to live.

It's about what your beliefs are about all of the above.

It's ultimately about you as a whole person.

It's about so much more than just learning more nutrition and health related facts.

Facts Don't Fit Everyone the Same Way

Though there are basic principles and strategies that can help many people, we are not all exactly the same, are we? We humans share the same basic nature of a human body, so we tend to think all information will apply to all of our bodies the same way. But even our physical bodies aren't exactly the same. For example, we have different compositions of muscle versus fat, we have varying levels of hormones, and many other variances among us! Our bodies aren't exactly the same, and our lives are completely unique from another's life. This uniqueness means that the facts don't always fit us in the same exact way either.

Focusing only on nutrition facts without looking at our uniqueness seems simpler, but it doesn't really work. It's like giving multiple artists the same paint colors and expecting their paintings to come out exactly the same. If you've ever been to a painting event with a group, you've seen this firsthand. Everyone is given the same image to paint, the same paint colors, the same white canvases to paint on, yet the finished paintings all turn out differently! It's similar with applying scientific nutrition facts- they cannot be applied successfully without a bit of art involved and results can vary from person to person.

Process & Personalize

Intellectual learning is a valuable part of the weight loss process, but it's not the whole process. The important work happens when you take the facts you're learning and discover how you can apply them in your real life. Being mindful about how you apply weight loss information goes a long way because weight loss truly is very personal! Food is personal, nutrition is personal, your weight is personal, and your body is personal. Take the time to process and personalize nutrition information you want to apply- it will be worth it!

Here are some things to think about as you process and personalize new information:

• Your unique lifestyle [ex. how you spend your time, on what activities]

• Your social environment (who you're connected to, who you spend time with)

• Your personal goals and priorities for your health and overall life

• Your personal beliefs and experiences around food and nutrition

• Your personal beliefs and experiences around body image

• Your emotions around the topics of food, nutrition, body image, weight

Consider how things affect you as a whole person while you're working on losing weight and you will more easily experience successful weight management in the long run. At first it may sound a little overboard to think so deeply about nutrition recommendations that seem really simple, but you're not just trying to learn the information, you're trying to apply it to your life! When you want to make changes that will last, it's best to look at the larger context of your unique life. After all, your body and your health are about you!

So the next time you get weight loss or nutrition information, I'd encourage you to spend some time thinking about how that information relates specifically to you. What are your thoughts, your emotions, and your life experiences related to that information? Especially when you are applying lots of nutrition facts and guidelines in one season of time (such as during weight loss) it's crucial to look at these other things.

Make Space

The point of this blog post is not to give you yet another guideline or rule to follow- that you must think deeply about every nutrition fact you come across. However, let it encourage you to make space to go deeper in your weight loss process when you need to. Our culture moves at such a rapid pace that we scroll to find bullet points we can consume and then keep moving, but here's a little nudge to slow down and process the facts you find.

Your weight loss journey will be beautifully personal and unique, but it can still feel simple and does not require overthinking. So even when you do think more about the context of your life, beliefs, and experiences, keep it simple and know when to get outside support. If you ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of weight loss information out there or if you feel overwhelm when you go to personalize the information, bring in some support! Just like in one of those painting classes- it's always good to bring a friend and ask when you need guidance from the class host.

Most importantly, don't forget yourself in the sea of nutrition facts out there. Don't forget your uniqueness amidst 'dos and don'ts' of weight loss.

Your weight loss journey is about more than nutrition facts, and you are about more than your weight loss journey!

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Part of my role as a Dietitian is to help translate nutrition information into something you can apply to your unique life. I interpret scientific information that's available in order to give you the 'cheat sheet' on how it can help you with your unique goals. If you're interested in working with someone who can give you practical weight loss information and help you personalize it into action, sign up for the free Discovery Call with me to learn more details about how Get RD Nutrition can support you to your goals!

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Get RD Nutrition is a virtual nutrition counseling practice for residents of North Carolina- offering weight management support, right where you are!