As a registered dietitian and online weight loss coach, I often get asked “what’s the best diet” or “tell me the trick to quick weight loss”. I walk around Seattle and see ads and magazine for the “trick” to losing 10 lbs in 2 days or how the newest weight loss surgery works.

I’m going to tell you a secret: there is no best diet. There are no innovative weight loss diets for 2023, and I doubt there will be one for 2024 either. 

So many popular diets involve eliminating entire food groups. There’s is NO reason to do this for 99% of people. You do not need to stop eating carbs or fat or fruits or grains or anything else to lose weight.

Keto was a diet invented to change the brains of epileptic kids.

Vegan can be done well, but is much harder than you think to be balanced. It takes WORK. And if you’re only doing it for weight loss, I don’t recommend it.

Intermittent fasting works by just taking out decisions and choices for an additional meal. But for many it can make them overly hungry, tired or unfocused.

People like to make nutrition overwhelming and complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. It sells books and programs to make you learn how to count points that change every few years, or eat this “fat burner” food or this “metabolism booster” supplement. 

If that worked, wouldn’t everyone be skinny???

Would there be any overweight celebrities?

“The best diet is the one you can stick to” is cheesy, but also accurate. But what does that look like?? Because that sounds good, but isn’t actionable. 

If what you are looking for here is the best meal plan or diet food list, I recommend looking at the mediterranean diet. But even that I don’t think is sustainable for most people. It’s confusing and not very much in line with modern life.

Let me know if I’m wrong and you would like a full breakdown of the mediterranean diet, I’d be happy to do that!

I’m going to walk you through what we do in our weight loss coaching so you can do it on your own! 

Why on earth would I give away all my online nutrition coaching secrets for free?!

Because I do this to help people have a better life. And if you can do this on your own I’ve accomplished my goal! It’s all on google too - I didn’t invent this basic formula!

First, take a step back. Write down a fully accurate week of eating. Don’t change ANYTHING before you do this or its not accurate. You can use My Fitness Pal or take photos or write them down in a notebook. 

You need to see where you are to know where you need to go. Note your weight, exercise, and any other major things from each day. At the end of the week, take a step back to reflect. What could you have done better? What went well? 

What’s 1 thing that you can improve from this last week each day?

That might be eating more protein, less sugar, more vegetables, less alcohol, more protein, taking more steps…. There are so many possibilities. Then figure out how you will do it. Put the food in the grocery cart, get out your water bottle, put your walking shoes in front of the door….

Then look ahead to the next week. What events are coming up? Do you need to bring a snack or meal for that day of car shopping? What will you order at Sunday brunch?

Do this every week and you’ll be amazed at how far you will go!!!

The challenge here isn’t how complicated or fancy the diet is. It’s how it works for YOU, and continuing to make progress and adapt. 

The hard part is actually doing this. Remembering to do it each week, knowing what the next right goal is and how to achieve it.

The accountability and support are all internal in this case. That is tough for most of us!! Eating well isn’t complicated, but it isn’t easy either. Anyone who says it is has never truly struggled. 

That’s where working with a nutrition coach can come into play. There’s still hard work to be done, but most of the mental load is removed. Many of the decisions are in the hands of an expert, an expert who has taken the time to get to know you and your life and your dreams. 

When you know that each weeks goal is the right one, the one that will move the needle and help you lose that 10, 20, 30, 40, 50+ lbs… its way easier to stick with it. When you know that your coach will ask you about pizza night, you’re more likely to stick to 1 piece with a chicken salad as your main. 

Meet Katie, mom of 3 young kids who works full time!

40 pounds. 40 is a big number. A seemingly impossible number. But that was my goal. After having Noah, not losing my baby weight from him, then getting pregnant with Oliver a year later…. Everything had compounded on my body and when I coupled it with unhealthy eating habits, the baby weight just kept multiplying

I was tired of feeling like garbage both physically and mentally and needed a change.

As a working mom with 3 kids, I’m always busy doing something. I was always busy and stressed. I barely had time to take care of myself, let alone think about my health and weight.

I was tired all the time, my clothes were getting tighter, and I didn't have the energy to play with my kids. Working from home, it was easy to work through lunch, ignore my own needs and be ravenous by the end of the day!

I’ve always been taught by society that to lose weight you need to workout, workout, workout. That’s all I’ve known. But riding my peloton wasn’t doing a thing. I’ve heard time and time again that weight loss happens in the kitchen…

I knew I needed to make a change, but I wasn't sure where to start. That's when I decided to try weight loss coaching. At first, I was skeptical. How could a coach help me when I barely had time for myself? But I was surprised at how much the coaching helped.

Enter GODSEND coach Kendal with The Nourished Path

I could still eat what I loved (I’m talking beer, ice cream, homemade cookies, you name it), just learned to be healthy about it!! (Oh yeah…. And I did this eating a ton of carbs too….. carbs are your FRIEND😉)

I could still eat what I loved (I’m talking beer, ice cream, homemade cookies, you name it), just learned to be healthy about it!! (Oh yeah…. And I did this eating a ton of carbs too….. carbs are your FRIEND😉)

I’ve tracked macros before so I was no stranger to it, but she helped me get my numbers right… and held me accountable to them. She has helped me learn to portion food properly, given me meal ideas when I was stuck, encouragement to keep going, and grace when I didn’t do my best.

She also helped me to understand the importance of self-care and taught me how to make time for myself, even with a busy schedule. I found that by eating better, I actually had more energy and could get more done in the same amount of time! And I was able to play with my kids a lot more often.

Slowly but surely, I started to see results. I lost weight, I had more energy, and I felt better about myself. But the biggest change was in my mindset. I learned how to prioritize my health and take care of myself, and I realized that I didn't have to sacrifice my well-being to be a good mom.

If I can do this….. ANYONE can. I hope this was motivation and encouragement for anyone who might need it!!! Do not feel discouraged about thinking you’re too far gone to get your body healthy again. Everyone starts somewhere. All that matters is that you start.

And if you want to read the best fat loss article on the internet, click here (it’s not written by me but it’s just amazing)