I recently hosted a Q&A on the Orangetheory subreddit community - it was so much fun and I had a great time getting help people with their questions. Below are some of the most popular questions that Orangetheory members had about nutrition.

What do you think the most common misconception about weight loss is?

That it's complicated - it’s not but complicated ideas sell books and magazines.

For most people if they eat more veggies, protein, and water, and fewer snacks, desserts, and alcohol they will lose weight. But no one is going to buy that book.

There are some people who do have something more going on - but virtually anyone can start with those things and see a huge difference. If you want to eat more veggies - check out our series on veggies in disguise (main course and desserts)!

Can you lose weight without counting macros but with something like intuitive eating instead?

Intuitive eating sounds simple but isn’t as easy as it sounds. In my experience, what most people mean when they say “intuitive eating” is actually “mindful eating”

Mindful eating, as a skill, can be developed but it’s not something we just intuitively know. And its not something that's quick to pick up, we have a lot of very deeply engrained habits. Nutritional therapists can do a lot of work to help hone this skill. I feel like people think its easy to do this - they say on IG how easy it is. And maybe it is, for that person who has generally always been fit and not struggled with weight. Or did extensive work on developing those skills to eat more mindfully.

Mindful eating involves slowing down and taking stock every time you eat. Most people don’t do this. That’s why calorie counting is popular - because you don’t necessarily have to stop and think and reflect. It requires work to eat mindfully. Over time, it can get easier and more “intuitive” but expecting yourself to have these innate skills right out of the gate is a recipe for disappointment in yourself.

The other thing to keep in mind is that, intuitively, your body doesn’t want to lose weight most of the time. Your body wants to stay the same weight.

If you don’t want to track macros or calories, you can shift habits (for example, eating whole foods when at home, limiting alcohol, eating more veggies, more sleep, etc) or track foods in a way that isn't calorie tracking (writing down meals, taking photos).

And if you want to learn more about mindful eating, there are many books on the subject, as well as apps that can help you in your journey. Below are a few that could be a good starting off point:

The Mindful Eating Workbook

Mindful Intuitive Meal Journal

Are artificial sweeteners okay or as bad as regular sugar?

On the whole, I’d prefer artificial sweeteners to sugar sweetened drinks. So if it’s the choice of diet coke vs regular coke, the diet wins.

But I’d also recommend cutting back entirely if you have more than 1 sweet beverage per day.

For some people artificial really mess with digestion. It is usually a quantity question - one artificially sweetened something each day might be ok but 5 causes bloating or diarrhea. And for others, sweeteners can cause other side effects like migraines.

The only way to know if this is you is to have no artificial sweeteners for a week, write down how you feel etc, and then try the next week with a couple servings per day and see.

Any recommendations on books or resources for easy meal prepping and recipes for healthy meals?

I'm working on a 5 ingredient, 15 minutes to make mini cookbook. It's not out yet but here are some dinners and breakfasts from it.

I also really like this blog post from Budget Bytes

How strongly would you advocate Keto, if you would recommend it at all?

I don't advocate keto. In fact unless a doctor prescribed it (which hasn't happened yet) I won't do it. I'll do low carb with someone, but not keto. It's just too unbalanced in my opinion to be healthy.

Remember that keto is all about high fat, low carbs. Protein is pretty stable with other diets. At least - that's how it should work because if you eat too much protein your body will convert it to carbs and it stops ketosis.

A full keto diet is often very strange and involves things like drinking olive oil so saturated fat isn't too high. That's why I don't do it and don't think its healthy unless its to treat a specific medical condition like epilepsy.

People usually have good weight loss results on keto but cannot maintain those results long term. There are also often negative health outcomes because of a lack of vitamins/minerals and too many saturated fats, in addition to the negative outcomes from regaining fat after its been lost.

Can it be done? Yes. Is it common for someone to have long term success on keto? No.