I’ve seen people try and fail at this so often it makes my head spin. Ask 100 people the best way to lose weight, and I am certain that most would say exercise. The next largest group would say to diet, but in the modern sense of depriving ones self of calories for a short period of time until a target weight is attained after which they could return to their pre-diet eating habits.

I know people who have successfully used exercise to maintain a healthy weight. If you start with a healthy weight, it’s easier to maintain it through exercise, but at some point (typically as we turn 30), diet becomes far more important. Anyone who is in great shape will tell you that it’s a combination of diet and exercise that keeps them fit and trim.

I know others who have unsuccessfully used exercise alone to lose weight. This is the majority of anyone who has struggled with weight, unfortunately. Often, these same people also resorted to unhealthy or fad diets that promised great weight loss rates and amounts. These plans had initial success, but being restrictive and low in satiety, people fall of the wagon and gain back the weight they lost while even gaining back a bit more.

I know that cycle all too well, because I was one of those people.

You cannot exercise away a bad diet. If you are not careful with what you are putting into your body, you will never lose the weight. Let that sink in, because it’s the most basic truth that every weight loss company fails to tell you. Sure, they allude to it by saying, “Coupled with a healthy diet and exercise…” before making their unrealistic claims, but it’s in small print. It should be the cornerstone upon which all weight loss plans are built.

HEALTHY DIET.

I advocate Paleo because it works for me. It’s worked for my wife. It’s working for friends of mine. We have all seen varying degrees of success due to varying levels of adherence to the tenets, but even with the variances, I see it work. Does that mean Paleo is the only healthy diet? No, of course not, but there is much truth within the science of low-carb.

Do you like living? Do you want to be healthier? Lighter? More flexible? More mobile? Do some research. Find something based on good science that more than a few hundred people have succeeded with and that makes sense to you. I don’t care if it’s Paleo, Keto, Whole30, or whatever. Just do something to eat healthy. Make the change and commit to it. Only you can control what is going into your body which in turns will determine your health. Take charge of it and stop letting bad food get in.