Eat It! summary

Welcome to our blinks to Eat It! If you’ve made it here, that means you’re probably interested in losing weight, or maybe just improving your relationship to food. That’s fantastic. It means you have some level of motivation and desire, which is important. As you probably know already, weight loss isn’t easy. If it was, there wouldn’t be a hundred different diets out there and millions of people looking for a plan that works for them.

For this reason, it’s important to start by setting some expectations. Having misguided expectations is one of the biggest roadblocks to losing weight. People lose a few pounds early on, then they put on a pound, or plateau a bit, and that’s it. They give up. They figure it’s not working so why put yourself through the ordeal?

So here’s the first point to remember: Weight loss is not a straight line. Generally speaking, there are different weight loss patterns, but they all have spikes or plateaus. None of them feature an unbroken decrease in weight. There’s a good reason for this. It’s called homeostasis. This is a built-in condition all bodies have where our internal systems are constantly working to keep us the same tomorrow as we are today. This includes how much we weigh. So it’s completely natural for your weight to spike from time to time while you’re on a weight-loss program.

Perhaps the best expectations to set for yourself are monthly averages, not daily or weekly. If you stay on track you can expect to lose an average minimum of 1-2 pounds, or an average maximum of 6-8 pounds.

The other thing to keep in mind is that there are many reasons a body puts on weight, and many of them are unrelated to body fat. One of the most common reasons is water retention. This brings us to another fact: carbs don’t make you fat. But carbs do lead to water retention. Think of it like a slice of bread soaking up some water. This is basically what goes on in your body when you eat carbs. And it’s also why people quickly lose weight when they start a zero-carb keto diet. They're not losing body fat, they’re losing water weight. And they’ll put those pounds back on as soon as they start eating carbs again.

Even something as simple as what time of day you weigh yourself – and how long it's been since you’ve had your last poo – can influence the number that shows up on your scale. The point is, don’t let a small increase in your weight cause you to give up. Instead, set your expectations appropriately and know that weight loss isn’t a straight line.

In the sections  that follow we’ll take a closer look at what the right track might be for you, and how you can start your own weight-loss program today.