They say “you can’t outrun a bad diet” - well, there’s scientific evidence to back this claim up. An analysis of over 700 weight-loss studies showed that participants who focused solely on their diets lost nearly four times more weight than those who only focused on exercising more.
Before we go any further, I want to point out that by “diet” we don’t mean the kind that restricts you from eating certain foods - because those diets don’t work. We’re simply talking about your dietary intake - your everyday eating habits and behaviours.
Over the next three weeks, we’ll lay out the foundations that will help you develop healthy eating habits which honour your hunger and body, while still bringing you joy. People often don’t realise how important the joy of eating is, but it’s essential if you want to stick to your goals!
The Plate Method
Making changes to your eating habits when you’re trying to lose weight doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple but effective tool to try is the Plate Method. It shows you how to portion your meals and snacks so that you hit your weight-loss goals without having to starve yourself.
A research study aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of the Plate Method in individuals trying to loose excess weight split participants into two groups. The group which was advised to follow the Plate Method lost 18 times more weight than the control group - yes, 18 times!
The Plate Method divides your plate into four sections:
¹Jayawardena R, Sooriyaarachchi P, Punchihewa P, Lokunarangoda N, Pathirana AK. Effects of "plate model" as a part of dietary intervention for rehabilitation following myocardial infarction: a randomised controlled trial. Cardiovasc Diagn Ther. 2019 Apr;9(2):179-188. doi: 10.21037/cdt.2019.03.04. PMID: 31143640; PMCID: PMC6511685.
