Tips for weight loss

The biggest one is to wear red shoes. A significant portion of my 68 lb. loss happened while wearing red shoes, specifically Skechers GoRun. This has worked for me, and it might work for you too!

Ya notice how ridiculous the above statement sounds? Obviously the color of a pair of shoes has nothing to do with health or weight loss. People often tout a lot of things, some incredibly strange, as the precursors to their success, and no matter how much scientific evidence is presented to support the unlikelihood, not of the success, but of that method's veracity, they refuse to listen, and a flame-war begins.

There are a lot of ways to cut calories, and lose weight, some are healthy, some aren't. Despite the differences between the methods, the underlying cause is the same (barring medical anomaly)...it has to do with the calorie deficit that affects the body's overall energy balance. It doesn't matter how you create the deficit. It could be through eliminating certain kinds of foods (meat, sugar, gmo's, soda, fruit, etc.). It can be through eating only at certain times of the day (times when you are less likely to eat as much as you might at others). Or it can be through a particular macro balance, calorie count, etc. etc.

There are a lot of ways to get there, so how do we know the best? Here are the tips that have helped me so far:

1. Do your research.*
2. Apply logic.
3. Understand that if there is an off-the-beaten-path method that helps you stick with it and gets where you're going, it's not magic. The underlying reason for it's success is the same as any other. There's no profit in arguing that wearing red shoes causes weight loss, when the reality is that the whole time you're wearing those red shoes, you're exercising and creating a calorie deficit.
4. Understand that people will absolutely disagree with you...science or not. We love to throw shade. It's in our nature.
5. Understand that there is a huge difference between weight loss and overall health, and that there are a ridiculous number of variables present that affect certain ways of eating and exercise. (For instance the correlation between certain macro-nutrient breakdowns, and methods of training for specific goals. Eating like a body builder will affect you differently if you're only doing Zumba 3x a week. As variables change, so do results.). And also remember that the science surrounding a lot of this is still very young. We don't yet know for certain how certain additives and genetic modifications affect us in the long run.
6. Become and remain teachable. There is a chance that you might be wrong. (Me too!) Gospel truth is a fluid concept where science and biology is involved.

*Find evidence both for and against any given way of eating. Out of all of it, which comes from bloggers, or fitness gurus who have a product to sell, and which comes from credible, peer reviewed professionals?

tl/dr