Overcoming Sluggish Weight Loss
Some of my patients have lost 200 pounds on the Perfect 10 Diet, and others
have lost only a few pounds. Those already close to their ideal weight have
greatly improved their health. Even after balancing their diets, some people still
have trouble triggering their metabolism to switch from burning sugar to burning
fat to lose any weight. This is related to a variety of reasons I will discuss in this
chapter.
I Am Following the Perfect 10 Diet but I’m Unable to Lose Weight—What
Am I Doing Wrong?
If you do not lose weight, or if you even start to gain a few pounds, on the
Perfect 10 Diet, don’t be alarmed. One common reason is that you are building
muscle, which weighs more than fat. Judge your weight loss by how well your
clothes fit rather than by the weight on the scale.
Another possibility for diet failure may be that you’re not following the
Perfect 10 Diet correctly, or that you’re eating more than you need and not
watching your portion sizes. Let’s examine these two diet killers in more detail.
Incorrectly Following the Perfect 10 Diet
It’s extremely unlikely that you will not lose weight if you follow the Perfect 10
Diet correctly. The Perfect 10 Diet includes fiberrich vegetables, the right fats,
and healthy protein sources. If you adhere to these choices and exercise
regularly, you will definitely lose weight. If you are not losing weight, and you
have no existing underlying problem, such as a sluggish thyroid or insulin
resistance, you may be doing something wrong.
One of my patients, Catherine, lost weight during her first 3 weeks on the
Perfect 10 Diet, and then plateaued. Catherine was very disappointed that the
diet seemed to have stopped working for her after she began adding 1 serving a
day of a wholegrain cereal. All her hormone levels were normal. She reassured
me that she had entirely cut out soda, fruit juices, pasta, and white bread. I told
her to keep a food diary and return in 3 weeks.
Sure enough, something popped up in her food diary that explained why she