I want to lose weight!

     "I want to lose weight!" This is the most common goal of people who I speak to for a nutrition consult. If there is one thing I have learned through my years of being a dietitian, it is that I can't guarantee weight loss. My patients can tell you better than I can tell you that weight loss is really hard to achieve and even harder to maintain. Generally, in the best case scenario, diet alone will lead to 5-10% weight loss, which is often not enough to meet the patient's goal. Fortunately, nutrition changes, even with no weight loss, can lead to real improvements in health and health risk reduction.