In the News: Retrofit Registered Dietitian Featured on Fox News

Anna: Up next, we're going to talk with a nutritionist who will tell you about the right way and the wrong way to lose weight. She breaks it down very simply for you. "What good are diets," she says. What you should be doing instead.

At one time or another most people have gone on a diet, right? And for most of us it probably ends in failure. Lara Field is a registered dietitian here to talk about why diets just don't work and what really works when it comes to losing weight. Lara, thank you for being here.

Lara: Thank you for having me.

Anna: All right, so diets don't work. Is that true all across the board?

Lara: Well, we live in a culture of diet confusion, whether it's no-carb, low-carb, what kind of carb, gluten-free carbs. That's some of the things that are common in the mixed messages in the media that we receive. Those are certain diets that cause consumer confusion.

Anna: All right. So the problem with diets is what? We go back to our other behaviors right after we're done with them?

Lara: Right. Diets are very limiting. They are very exclusive, only certain foods for certain amount of times, eat certain things when. It is not a long-term lifestyle. So making long-term lifestyle choices are really important.

Anna: Let's talk about that. What are the real keys to losing weight? If you say, "Hey, diets are temporary, they're not working for you," what do you do?

Lara: Sure. So as a registered dietitian, I usually recommend a well-balance. Eating things in moderation, that's really key. So making sure that we have good amounts of whole grains, lean meats or proteins, low-fat dairy products, veggies and fruits, and trying to have an abundance of variety is important. Eating things in moderation is always, as we used to say and still say, is really key. Things that are very exclusive, that would be not long-term weight loss plans, will never work and usually are setting people up for failure. So there are certain things that maybe do work. And one thing that I would love to tell you about is called Retrofit, and there's a website. It's RetrofitMe.com, and it's something that is a long-term life plan, and that's what I would suggest for weight loss.

Anna: Long-term life plan, what does that mean? Is there a mental component to it?

Lara: Yeah

Anna: And there's an eating component to it?

Lara: Right. So a long-term life plan means to make sure that you're making good choices for life. It's not going to be an exclusive diet that may only work for a couple months. And then most research shows that consumers usually regain the weight that they lost. So we want something that will be long term and lasting. So you can have a bite of cake on a birthday. You can have a couple of treats with your kids. But making sure it's a long-term life plan is really important.

Anna: And is it about starting up sustainable things, like don't start exercising unless you can continue to sustain that program, and the same thing with food?

Lara: Right. Exactly. Making sustainable changes is key. So making small changes at first and then kind of building upon them is really when you'll be successful.

Anna: Who do you find is most successful at truly losing weight or figuring out their weight loss goal?

Lara: Sure. I think the people that are most successful really have the motivation. So if you don't have the motivation to lose, you will never lose weight. But if you have something behind you that's motivating, it's possible.

Anna: Okay.

Lara: Retrofit works as well because there's a behavioral coach, a registered dietitian, and an exercise physiologist. So those three together makes it a good plan.

Anna: Exercise physiologist? What's that?

Lara: Like a personal trainer of sorts.

Anna: Okay. I got you. All right. Lara, thank you for sharing your views on this kind of thing.

Lara: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me here.

Anna: It's interesting. You do have to make the lifestyle change rather than just say, "I'm going to try this new diet," or something.

Lara: Right. Exactly. And if it is a diet that it's not long term and it's not practical, it will never work.

Anna: Never work. Good stuff to think about. Thank you, Lara.

Lara: Thank you.