Not, it’s not. What happens if your body needs energy and you haven’t eaten for a while is that fat comes out of storage to supply it – which is a good thing if you want to reduce the amount of body fat you have.

As a rule, if you are not hungry, don’t eat. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is.

It’s not good. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat.

No, but it’s a good idea to eat green vegetables, and many of those are leaves that are sometimes used in salads. There’s no requirement to eat them raw. Find ways to cook them that you like.

Yes. And if you have kids, it’s probably a good idea for them to see you doing so.

Scan the menu for mention of a protein item (steak, chicken, fish, shrimp, beans, etc) and a vegetable that you like, regardless of how the dishes are prepared. This lets you know which raw ingredients the kitchen has available. Then tell the server that you have a diet-related health condition and request that they make you a plain dish of your protein item of choice + a double portion of your vegetable of choice cooked only with olive oil and salt. You can ask for it grilled or sauteed, or steamed if you like your food bland. Many restaurants will try to accommodate you – especially if you are gracious and thank them in advance for working with your food tolerances.

Yes. You can recognize that age, gender, and genetics are not under your control and accept that you may not be able to progress as quickly as you’d like. You can talk to people you know (who are your age and gender) who have lost weight, or read the weight loss stories of people like you who you don’t know, and develop realistic expectations for your own journey. (I will of course provide this to you, and still you may want to bend time).

There are some drastic things to do to speed up the process, involving certain types of exercise and patterns of macronutrient intake and meal timing, which we can talk about – but most people are not willing to do these things, so I recommend the cultivation of patience and steady commitment to your program as the foundation for your success.

The short answer is, if you’re spending any energy trying to figure out whether some unfamiliar compound might help you lose weight, you’re likely not paying enough attention to things that you already know will help you lose weight. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you take your friend’s supplement. You’re putting your energy in the wrong place.

Probably because in graduate school I learned that most of us eat the same 30 or so foods most of the time, and after years of nutrition counseling I confirmed this is more or less true. There’s nothing magic about the number 30 - it could be 20 or 40, depending on the person. But unless you’re an adventurous cook, or spending time in a foreign country, most of us tend to eat the same things over and over again. The list of 30 foods is a helpful way to get a sense of a client’s overall diet.

Steak

Lamb

Sardines

Salmon

Mackerel

Tuna

Lentils

Black beans

Eggs

Olive oil

Avocado

Yogurt

Cheese

Almonds

Pumpkin seeds

Arugula

Radicchio

Broccoli rabe

Kale

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Onions

Rice

Quinoa

Tomato sauce

Kimchi and other fermented vegetables

Berries

Oranges

Apples

Chocolate

Yes, but likely not as many as you.

Dried mango and chocolate-covered almonds. I deal with this tendency by setting a clear boundary to not bring them into my home. I’ll have them on occasion elsewhere, for example on a road trip or a camping trip. If you have “problem foods”, it’s best for the most part to not have them around.