Ahhhhh…New Year, New Us.

This is usually the time of year when, fresh from the holiday hustle and bustle – not to mention overindulgence in cookies and other goodies – when many people decide it’s time to shed those extra pounds by joining a gym and starting a new high intensity fitness routine.

If you’re reading this and have some weight to lose, come here…listen closely, because this is very important.

Do. Not. Join. A. Gym. To. Lose. Weight.

I can feel your shock from here. Fitness is supposed to help with weight loss, right?

As someone who lost nearly 60 pounds over the course of a year by never setting foot in a gym, I can tell you that it’s not necessary at all. It’s actually a rather expensive way to feel guilty for not exercising more – because we all reach that stage after sticking with it for a month or two where we just don’t wanna run on a fucking treadmill any longer, or listen to big muscly sweaty (read: smelly) guys grunting and pumping iron loudly.

Don’t get me wrong, fitness has its place. It’s very important for cardiovascular, muscular, and bone health, and can help with building muscle and toning.

…but for weight loss? Not as much as you might think.

Here’s the dirty little secret that the fitness industry doesn’t want you to know: Weight loss is 80% diet, and 20% exercise. If that.

Sorry if I dashed your fitness-fueled weight loss fantasy for 2025. But below are a few more sustainable strategies to leverage to help lose weight that will be easier to stick with longer term.

Find Out What You’re Eating, How Much – And Why.

I know, I know…making a food diary and tracking your intake is a major PITA. But doing so provides a valuable starting point for what you’re currently putting into your mouth so you know where changes can be made.

It’s also just as important to really examine why you’re eating what you are, and when – overeating often results from emotional needs not being met, or from a traumatic event. For me, I was an emotional eater who would eat more unhealthily when I was upset to feed those damn hungry feelings and also would mindlessly nosh when bored. I recall vividly the moment I realized that I ate out of boredom when I was in front of my open fridge searching for a snack and realized that I wasn’t even hungry – I was just bored! Nearly anytime I’d watch “My 600 lb Life” on Discovery+ I’d learn that almost all of the patients had some past trauma that had ultimately led to disordered eating – which needed to be addressed in order to course-correct the diet portion of the program.

If you have the means and are able to do so, I highly recommend working with a professional dietician in conjunction with a therapist who can help not only with making healthier food choices, but really getting to the bottom of why your eating habits are the way they are and how to adjust accordingly to set yourself up for weight loss success.

Discover Exercise That You Actually Like Doing – So You Can Stick With It.

A mistake that many people make with weight loss fitness goals is starting a really intense workout routine that can sometimes lead to injury. And even if it doesn’t, it’s often not sustainable because many of us don’t want to stick with an a high-intensity routine longer term.

Instead, start with a lower impact exercise regimen that you can not only realistically do with your schedule a few times a week, but actually enjoy doing. For instance, I found that my favorite activity is walking (and hiking), so I go on 30-60 minute brisk walks outside about 4-5 times a week, weather permitting. Sometimes I switch it up with some Pickleball and/or biking if the weather’s nicer outside (or swimming sometimes, although I’m prone to swimmer’s ear…), but generally my go-to is just plain old walking. And, of course, if I’m in a show I practice choreography and blocking both at rehearsals and at home which helps to get my heart rate up.

Now, your thing might be yoga, or pilates, or running, or swimming, or underwater basket weaving (is that even a thing? well, we can make it one.). Whatever it is, make sure it’s something you like and can commit yourself to long-term. Because consistency is what actually gets you the health results you’re looking for! And make sure you visit your primary care physician before starting any physical activity to make sure it’s safe to do with any existing medical conditions you may have.

Eat What You Like Eating!

When I used to go searching for “healthy” recipes, I’d get frustrated because oftentimes they would include the craziest ingredients that I’d have to either specialty order or spend my paycheck on at Whole Foods. Or, I’d despair that I’d have to eat salads for the rest of my natural life in order to be thin (newsflash: I’m not the biggest fan of salads).

I eventually discovered that I didn’t have to force myself to like things like Hemp or Bee Pollen or nutritional yeast or salads with the help of resources like Cooking Light (RIP), EatingWell, and Skinnytaste, among others. These resources and others like them provide recipes that are familiar and doable – yet healthy. At home I could make a lot of what I already enjoyed eating but could engage strategies like incorporating more veggies, fruit, and fiber into my diet overall.

Do I still have pizza and burgers? Hell yes, I do! But I do my best to eat healthier about 80% of the time so that I can feed my cravings for other food – like ice cream and cookies and fried chicken schnitzel – that are not as healthy the other 20% of the time. It’s all about balance, and I never go hungry. Except maybe during tech week when I have to force a dairy-free dinner down my throat (usually oatmeal and frozen berries) at 4 p.m. before going to rehearsals.