Video | Origin Story | Using Dr. Becky’s 3 Es 

My first YouTube video was published in January of 2012. Since then, I’ve posted hundreds of videos and created programs with one common theme – how to lose weight.

I’m going to share what I consider to be the fundamental elements of weight loss. When you have these elements in place, you stick with your plan and reach your goal; without them, you go back to your old habits. I called them my 3Es. In this post, I share what they are and how they will help you lose weight.

When your plan meets these 3 Es, you have no need (or desire) to return to your old habits.

Dr. Becky’s 3 Es and How They Help You Lose Weight [Video]

In this video, you’ll learn…

• Why we don’t change our diets even though we know what is good for us.
• What the 3 E’s entail!
• How to best use 3 E’s on your weight loss journey.

How The 3 Es Got Started

Many years ago, I took a side job as a freelance science writer. I would be assigned a health and nutrition topic, write a script, make an audio recording of what I wrote, and then hand my work over to a video editor who would turn it into a wonderfully illustrated video that was used by high school and college students as an educational tool.

One of the topics that I was assigned was to cover why so few people stick with healthy habits. Through my research, I came across a report put forth by a panel of doctors that truly changed the course of my teachings from that day forward (1).

Why We Don’t Change

What the group discovered was that the problem is not that we don’t know what to do – we all know that we shouldn’t smoke and we should exercise. We also know that whole foods like fruits and vegetables are better for us than packets of fruit snacks or potato chips.

But when we set out to make a change, we get confused by all the conflicting information that bombards us every day. We get facts from the health consultant on the morning talk show, catch the health minute that comes on the radio as we commute to work, and hear from our co-worker about his new diet that we just simply must try.

With so much information, the reason we stay where we are is not that we don’t know what to do, it’s that we know too much, and therefore suffer from information overload. That leaves us feeling overwhelmed, and we stall before we even get started. 

How Change Happens

However, this panel did not stop at identifying the problem. They also found the solution.

They discovered that when a person’s plan was simplified so that it didn’t take over their life; when what they were doing had an element of enjoyment to it, so they didn’t feel miserable every day; and when their plan provided clear evidence that their efforts were working, that they stuck with their plan and reached their goal.

In other words, they had created a way of eating and moving that was easy to follow, enjoyable, and effective. Those are my three E’s and they have become the foundation of my diet plan and programs because they work.

But they only work when you have all three in place. If one of the elements is missing, you won’t get results.

For instance, you could go on a fast-food diet. It would be easy to follow and arguably enjoyable, but it would not be effective for weight loss. Or you could start going to the gym for 2 hours a day. That would be effective, but that exercise routine is not easy to stick with and not enjoyable for the majority of us.

Using Dr. Becky’s 3 Es to Lose Weight

How can you get all 3 Es in place to help you lose weight? It requires some planning and consideration of your lifestyle.

For example, you know that I teach low-carb dieting. I advocate this strategy because it fits the three E’s.

For instance, following a low-carb diet requires you to focus on one thing – how many carbs are you consuming. This makes it easy to know when you’ve reached your limit. Low-carb dieting is also enjoyable because you can eat hearty meals that are very satisfying, and low carb or keto dieting is very effective for weight loss. 

I totally understand that while low-carb dieting may fit the three E’s that doesn’t mean that you always feel like sticking with it. There will be times when you feel like it stinks to be a low-carb dieter because you really want to dig into the bread basket or have pie for dessert.

Having the 3 Es in place does not remove temptation from your life, but it does give you the path to your goal. As you go down that path, you’ll reach milestones, gather favorite recipes, and feel better mentally and physically, which has a snowball effect that makes it uncomfortable and undesirable to go back to your old habits. 

Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful week!

Reference

(1) Bier, Dennis M., et al. “Improving compliance with dietary recommendations: Time for new, inventive approaches?.” Nutrition Today 43.5 (2008): 180-187.

About the Author:

Dr. Becky Gillaspy, DC graduated Summa Cum Laude with research honors from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1991.