“I like to compare it to wealth accumulation. There is no one way that a person can accumulate large amounts of wealth at one time. It takes time. The same with a weight loss program. If you have gained weight over many, many years, the way to loose that is to take some time. But people get on an emotional response to losing quickly.”

Kevin Shepard is a former athlete turned trainer and nutritionist. He believes fad diets — all of them — are a mistake. Instead, Shepard encourages clients to make lifestyle changes to lose weight and keep it off. He says sleep is the single most important part of the health and wellness equation. Figure out what amount of sleep allows you to function at the highest level — if possible, 8 hours.