Never Take Weight Loss Advice from Someone Who’s Never Lost Weight

Would you take startup advice from someone who’s never run their own business? Or parenting advice from someone who’s never had kids? Probably not. So why take weight loss advice from someone who’s never gained—or lost—weight?

The Missing Piece: “Lived Experience” in Weight Loss Advice

Today, I want to explore what truly qualifies someone to give weight loss advice. And I don’t believe it’s just about qualifications, credentials, or scientific theory. Personal experience matters more than we give it credit for. In fact, I think it’s paramount.

Of course, I would say that. I call myself an expert, yet I’m not a doctor or dietitian. I’ve never formally studied nutrition or medicine. So how can I say that those who have aren’t necessarily the best people to advise on weight loss?

Because I’ve lived it.

I know what it feels like to struggle with weight. I know the regret of waking up every morning feeling out of control. I know the frustration of losing weight, regaining it, and feeling trapped in an exhausting cycle of guilt.

And I also know what it feels like to break free. To finally lose weight in a way that felt natural, enjoyable, and sustainable. That’s why I want to stop people from looking for advice in the wrong places.

Why Traditional “Experts” Keep Getting It Wrong

Even though I lost 85 pounds nearly a decade ago, my weight is still something I manage—because once you’ve gained weight, you can’t eat like someone who’s never gained weight. And that’s something most “experts” fail to understand.

Weight gain isn’t just about food choices. It’s not about willpower, intelligence, or even nutritional knowledge. The fact that someone has gained weight at all means they will always be more likely to regain weight than someone who never has.

Weight loss advice from someone who has never experienced this reality can feel patronising, because they simply don’t get it.

On top of the metabolic challenges that come with weight gain, there are even bigger factors at play: factors that conventional wisdom often ignores:

✔ Psychology: Emotional triggers, habits, stress eating.

✔ Societal Conditioning: “Finish everything on your plate.”

✔ Advertising: Decades of messaging designed to keep us eating.

✔ Cultural Norms: Food as love, comfort, and reward.

Once you realise that weight gain is rarely about a lack of knowledge, it becomes laughable that most official weight loss advice is to “improve your food choices.”

Why Conventional Weight Loss Advice Fails

None of the standard weight loss advice helped me.

🚫 A diet, recipe book, or meal plan wouldn’t have changed my food choices.

🚫 Counting calories or points wouldn’t have changed my mindset.

🚫 Following a so-called “balanced diet” wouldn’t have solved my overeating, because my problem wasn’t what I was eating, but how I was eating.

The weight loss industry thrives on failure. If diets worked long-term, people wouldn’t keep coming back for more. That’s why diets are designed to fail.

Yet medical professionals still prescribe the same tired advice: calorie counting, portion control, meal plans—as if they don’t realise they are setting people up to fail.

This is why over 64% of Brits live with overweight or obesity today, and over 40% are actively trying to lose weight at any given time. Because we keep being sold the wrong ideas.

Why Weight Loss Medication Isn’t the Solution Either

Even when medication enters the picture, it only addresses hunger—not the deeply ingrained habits, emotional triggers, or lifelong conditioning that drive overeating.

That’s why many people who use weight loss medication regain the weight once they stop.

Unless they change their psychological relationship with food, nothing truly changes.

So Who Should You Take Weight Loss Advice From?

➡️ Someone who understands the psychological, emotional, and societal side of weight loss—not just the science.

➡️ Someone who has experienced the frustration of weight cycling firsthand.

➡️ Someone who has successfully lost weight and kept it off in a way that’s sustainable and enjoyable.

That’s why I created Eatiful—to provide an alternative. Not a diet, not a set of rigid rules, but a way to change how you eat so that you can lose weight naturally, without restriction or misery.

If you’ve ever felt like weight loss advice doesn’t apply to you, maybe it’s time to stop listening to those who don’t get it.