- Benji Xavier tried to lose weight on fad diets, but he ended up gaining it all back.
- He was able to 100 pounds sustainably by changing his lifestyle.
In high school, Benji Xavier lost 100 pounds but felt miserable.
He cut out entire food groups and followed restrictive diets that he now describes as unsustainable, leaving him with an unhealthy relationship with food.
"I was kind of falling victim to that toxic diet culture," Xavier, 28, told Business Insider.
The dieting industry, valued at over $70 billion in 2023, is big business in the US, but research suggests that restrictive dieting simply doesn't work long-term because of how our bodies are wired.
"It becomes an obsession because you're constantly thinking about what you can't have. And when you do allow yourself to have it, you have too much of it," Xavier, who is a content creator based in New Jersey, said.
A few years later, he ended up gaining the weight back.
In August 2021, after struggling to find clothes that fit on a shopping trip and feeling self-conscious on vacation, Xavier decided to embark on a second weight-loss journey. But this time, he was determined not to restrict himself.
He started by making healthier versions of his favorite meals at home and eating higher-calorie foods in moderation. He also signed up to a gym and started doing cardio and weightlifting.
It was tough at the start, but over time these healthy habits became his lifestyle. Xavier lost 100 pounds in just over a year, and has maintained for almost two years. His upcoming cookbook, "The Rebel Diet," features recipes that helped him lose weight.
"I was just sick of it. I'm like, no, I can't do this. I can't torture myself anymore. I'm just going to try to eat healthier. And it worked," he said. "You can still have foods that you enjoy and lose weight."
Xavier shared three weight loss tips that helped him lose 100 pounds while eating his favorite foods.
Meal prep
Having easy access to healthy meals is really helpful when you're trying to lose weight, Xavier said. In the past, he would often end up opting for fast food when he needed to grab a quick meal.
"Fast food is just so high in calories and high in fat that it would really just be detrimental to a weight loss journey at times," he said.
Because he didn't have time to cook three meals a day, meal prepping helped him stay on track.
He would go to the grocery store on Saturdays and spend time on Sundays preparing healthy meals for the week ahead.
"I would just meal prep in the morning and have everything ready to go for the week," he said.
Eat high-volume meals
To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit, which means burning off more calories than you consume. But that doesn't mean you have to eat tiny portions or be restrictive.
Xavier is passionate about cooking and loves eating, so when he was losing weight he found it helpful to eat low-calorie foods in large quantities. This is known as volume eating.
"You eat more for less calories," Xavier said.
Although he's not a big snacker, when he does want a snack, he eats something like popcorn, which he can eat to his heart's content because it contains very few calories.
He also loves ice cream and used to easily eat a whole pint in one sitting. He switched to a low-calorie version so that he still gets to eat a whole tub. His favorite is the brand Halo, which contains around 300 calories per pint.
While it's useful to be mindful of calories when losing weight, dietitians recommend focusing on nutritious food, and avoiding ultra-processed products where possible. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating nutrient-dense foods from all food groups and limiting added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium while staying within calorie limits.
Dietitian Nichola Ludlam-Raine previously shared her favorite high volume meals and snacks that feature high fiber, nutritious foods, with BI.
Don't drink your calories
To leave space for delicious food, Xavier prefers to not drink his calories.
Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda tend to be high in calories and very low in nutrients. A 20 fluid ounce serving of Coca-Cola, for example, contains 240 calories, which is more than 10% of the FDA recommendation of 2,000 calories per day.
This doesn't mean Xavier will never drink them, but he generally avoids getting too many calories from drinks. "I do break that rule occasionally, but that's something that really helps," he said.