I will keep repeating this as it’s super important and not everyone is aware, but the ONLY way to lose weight (specifically fat) is to use more calories than you consume, consistently, so that your body calls on its saved energy stores – aka body fat – for fuel. Over time those fat resources become depleted and it’s this depletion which leads to overall fat loss.
Sounds simple! Why don’t we all just massively restrict what we eat for a period of time and lose weight then?! Because – LIFE! Events happen, special occasions occur, we are short on time, we opt for convenience, temptation is all around us and it’s bloody HARD to be hungry all the time!
Tracking calories (i.e. logging what you eat in a food diary) is commonplace these days – everyone has heard about it but not everyone does it… There are apps such as My Fitness Pal (MFP) which you can use to track your calories. When you join MFP, it will ask how much weight you’d like to lose per week and if you are overweight, the temptation will be to plug in the highest number you can – that’s just human nature – but this will result in the app calculating your target calories to be ridiculously low.
Technically, there’s nothing wrong with this as the science makes perfect sense. Keep your calories low and your output moderate and you will start to lose body fat, that is true, but for the vast majority of people (who still want to have a quality of life) it is unsustainable in the long run.
Keeping calories really low for a period of time results in hunger, low energy, tiredness, low mood and poor cognitive function. It’s basically no fun for anyone! And periods of low calorie consumption often lead to high calorie food binges.
Say, for example, you somehow managed to stick to 1200 calories per day all week, Monday – Friday. By the time Friday night arrives, you are likely to want a break! You’ve been ‘good’ and you’ve restricted yourself all week, so what’s the harm in a takeaway, or a few drinks, or some of that ‘treat’ (high calorie, high sugar) food over the weekend? The harm is that too much is often consumed… A weekend off is around 33% of your whole week – if you have over-restricted during the week, you are likely to over-eat at the weekend and that will essentially put you back at maintenance calories, meaning you are no longer in a weekly calorie deficit, meaning that you don’t lose any weight overtime because you’ve effectively ‘eaten back’ the calories you ‘saved’ during the week. I wouldn’t recommend this approach to anyone – it creates a poor relationship with food and encourages a binge/restrict cycle, which may not necessarily result in weight gain, but it will affect an individual’s view of how they consume food.
Instead, I encourage all of my clients to eat within a sensible calorie range ALL OF THE TIME. I will set calorie targets based on my own calculations and those targets will ensure you are eating within a calorie deficit, but not to the extent that you feel completely restricted with what you can/can’t eat. No food is off the table (literally). You can eat whatever you like within that calorie range and you will lose weight over time. Yes, the rate of weight loss will be slower, but it means clients can still have the flexibility and freedom to live an enjoyable life.
The difficult part is learning to accurately track what you’re eating and understanding how to stick to calorie deficit effectively, over the longer term. And it’s this part which I can help with. There are a number of strategies we can employ to ensure a client’s diet is nutritionally balanced, without feeling restrictive and once this is nailed, it’s easier to stick to, leading to much more successful and sustainable weight loss over time.
The long game wins out here – and it’s much more effective than the binge / restrict cycle so many of us get caught up in.
I offer coaching to clients who struggle implementing this. Thrive in 5 involves setting targets around calories, but also around movement, nutrition and workouts. It provides a structure for you to follow and I do this based on your individual circumstances. It’s a 5 week initial programme where we work on your mindset and make you more aware of your lifestyle choices… I will encourage you to make small, incremental changes which make you feel GREAT and over time, this focus becomes second nature.
Please feel free to message me about coaching and how I can help you get started on your health and fitness journey.
