If your weight is stuck, try this simple solution. You may hate me for saying this… or you may love me because I’m offering a simple solution to get the scale moving in the direction you want.
If your weight is stuck, chances are you’re eating more than you think.
I say this with a heart full of love and in service to you. This is not a diss, nor meant to judge you. We all do this, and the food environment doesn’t make it any easier, especially for an “untrained” eater.
Sure there are rare occasions where hormones, thyroid, food sensitivities or other metabolic phenomenons are behind someone’s inability to lose weight, no matter how perfectly they follow calculated macro-based dieting. However, the reality is that for most of us – myself included – the bigger issue is that we are failing to account for the total calories we consume in a day – consistently over time.
‘Consistently’ being the operative word.
We all eat differently on certain days and to quote a fellow PN coach – often we only remember the highlight reel of our food tracking ‘as if it’s our Instagram feed. “I only eat 1200 calories…Monday through Thursday from 8am-6pm”. Ok, but what about the weekends and at night? See my point?’
So before you jump to starving until noon, removing all carbs from your diet, or some other extreme measure to try to tackle a metabolic imbalance that doesn’t exist, honestly ask yourself if you are doing all you can with your eating to give yourself an honest go at your weight loss goals.
I can tell you with certainty that for most people, when the weight isn’t coming off, it’s rarely due to metabolic imbalances but rather almost always, it’s because an energy deficit isn’t present long enough to influence fat loss. To once again quote a fellow PN coach, “Don’t believe me? Show me a starving animal that keeps its mass.”
Here are some of the mistakes I see in my clients (and myself!) a.l.l. the time, and how to turn it around:
1. Beware of underestimating your serving sizes
Yeah that looks like about a tablespoon… when it’s really almost double that at 2 tbsp of olive oil on your salad. Or uh-huh, that’s about 1/2 cup of rice… nope – measure it and find it’s almost a full cup. These discrepancies can add up to hundreds of unaccounted calories in a day.
2. Track all that mindless snacking, small bites of this or that throughout the day.
Yup, that adds up too.
3. Account for the additional calories, carb or fat grams in condiments.
Depending on how much you use, that ketchup, hummus or salad dressing might be as many calories as the food you’re putting it on!
4. Um… what about those drinks?!
This is a BIG one. Your favorite latte or other fancy coffee drink can be up to 500+ calories and loads of sugary carbs. Alcohol not only has calories and/or sugar carbs, but often then leads to mindless munching.
5. Are you eating too much healthy food? (I can’t believe I just said that!)
The reality is that if you want to trigger weight/fat loss, you must create a caloric deficit – that is, consume less energy than your body burns in a day. Everyday. Not just on Mondays and Tuesdays. Not just for a week. What your body experiences consistently (there’s that word again!) is what it will respond to.
Read that last sentence again.
It’s true that optimal functioning of your hormones and other metabolic systems in your body will improve how your body converts your calories into usable energy for you – therefore playing a *very* small role in the energy in/energy out formula. But you’ll still need to consume less than you burn, it’s as simple as that.
And here’s something that may surprise you…
If you eat ‘intuitively’ (according to your natural hunger cues) chances are most likely that you will NOT lose weight –
because your natural hunger cues will have your reaching for precisely the amount of calories your body has burned. Your body wants balance. Your body wants to protect you, and ensure you’re meeting your energy demand. So you will naturally be a little peckish until you’ve brought in about the same amount of calories you’ve burned.
It’s sad but true. Eating healthy alone will NOT necessarily guarantee you lose weight.
You still need to create a small caloric deficit.
Full disclosure: I am totally #5! I eat super clean [shocker, right?!], my diet is squeaky clean. I don’t drink alcohol. I rarely eat sugary treats. I haven’t been to a fast-food joint since early 2009 when we ran out of healthy snacks on a long drive through the Saskatchewan prairies and all that was around was a Dairy Queen… Yet because I eat to my natural hunger, I’ve yet to lose the 10’ish lbs of extra body fat I’ve accumulated through menopause.
I promised you some good news – a SIMPLE SOLUTION – in 2 easy steps:
So the onus is on you. That was some tough love, I know.
The good news is that creating and adhering to a small caloric deficit to support your weight loss goal is waaaaaay easier than trying to restore a broken metabolism or dysfunctional thyroid!
This, my friend, is something you have control over!
Here’s what you need to do next:
STEP 1:
Get expert guidance on calculating your daily nutritional targets – how many calories and macros you ought to be eating to support your weight loss goal while accounting for your activity level, your body, your life. Please don’t use some online calculator that has you starving at only 1200 calories a day – because I promise you, that WILL in fact disrupt thyroid and metabolic function over time and sabotage your efforts.
STEP 2:
Once you know your numbers, honestly and accurately track consistently for at least 4-6 weeks. Or you can follow a precise, structured meal plan that has been created for you that meets your targets. Either way, you must be intentional and [you know what’s coming…] you must be consistent.
I said it was simple, not easy. But trust me on this, IT WORKS!
Need help? Get in touch with us today!
