If you’re reading this, you may have already tried (or are trying) the conventional weight loss approach—low calorie, lots of cardio, and the belief that hunger pangs are just a way of life if you’re trying to lose weight. A badge of honor even.
We’re here to tell you there’s a better way! One that leaves you feeling satisfied, nourished, and seeing results along the way. Have you been curious about how many calories you should be eating to lose weight? Or thinking you need to eat low-calorie to see results? One of our dietitians, Sam, is on the blog today to bust a few common weight loss myths so that you can find results the sustainable way instead.
Traditional Weight Loss Methods
If there are anything shows like The Biggest Loser and government recommendations that have helped to normalize, it’s the idea that weight loss means calorie counting and food deprivation. You’ve been told it takes grit, meticulous food prep, and sacrifice to see results. You’ve heard advice like “if it was easy, everyone would do it” or “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” If you’ve tried the conventional weight loss approach, you’ve likely eaten 1200 calories a day, you’ve stopped eating avocados because they have too much fat, you’ve weighed yourself daily, and you’ve done so.much.cardio. Sound familiar?
These methods sometimes work in the short term, but they are really hard to stick to for longer periods. Additionally, you may find that your results actually diminish over time since your body enters a form of starvation, conserving energy where it can for fear that it won’t be able to readily obtain more (in the form of food). In other words, low-calorie diets activate your body’s primal survival instincts.
Whether we’re talking about calories, macro percentages, or even specific foods, there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to losing weight. But one near-universal truth is that even if your goal is weight loss, you need more than 1200 calories to keep your body healthy and happy.
Your Body Needs Energy
Even if you laid in bed for the entire day, your body would still burn calories just performing the functions needed to keep you alive like digesting food, breathing, delivering blood and oxygen to your body’s tissues, creating new cells, and so much more. This is called your body’s Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. Most people burn 1200-1400 calories or more without even performing normal daily activities. If you take your BMR and add all your daily activity, you’re likely burning thousands of calories, which is why it’s so important to eat enough to fuel that calorie burn. If you don’t, you’ll only slow your body’s ability to function, meaning that your body won’t be willing to let go of the fat stores that it views as vital to survival.
The Holistic Approach
There’s a better way! One that involves feeding your body what it needs to thrive, moving it in a way you enjoy, and getting to a weight that’s naturally optimal for you in the process. Below, I’m outlining a few of my top tips.
1) When it comes to your food, focus on quality, not quantity
While some people are certainly eating too much, that’s not the most common issue I see. Instead, I often see people so focused on how much they are eating that they forego food quality altogether. But here’s the thing – your body responds to 100 calories from broccoli or steak much differently than 100 calories from soda or 100 calories from crackers. All calories aren’t created equal, and our body uses food as information. If your goal is weight loss, focus on eating a mix of nutrient-dense foods, including high-quality protein, lots of veggies, healthy fats, and some fruit. If you tolerate them, beans and gluten-free grains may be a part of your plate in relatively small amounts. If you’d like more information on what to eat to lose weight check out our previous post.
2) Eat less frequently
Let’s be clear we’re not saying eat less, but rather eat less frequently. The advice for weight loss is often to eat 4-6 small meals a day, but it’s usually better to stick to 3 square meals instead. Though eating is essential, it’s also an inflammatory activity, meaning it’s best to give your body bouts of rest in between. An added benefit here is that your digestive tract has a chance to clean and repair between meals. Additionally, when you eat a little less frequently, your body will have less frequent rises in blood sugar, and in turn, less need for insulin as well. Since insulin encourages the storage of fat and limits your body’s ability to tap into fat stores, this is a good thing. This is why low-carb diets tend to be beneficial for weight loss, too.
3) Switch up your workout routine
If you’ve been doing straight cardio for months on end, challenge your body and try some strength training instead. Not only does muscle burn more calories at rest when compared to fat, but strength training workouts also result in a greater ‘afterburn’ post-workout. This means you continue to burn an increased amount of calories for hours after the workout ends. Another form of exercise that’s beneficial for metabolic and overall health is HIIT, or High-intensity Interval Training. This form of exercise is often shorter duration but involves alternating bouts of high-intensity movement and rest.
Above all, though, exercise by doing something that you enjoy, since it’s hard to be consistent with something that you hate doing. My one caveat here is that, especially if you’re new to exercise, nothing will feel particularly fun at first. It’s important to give any new form of movement at least a few weeks of experimentation before you throw in the towel.
4) Get enough sleep
Though it may seem unrelated to weight loss, adequate sleep is actually a central tenet to overall health. Not only does your body have a chance to rest and repair at night, but a lack of sleep is also associated with increased insulin resistance and greater calorie intake overall. Since you’re tired, your body wants a quick energy source to sustain itself. Enter sugar and carbohydrates! Your body views these as the quickest energy around since they digest quickly and turn to sugar in the bloodstream. That’s why you may find your sugar and carb cravings particularly strong the day after a less-than-stellar night of sleep. The irony here is that your body is less equipped to process these carbs after a night of poor sleep, meaning you’ll have higher blood sugar throughout the day, even if you eat lower-carb foods. Of course, none of this is great news for your weight loss efforts.
Sleep quality and quantity are both important. Aim for 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and focus on proper sleep hygiene to help you get there. Limit your screen time in the hour before bed, sleep in a cool and darkroom, and stop eating 3-4 hours before bed. I love this article from Dr. Mark Hyman with more tips.
5) Manage your stress
Stress wreaks havoc on our overall health, and the area of weight loss is no exception. If you’re experiencing chronic stress, you’ll end up with elevated cortisol and your sympathetic nervous system in overdrive. Without adequate time in parasympathetic (rest and digest) mode, your body thinks it’s continually under threat. What evolved as a survival mechanism to give you the ability to outrun a tiger or other dangers has turned into chronic, uninterrupted stress. This is bad for our waistlines and our health as a whole.
Make time for stress-relief and joy each day, whether that includes walking your dogs, meditating, exercising, calling a friend, journaling, or something else. In addition to prioritizing this time for yourself, remember that the only thing we can control about stressful situations is how we respond to them.
6) Ask for help when you need it
Too often, we try to go it alone, to tough it out to show our grit. What if instead, we reached out for help when we truly needed it? This can manifest in a few different ways, from hiring a registered dietitian to customize a plan for you to hiring a personal trainer or buying a virtual fitness membership. It can also mean leaving your weight loss meal prep to someone else instead. Here at Snap Kitchen, healthier meal prep is our specialty. Let us do the heavy lifting for you. You just have to show up, heat, and eat!
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