Thinking About Dieting?
*Disclaimer, I am not a dietician/nutritionist, nor am I telling you how to eat. I simply have a vast amount of knowledge and experience that could be beneficial if you are struggling with weight loss/eating habits.
I’m going to clear something up very quickly here in the beginning, if it has the word “diet” in it then it’s pretty likely you’re setting yourself up for a roller coaster ride that ends exactly where you started. I believe in creating habits - lifestyle changes - that you can sustain for the rest of your life; not these bs “fad diets” that produce chaos along with a yo-yo type weight loss/gain. Keep in mind the “Whole 30” is an elimination diet specifically designed to identify food sensitivities, which is a different conservation that I will not be going down this discussion.
Losing weight is as simple as calories in versus calories out. To keep it simple, we’re not going to touch on other factors (psychological, hormonal, physiological, etc.) associated with the process. If you want to lose weight, you need to make sure you expend more calories throughout the day than what you take in. In most cases, making sure you exercise consistently and eat in moderation will be sufficient enough to get into a caloric deficit. Problem is, one measly pound of fat is 3,500 kcals, so if you are only in a 100-200 calorie deficit it will take you at least a week to lose one single pound (keep in mind that exercise will increase your metabolism resulting in a greater amount of calories expended to make up for the other calories not lost through your eating habits). BUT, when it comes to weight loss 1-2 lbs/week is a sustainable place to be.
When in doubt, keep things simple. Pick a lean protein, healthy carb, and lots of veggies with a little added healthy fat. BOOM!
One quick piece of advice… DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES (alcohol, pop, juice, etc.)!
If you are not able to get the results you are seeking, the only other “eating habit” I advise is intermittent fasting (also known as IF). It’s called intermittent because you are fasting for a period throughout the day. Besides having great success using IF myself, it has a lot of excellent research on the benefits of not just weight loss, but on improving insulin sensitivity, reducing inflammation, and even potentially heart health (among other things on the cellular level). I suggest using the 16:8 method (but can go as extreme as 20:4 or even a full day fast), which means you will fast for 16 hours and then have an 8 hour feeding window. During the fast, keep it simple and only consume water, but can have black coffee or decaf/non-sugar tea as well. During your feeding window, consume the number of calories you normally would so you can assess your tolerance. Once you’ve established a baseline feel for the process, then you can start working on creating a calorie deficit if you need to, but I’ve often found you’ll do that unintentionally by having a shorter window to eat. A couple tips when you are using this method: first, make sure you fuel your body with good whole foods as you need to have the reserve to “survive” the fast. Second, make sure your workout is built around your feeding window so that you have sufficient energy to perform your best.
All things aside, the ABSOLUTE number one key to losing weight (or gaining muscle, or basically succeeding at anything in life) is CONSISTENCY. I’ve tried everything under the sun from calorie counting, keto, to plant based “diets”, and the one thing that determines my success is commitment and consistency.
If you want to lose weight, you need to be consistent and dedicated to the process. You don’t need a “diet” for that, you just need a plan and determination. Quit thinking the next “pill” or “diet” will fix your lack of commitment.
As always, Let’s Get Stronger!