Restricting Calories - thinking you have to eat as little as possible to lose weight

In order to lose weight, yes, it is true – calories in versus calories out.  You need to burn more calories than you are consuming. (Which can be done with both diet and exercise)  However, the common misconception is that you have to drastically cut your calorie allotment and/or food groups in their entirety in order to lose weight. 

I have seen clients who have rebounded (lost and gained back in excess), or have been stuck at a certain weight and can’t lose anymore (yet consuming under 1000kcal per day), and countless individuals who ended up quitting because it was just too hard with the amount of food they ate per day and low energy.  

General Guidelines

1 – The purpose of calories is to provide your body with energy. 

2- The #1 reason you gain weight is overconsumption of calories.  Your consumed more “energy” than your body needed thus stored as fat for future need.

3- Now in order to lose the fat you must consume less calories than you need for energy.

4 – Determine your calorie need by finding your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) Google calculator.

5- subtract 200-500 depending on your expected exercise program

6 – start tracking 

Now most people – I’d say 90% of the population when they finally decide that they are willing to do what they need to in order to lose they weight – they expect it off by tomorrow or next week by the latest.  They determine – cut the heck out of my calories and it’ll make me lose more and faster. That is both true and false.  You will lose in the beginning because you are consuming a lot less than you were previously – a lot of it will be water weight and some may be decreased fat cells – but…..our bodies are highly adaptable.  With its main purpose being survival, it will believe that there is no food available, and you will starve – so what does it do?  Go into starvation mode-  other body functions will slow to not consume as many calories and days that you eat just slightly more – your body will store the calories because it believes it may need this later because you might be food deprived again.   

Because severe calorie restriction is unsustainable, once you decide to eat “normal” not only will your body continue to store, but you gain back the weight plus some.  Starving ruins your metabolism and to get you back on track to normal metabolism function takes time – lots of time and consistency and careful monitoring.  You thought weight loss was hard – now you just made it that much harder for yourself.  You now have to get yourself to normal baseline before even trying to lose weight. Being stuck in this cycle would be a heartbreak.  

Save yourself and eat…..not over eat because that’s what causes unnecessary weight gain.  Eat in a slight deficit.  Exercise. Work on your mindset. Keep consistent.  And never give up.  And you WILL reach your goal weight.