How do I lose weight?
For any of you wanting to lose fat, this IS the most important article you will read today...maybe even ever.
I’m going to tell you a little bit about ‘energy balance’, the fancy name for ‘calories in vs calories out’ - the fundamental theory behind every effective diet out there. Why do I say effective? Because you need to create a caloric deficit in order to lose weight, anything said to the contrary would defy physics, specifically the first law of thermodynamics—the law of conservation of energy.
Let’s break that down.
Put simply, you must burn more calories than you consume in order to reduce your weight (caloric deficit) and there are two basic ways in which you can achieve this:
1 - Reduce the number of calories consumed
2 - Increase physical activity
The key to both of these methods is understanding the impact of each—this involves tracking, easily done via a FitBit, MyFitnessPal, Apple Watch or any other tracking device.
How big should the deficit be? Research suggests that for an average person, a 500 calorie deficit per day would be sufficient to facilitate weight loss, without creating unsustainable hunger. This would, on average, lead to a weight loss of 0.5 kg per week. Another method would be to focus on losing 0.5 to 1% of your body weight per week—I find this to be a decent, healthy pace, and more appropriate for heavier individuals who have more weight to lose.
So, we now understand that to lose fat, in essence, we need to;
A - eat less
or
B - move more
or both.
But, what about the foods we consume in pursuit of this deficit? Is it purely a case of calories in vs calories out? Or will eating certain foods circumnavigate science? For weight loss only, it’s literally calories in vs calories out. It’s that simple. However, we don’t just care about being lean and how we look outwardly, do we? We want to feel as good as we look, we want true health, and that is where sources of calories come into their own.
Nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods should be the basis of your diet. By nutrient-dense, I mean foods rich in protein, healthy fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Foods that not only leave you feeling full, which is kinda helpful when you are in a caloric deficit, but also help stabilise your blood sugar (no rollercoaster of energy levels, culminating in a crash and 5 Krispy Kremes). Not to mention the benefits for disease prevention, fertility, skin, hair, bone health… I could go on.
Eating high-quality/single-ingredient foods also give the calories in vs calories out equation a boost too, by boosting your metabolism—ever heard of the ‘thermic effect of food (TEF)’? In a nutshell, certain foods require the body to work harder to digest them. This extra work results in more calories burnt. Foods rich in protein have the highest, which means that a diet high in protein results in more calories burnt via the art of eating. You get to eat and burn calories at the same time. Sounds pretty darn good to me.
This all sounds great, yeah? You live the rest of your life only ever eating nutrient-dense foods and ensuring your energy balance is appropriate to your goal at any one time, i.e. maintain, lose, gain weight. Wrong. There will be times you want a pizza, you fancy having an ice cream or pancakes with the kids, you want to eat out with your mates, you’ve just had a really bad day at the office, and a chicken breast with rice and veg just won’t cut it. Do you know what? That’s ok. It’s about making smart choices and not giving in to excess. Go out with your mates, but don’t go crazy and order everything off the menu. And, think about your activity levels and what else is going in your mouth that day/week. Cook your own pizza, it’s dead easy and honestly just as good as a bought version, but without all the additives. Make protein pancakes, you are probably thinking ‘YUCK’, but the food industry has come on leaps and bounds over the last 5 years in terms of readily available and reasonably priced healthier ingredients; you only need to spend a bit of time on Google or Instagram to find some very good healthy recipes for your favourite treats.
Calories in vs calories out are important, regardless of whether you want to lose, maintain or gain, there is no getting around that. But having an overall healthy lifestyle isn’t just about your size and how your body looks. It’s also not about removing all the tasty foods from your life completely, forever. It’s about understanding the foods you put into your body, not just being focused on what’s on the outside and making sensible decisions around food and activity levels, so you have the body and overall health levels that you desire….long term!