“I can’t eat these when I’m trying to lose weight!”
Pancakes
Fried chicken
Wine
Fries
Chocolate cake
That’s the catch cry of millions of us around the world, when we embark on losing weight and getting fit.
How would you feel, if I told you this was completely untrue? And that you could eat these things while you’re losing weight.
Would you believe me?
I know it sounds outrageous.
How can we eat, what’s typically described as ‘junk food’ and still lose weight?
The answer is Energy Balance.
Let’s start at the beginning so we’re on the same page.
The energy we receive from food and drink is measured in calories (or kilojoules in some countries). The higher the calorie content, the higher the amount of energy we receive from that food.
A chocolate bar because of its fat and sugar content, contains more calories than a stick of celery which is predominately water. To eat an equal amount of calories, we’d have to probably eat over a 1kg of celery to match an average size chocolate bar.
A calorie is a calorie.
Now some people will want to split hairs on how many calories are digested, but for the average person with the goal to lose weight, like you and I. Let’s keep it simple and look at the big picture.
Food and drink supplies our bodies with calories, and the amount of calories our bodies require is based on our body’s individual needs. There is no blanket level of calories for men or women. Each of us have a different needs due to our height, weight and physical activity.
Statements like women only need 1500 calories, are ridiculous. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that a 5’2 desk bound office worker, who doesn’t do much exercise requires much less than calories that a 5’11 landscape gardener does.
How Many Calories We Need Is Completely Individual
However the principles behind our calorie intake is the same:
– When we eat the exact number of calories our body needs, we’ll have stable weight. We will maintain our weight.
– When we eat less calories than our body needs, we’ll lose weight. We’ll be in a calorie deficit.
– When we eat more calories than our body needs, we’ll gain weight. We’ll be in a calorie surplus.
The principle behind losing weight is as simple as creating an energy deficit.
However, it’s not as easy as saying eat less calories than you need to. If it was, none of us would struggle with losing weight. The reason why it’s not as simple as just saying to eat less calories, is because food means so much more than just energy for our bodies.
It’s a part of our rituals, habits, likes, dislikes, so changing our eating behaviour requires a multi-faceted approach. And on top of that we also must contend with our body’s physiological responses to the change in food choices and calorie intake. The increased hunger, taste bud rebellion or decreased energy.
So what can we do, to make it less painful?
We can continue include some of our favourite high calorie foods.
SAY WHAT NOW?!
Remember the chocolate bar and celery comparison?
To eat the equvialent in calories. You’d have to eat nearly a whole bunch of celery, to equal a small chocolate bar. And this is the key for weight loss. Choosing the correct quantities of food to put you in a calorie deficit.
To lose weight now, you must decrease the calories you eat. And if you want to include the high calorie foods you enjoy, you’ll need to modify the quantity you have.
It’s having 1 glass of wine, instead of 2. A smaller slice of chocolate cake. Less slices of pizza. A smaller serving of hot chips. Pancakes every fortnight, instead of every weekend.
However, people have been incorrectly pushed into believing that ‘food quality’ matters in weight loss. That in order to lose weight, you must only eat food that is minimally processed and maximised in nutrients. In other words you must eat food that’s of a higher quality.
To lose weight, it’s not food quality, that mattters. It’s food quantity.
Here is a famous example:
(credit https://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html)
This professor of human nutrition went on a ‘twinkie diet’. He lost weight.
How? He achieved a calorie deficit.
Does this mean, I’m condoning you live off food that’s low in nutrients? Certainly not!
It’s to illustrate you don’t need to suffer through eliminating every single delicious treat food, while you’re losing weight.
Instead, you need to modify the frequency and amount you eat – have it less often or a smaller portion.
Not only will your tastebuds thank you, but your sanity will be eternally grateful!
If you’re ready to start your weight loss nutrition program, talk to me.
Marty
