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Easily Lose Weight Without Counting Calories
In this very website, I have plenty of articles on both sides of the counting calorie conundrum.
(if you want to read those they are at the end of this Blog for your further reading pleasure).
Personally, I am not in favour of counting calories, nor am I against it.
The decision to choose to count calories or not simply comes down to the behaviour patterns and previous dieting history of the person who is trying to figure out whether or not is a good idea to count calories or not.
The list of people who shouldn't be counting calories is:
Anyone who has an eating disorder
Anyone who is a perfectionist
Anyone who suffers with food guilt
Anyone who refuses to eat because it will take them “above their calorie limit”
Anyone who has a history of yo-yo dieting and diet clubs.
If you are in one of those cohorts of people and you are still actively trying to lose weight, then you are in the right place.
If you are not in one of those cohorts of people, but still want to learn more about losing weight…then you are in the right place as well.
Basically…if you are trying to find out more about losing weight…
As always, thank you for being here, and I can’t wait to help you figure this crazy journey out.
Before we progress, you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. This means consuming fewer calories than your metabolism is burning each day, and that can be achieved both through counting calories and without counting calories.
If you need more information on Calorie Deficits then head here.
Table of contents for Easily Lose Weight Without Counting Calories:
Is Calorie Counting the best way to lose weight?
How to be in a Calorie Deficit without counting calories
Signs that you are in a Calorie Deficit
Really Simple Solutions
Is Calorie Counting the Best way to lose weight?
Calorie counting does work.
This study (1) took a cohort of people and found that there was a correlation between consistent trackers and weight loss outcomes:
“Only consistent trackers had significant weight loss (-9.99 pounds), following a linear relationship with consistent loss throughout the year. In addition, the weight loss trend for the rare and inconsistent trackers followed a nonlinear path, with the holidays slowing weight loss and the onset of summer increasing weight loss. These results show the importance of frequent dietary tracking for consistent long-term weight loss success”
But as I mentioned in my introduction if you match any of the cohorts I spoke about, then these results will not be accessible to you.
The other thing I would say is this: calorie counting is the quickest way to know if you are in a calorie deficit. You simply get immediate feedback on what you are eating and provided you have done your calorie calculations correctly, you will know whether or not you are indeed taking the steps to lose weight each day.
If you want to do your calorie calculations then get my calorie calculator sent to your inbox right now.
If you aren’t able to, or just don’t want to count calories, then I will lay out for you exactly how to lose weight within that.
But you will have to meet me half way with regards to the process.
You will need patience.
The only way to know if you are losing weight, for sure, without counting calories, is through consistent work on the process I will outline below, and then comparing month to month at markers that will indicate weight loss - a topic we will get onto later in this blog post.
How to be in a Calorie Deficit without Counting Calories
Over my decade in the fitness industry, I have made many many mistakes. One of those mistakes was asking clients who were contra-indicated to count calories.
In fact, now I am older and wiser, I would argue the vast majority of the people I work with, mainly people just like you, who really want to lose weight, but might also have a very fragile relationship with food, with the scale, with their body image and are low on self-esteem, do not need to count calories.
I am now far less likely to ask a client to count calories when working on their weight loss - and the results I get are just as effective. If not more so, because my clients aren’t reliant on the control that calorie counting gives them, and don’t have to learn to regress.
We go slower to start with, building strong proper foundations, so that they are empowered to be able to stay at a weight that suits them for their whole lives.
In fact, I would also argue, that most people who count calories, lose weight, and then stop counting calories are far more likely to regain their weight, then have to go back to calorie counting to lose it again…and they repeat this process all of their lives.
Also please remember body weight will always fluctuate. It is not a static thing, and in each different phase and aspect of your life different body weights will emerge - and that is ok.
Losing weight without counting calories is possible, but it requires a combination of diet and lifestyle changes to help us make sure that we are getting you into a calorie deficit.
Here are a few tips to help you get started, backed by scientific research.
Let’s start with your dietary changes:
PORTION CONTROL
Portion control is your best friend when it comes to organising your diet into a calorie deficit.
Don't feel like you have to finish everything on your plate: It's okay to leave a little bit of food behind, and it can actually be a good thing to listen to your body's hunger and fullness cues. When your mum told you that you must finish your plate, little did she know that when you grow up, this could have a major impact on your relationship with food? It’s not your mum’s fault, but you must understand that you don’t have to finish your plate as an adult.
Focus on the quality of your food, not just the quantity: Rather than trying to eat less of everything, try to fill your plate with a variety of nutritious foods. Start with Protein, and build your plate around that. One of my Five Awesome Rules for Fat Loss Life is to Protein and Veggies at every meal. This will increase fibre and nutrients which will make you feel fuller for longer whilst losing weight.
Be mindful of your snacking: Snacking can add a lot of extra calories to your diet, so it's important to be mindful of what and how much you're eating between meals. The cliche is true, fruits and vegetables are your best friends when it comes to snacking. Try to limit your snacks to two a day between your meals.
Don't be afraid to ask for a to-go box: If you're eating out and the portions are larger than you're used to, don't be afraid to ask for a to-go box and take the rest home for another meal. This is a massive thing in Australia which I had to get used to. In England, you either finish your plate or leave food on there, you hardly ever get a “doggy bag”. But here its quite common practice - and it’s such a good thing to do. It saves on food wastage, it saves you from overeating, and it means you have leftovers for the next day so you are automatically meal prepped.
Don't deprive yourself: It's important to enjoy your food and not feel like you're constantly depriving yourself. If you really want that second serving or dessert, go for it, but try to be mindful of how much you're eating. Remember balance always.
Find what works for you: Everyone is different, so it's important to find what works best for you and your body. Don't be afraid to experiment with different portion sizes and see how you feel.
2. STRUCTURED EATING
The role of structured eating in your diet has astounding benefits from improving your relationship with food as well as helping you get into a calorie deficit.
However, for the purposes of this article, its use is to regulate and stimulate your hunger hormones (2).
By making sure you regulate these hormones (grehlin and leptin) you will be able to avoid the classic “hangry” feeling and therefore not end up eating everything in sight when you get the opportunity to.
By eating in a structured way, your body will no longer guess when it will and will not be fed, and therefore having a much more regular diet will decrease your overall calories not just during the day, but also over the weeks as well.
This study (3) also concluded:
“While no one eating occasion contributes more than any other to excess adiposity, eating more often than three times a day may play a role in overweight and obesity in both younger and older persons”
The structure you need to stick to is:
Breakfast.
Lunch.
Dinner.
Two snacks.
Each meal must fit on one plate.
You should also eat uninterrupted and participate as much as possible in the making and creating of the food.
The other thing to remember with structured eating is that it requires mindful eating as well. This will help you pay attention to your body's hunger and fullness cues, and eat only when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied. Avoid distractions like TV or phone while eating, as these can cause you to eat more than you need (4). Mindful eating has been shown to be effective for weight loss and the prevention of weight gain (5).
3. WATER INTAKE
Another one of my five awesome rules for fat loss life is the promotion of trying to drink 3 litres of water a day. This can be a shock to the system, to begin with, but build up slowly and you will be on also remember it is a purposefully high target, because if you fall short you are still covered.
Drinking enough water can help you feel full and satisfied, thus helping your hunger cues be quelled, and helping to keep you in a calorie deficit. I always suggest to clients on the Strong and Confident Program to work towards trying to drink 3 litres a day.
A study of 50 adults found that those who drank 375ml or 500 ml of water before a meal lost significantly more weight than those who did not (6).
Now let’s look at some physical changes you might need to make:
SLEEP
The more I write about fitness, the more I am realising that sleep features in every aspect of your fitness journey. Not just for weight loss, but for performance as well.
You have to get enough sleep. However, I am not ignorant of the fact that if you have a young family that simply will not be possible. I appreciate that, and if that is you, then be aware of the impact of sleep, but don’t get stressed about the fact you can’t access enough sleep; just be aware that when things settle down, you should think about addressing this part of your life.
If you are reading this, and you don’t have a young family or a medical reason that you can’t get enough sleep, and you aren’t getting enough sleep then you need to get enough sleep.
Adequate sleep is essential for weight loss and overall health. In fact, it is that important, I would put it as high up on the list of helping you lose weight as being in a Calorie Deficit.
A review of 17 studies found that people who slept 7-9 hours per night had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) compared to those who slept less (7).
One reason lack of sleep is associated with weight gain is that sleep deprivation can lead to an increase in appetite, particularly for high-calorie, sugary foods. This is because sleep deprivation can lead to an increase in the hunger hormone ghrelin and a decrease in the hormone leptin, which regulate hunger and fullness. As a result, people who don't get enough sleep may feel hungrier and eat more.
In addition to increasing appetite, sleep deprivation can also lead to an increase in the hormone cortisol, which can promote fat storage and weight gain. This is because cortisol is released in response to stress, and sleep deprivation can be a source of stress for the body.
Furthermore, insufficient sleep can lead to a decrease in physical activity and a decrease in the body's ability to burn calories effectively. This is because sleep deprivation can lead to fatigue and decreased energy levels, making it harder for people to be physically active. It is also not uncommon to see a drop in fidgeting and other calorie-burning activities throughout the day, because of tiredness.
Overall, it is important to get enough sleep in order to maintain a healthy weight. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
2. STRUCTURED MOVEMENT
As I mentioned above, we need to work on both sides of the energy balance equation to easily create a calorie deficit, especially if you aren’t counting calories.
The most important thing for you to remember when it comes to physical movement, in pursuit of losing weight, is to not view calorie-burning as the reason you are exercising.
Yes. Exercise does burn calories.
No. You don’t have to earn your calories in the gym.
Yes. Exercise is amazing for your overall health.
No. Exercising doesn’t burn as many calories as you would think.
Yes. Exercise is a great tool to help keep you on track dietarily and emotionally with a weight loss goal.
All exercise will help you create a calorie deficit. Notice the word “help”?
The most important aspect of exercise with regards to this is that you chose the exercise you enjoy the most because you will then be far more likely to continue doing it for long enough to see results.
I very recently got this message on Instagram in relation to a workout I give away for free:
The person who sent me this, was in a phase of not counting calories, although she is quite calorie aware, and she was wanting to begin the journey of feeling her best for her wedding which is in a few weeks (as I write this), and she is about 7 months post-partum.
The results are immense. But for me, the best result isn’t the weight loss she created, its the fact she felt more empowered as a result of exercising, and she is evidently more confident as a result of getting stronger. Its the dream scenario.
The workout she completed was this:
If you want the same strength workout I gave her then just put your email address in here and I will send it to you in a day or two:
Or if you would like a four-week beginner strength training routine for beginners with video tutorials then head here.
Aim for 2-3 workouts a week, which last for about 30-40mins and that make you feel two inches taller when you walk out of the Gym compared to when you walked in, and you will be right where you need to be when it comes to working out.
3. INCREASING YOUR NEAT
You could look up any advice about losing weight across the whole internet, and I promise you that every weight loss plan you find will feature something in relation to your NEAT.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.
This is the largest portion of your daily caloric burn. It is responsible for burning as many calories as structured movement and how many calories you burn through digestion combined.
Essentially the simplest way it can be measured is by your step count.
But there are other aspects of it as well. When I designed my five awesome rules for fat loss life, I made one of those rules: 10k Steps A Day.
Science has since shown that 10k steps a day are not necessarily needed for improving your health, the figure stands at around 7.5k steps a day if you are only focused on improving your health.
But as you aren’t counting calories, and I am telling you that you can lose weight easily, then we need to put in some targets here.
This is the simplest way to make sure that your step count is right:
Take your previous month’s daily average number.
Multiply it by two.
That is your new step count.
Then after about two weeks, you need to multiply it by two again.
And continue doing this all the way up to 10k steps a day and then keep it there as consistently as possible.
Now if you just don’t have time to fit in that amount of steps a day in, there is another solution. We need you to walk faster. If all you have is the maximum time in your day to do 5k steps a day, then a great way of making that 5k steps as effective as possible for you is that every time you walk, do it with as much purpose and direction as you possibly can.
Don’t dilly-dally. You aren’t strolling, you are walking with the intention to get to your destination as effectively as possible.
Other great ways to increase your NEAT are:
Incorporate more movement into your daily routine by using a standing or adjustable desk.
Take regular stretch breaks throughout the day to loosen up and move your body.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator whenever possible.
Walk or bike to the store or grocery shop instead of driving or taking public transportation.
Park further away from the grocery shop in the car park.
Every time there is an ad break on TV, climb your stairs three times.
Wear ankle weights when walking.
Take up a new hobby that involves movement such as rock climbing, ice skating or roller skating.
Do some gardening.
Every time there is an ad break on tv, use it as a Dance Break instead.
Never sit down when you are on the phone, always stand or walk.
Take the kids or grandkids to the park and play games or sports with them.
Carry your shopping as opposed to using a trolley.
Walking is your solution to most things. Emotional stress, physical stress, or maybe you just need to find some more energy to help get through the day. You might want to improve the quality of your sleep or even to help you easily lose weight without counting calories, I promise you, walking solves more issues than you will ever thought possible.
How Do You Know If You’re In A Calorie Deficit
As I mentioned earlier, counting calories gives you instant feedback on whether or not you are in a calorie deficit.
So if we are taking counting calories away, it is useful to know what other signs you can look for, to get similar feedback on your progress.
Here are the kinds of things I always tell clients to keep aware of to measure their success when they aren’t counting calories:
SCALE WEIGHT
This one is always tricky as many people who aren’t counting calories, likely won’t be the most comfortable with getting on the scales either.
However, if we are directly answering the question of “easily losing weight”, then at some point you will likely check in with your body weight.
Now read this very carefully:
You should only compare your scale weight on a monthly basis, not weekly, to determine if you are in a calorie deficit or not.
You can track daily, or you can track weekly. But from only comparing Day 1 to Day 31 will you know if you are in a Calorie Deficit or not.
This is because scale weight is a fickle fiend and comparing weight loss on a shorter timescale will drive you insane due to all the fluctuations involved.
Please, if you want to look at your scale weight in relation to easily losing weight only compare monthly readings.
2. MEASUREMENTS
These are probably your better friend than scale weight to track your progress. Again, only compare on a monthly basis maybe even a 6-week basis. Another great sign of your measurements changing is feeling different in your clothes - if you feel like they are fitting you better, or you feel like you are wearing them better, then you are probably making an impact on your measurements.
The measurements I ask my clients for, if they are comfortable doing this, are the following:
Neck
Chest
L Bicep
R Bicep
Waist at the Belly Button
Waist 2in below the Belly Button
Waist 2in above the Belly Button
Hips
L Thigh
R Thigh
3. WORK IN PROCESS PICTURES
I don’t call them before or after photos. I don’t call them “progress pictures” either.
Simply because a photo solely looking at your physique, can often cause more issues than it solves. It automatically puts you into a mindset of “the way I look is all that is important”.
And it’s not.
The way you look is one aspect of you, and it is likely one of the last reasons anyone enjoys being with you.
Think of your friends. Are you only friends based on the size of their body? Of course not.
So I like to try to change the narrative of photos. Your work in process pictures are just that, designed to capture your process and the changes you are seeing along your journey.
This could be, photos of you working out, or on walks.
This could be family snaps where you remember not feeling awkward in the photo.
This could be a photo on a night out where you didn’t automatically feel anxious when someone asked for a picture, and you resisted the urge to want to look at it, in case you didn’t like it and wanted it deleted.
These are work in process pictures.
When you engage in a weight loss journey, sure weight loss is the goal, but in truth its the least interesting goal that actually occurs.
Use your photos to celebrate your journey, celebrate your building confidence, celebrate your consistency, celebrate your confidence changing as you progress.
These are all signs of progress too, aside from seeing your belly reduction on two photos that are six weeks apart.
Your physique can and will change. But a photo only focussed on your physique will never capture the internal changes that have occurred to you over time. Get photos that describe your internal monologue as well.
Document that progress.
It’s so much more rewarding.
4. CONSISTENCY
Another incredible sign that you are in a calorie deficit is recording your consistency. Tick off these things:
How regularly you are getting your workouts in
How regularly you are keeping your structure with food
How regularly you feel less guilty about the food you are eating
How regularly you are trying to move away from calling foods “good” and “bad”
How regularly you are getting your steps in
How much water you are drinking
How regularly you are getting 7-8 hours sleep a night
You can do this on a calendar, a tracking app or a journal.
Remember there is a key difference between consistency and perfection. In order to be consistent you need to be hitting your goals and habits 25 days out of 30 in a month.
5. HUNGER
Going to bed and feeling a little hungry is also a good sign that you are in a calorie deficit. At no point in your life do you want to be ravenous, and hunger should be managed relatively well throughout the day, especially if you have a structure with your food.
But going to bed and feeling a little hungry is a good sign that you are in a calorie deficit.
Really Simple Solutions
When I first became a Personal Trainer, one of the firs things my Coach gave me to work on was the concept of KISS.
Keep, It, Simple, Stupid.
And therefore over the years, I have always worked on trying to distil weight loss and fitness into the simplest and most effective messaging I can come up with.
And here is what seems to have stuck:
THE 3, 4, 5 SYSTEM
I remember where I was when I came up with this a few years ago. I was on the Gym Floor with one of my best Australian friends, Ben. I had been training him for nearly a year at this point, and he was aware his life was getting busier again, and it was about to cause havoc on his progress. I could never get Ben to track his food, so I asked him to stick to this.
3 litres of water a day.
4 movement sessions a week; Walking, Workouts and anything else you might enjoy.
5 moments with food every day: 3 meals, two snacks.
Its simplicity gave me so much joy. I then introduced it to one of my online clients in Colorado, doing my Strong & Confident Program and she sent me this as it was her lock screen to keep her on track.
What a beautiful idea.
DAILY AWESOME SALAD
The DAS.
Get your protein source. Add a huge bag of salad and some carby veggies.
Job done.
Do this for lunch each and every day. It’s easy to prep, its cost-effective, and it will do a good job.
BUILD MEALS AROUND PROTEIN
Start with protein.
Then add veggies to your plate.
Then if you look at your meal and still feel like you need something else, add a Carbohydrate source.
Try to aim for 100g of protein a day. This is the equivalent of:
My recommendation to clients is to always start with 100g of protein a day, or if you are vegetarian or vegan then aim for 80g of protein a day.
You can get more complex if you like, but if you don’t want to count calories, then there really isn’t much of a need to past those recommendations.
And always make sure it fits on one plate, as mentioned in the structured eating section of this article.
FIVE AWESOME RULES FOR FAT LOSS LIFE
I have written about these many times.
In a nutshell, they are:
Be in a Calorie Deficit
10k steps a day
7-8 hours sleep a night
Protein and Veggies at every meal
3 litres of water a day
If you want to find out more about how these rules work then head here:
5 Easy Ways To Do A Calorie Deficit Without Working Out
FOLLOW THE DADDY HUMPHREYS PLAN
Here is my Dad and I, out on the Golf Course back in Essex where we used to live together. I since moved to Australia. My Dad was recently diagnosed with Cancer at the age of 67.
He recently went from 80kgs to 75kgs in a matter of about 4 months.
He has never been overweight or really had any body weight concerns. But when he got Cancer, he was told that getting his BMI down a touch would be helpful, and would help him feel better in general.
His Cancer is quite serious, it is Stage 4, and he can only get onto Maintenance drugs to help him, never into full remission or be Cancer free.
But in terms of his treatment, it has all been relatively easy compared to what most people go through with chemotherapy. His side effects have been some hiccoughs, and interrupted sleep and that’s about it. My point is, he didn’t suffer weight loss as a result of his treatment.
He got his bodyweight down through behaviour, none of which was counting calories.
Here is what he did:
As you can see, it’s a pretty simple, and sensible solution.
The Daddy Humphreys Plan: I wonder if it will sell….
What’s Next…
Well, I am an Online Coach who has helped thousands of people work through the challenges in this article.
And it would be my pleasure to help you too.
My program is personal one-to-one online training called the Strong & Confident Program.
If you have ever wanted to achieve the following:
✅ Escape the constant dread of dieting?
✅ Release the guilt you attach to eating certain types of food?
✅ Learn to stop worrying about “the pesky last few pounds” and focus on all your body can do?
✅ Become truly happy with what your body is and what is capable of?
✅ Enjoy the feeling of being stronger and fitter as opposed to trying to reduce your size all the time?
✅ Achieve all of this and still lose body fat at the same time without huge restrictions and slavery to a fitness regime?
✅ Do it all on your own schedule, in your own way, with a program specifically designed for you?
Then please click on the button below and fill out an application form to start working with me.
If you feel like you need more help learning how to lose weight and release the need for counting calories then you can look through the following articles of mine as well:
Thank you so much for reading my work, and good luck with building a stronger relationship with food.
I cannot wait to see how you go!
Coach Adam
References:
Ingels JS, Misra R, Stewart J, Lucke-Wold B, Shawley-Brzoska S. The Effect of Adherence to Dietary Tracking on Weight Loss: Using HLM to Model Weight Loss over Time. J Diabetes Res. 2017;2017:6951495. doi: 10.1155/2017/6951495. Epub 2017 Aug 9. PMID: 28852651; PMCID: PMC5568610.
Klok, M.D., Jakobsdottir, S. and Drent, M.L. (2007), The role of leptin and ghrelin in the regulation of food intake and body weight in humans: a review. Obesity Reviews, 8: 21-34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2006.00270.x
Howarth NC, Huang TT, Roberts SB, McCrory MA, Lin BH. Eating patterns and dietary composition in relation to weight change over 7 y. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2001;73(2):209-218.
Van Walleghen EL, Hogg MM, Bell EA, Rolls BJ. Television viewing increases motivated responding for food and energy intake in adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2010;91(4):829-835.
Kristeller JL, Hallett CB. An exploratory study of a meditation-based intervention for binge eating disorder. Journal of Health Psychology. 1999;4(3):357-363.
Pre-meal water consumption for weight loss. (2013). Australian Family Physician, 42(7), 478. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.405716872190923
How To Get Past and Fix A Weight Loss Plateau
I absolutely love this image.
Because in one fell swoop it has summed up this horrible term that the Fitness Industry has perpetuated over and over and over again as a negative happening.
The Weight Loss Plateau.
Just the word plateau is horrible to say - “plateauuuuuuuuu….”. And the connotations of what it means are even worse:
If you are in a Plateau - you probably think:
You are failing
You are never going to reach “your goal”
You need to try something new
You chose the wrong path
You can’t seem to “crack” it
That everyone else knows something you don’t.
And not one single one of those feelings is true.
I can promise you that.
In this article, I am going to take you through How To Get Past and Fix A Weight Loss Plateau - and I almost guarantee it isn’t going to be what you were expecting.
Which is exciting - but not as exciting as what I am about to offer you.
I want to be your friend.
As your friend - I will obviously stay in touch, send you things, some educational, some thoughtful, and probably some that are a bit near the mark - but hey ho - I think that is the hallmark of a beautiful friendship: balance.
If you would like to be my friend also then please send me a friend request right here:
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR HOW TO GET PAST AND FIX A WEIGHT LOSS PLATEAU:
What is a weight loss plateau?
Why do weight loss plateaus occur?
How does scale weight actually work?
How to actually get past your weight loss plateau
What Is A Weight Loss Plateau?
If you’re in one…replace the word “fetch” with scale weight - and this GIF sums it up pretty well.
A weight-loss plateau (urgh) is when your body weight seems to have stopped going down on the scale - even though you have changed very little in your behaviour compared to when it was coming down.
It is normally regarded as a temporary stalling of scale weight.
There was a study done in 2021 called: Management Of Weight Loss Plateau [1].
In this study they define weight loss and a weight loss plateau thus:
“Studies comparing different diets have shown that a similar degree of weight loss can be achieved in an 8 to 12-week period, as long as a caloric deficit is achieved.[1] However, when looking at individuals in the longer-term, 24-weeks and beyond, only about 10 to 20% of those individuals successfully maintain their weight loss”
This doesn't mean they successfully maintain the weight they got to - this means the actual stats of the scale falling.
It also goes on to say:
“A misconception to beginners attempting to lose weight is that the process is linear. Therefore, one can expect that weight loss will occur more rapidly in the early stages. Still, then in the coming weeks, the weight may stay steady or even slightly increased despite maintaining the established calorie deficit”
This sets us up nicely for the rest of this article.
Why Do Weight Loss Plateaus Occur?
This is a very loaded question because as I always say “everybody is different” and every body is different.
And the solution to a weight loss plateau is likely not one sole thing for each person.
However, the most important point to this question is not a physical thing.
It’s not “your calories need to come down” or “you need to do more exercise”
It’s a psychological point that needs to be made - and it is so very important that I am putting it front and centre of this article.
Why do weight loss plateaus occur?
Follow Me On Instagram:
You Have Been Conditioned To View Them Negatively
Let me be very clear here.
Maintaining your body weight is a true success.
Sadly, we live in a world where allowing you to actually be proud of what you have achieved thus far, and promoting the fact that the scale may not be going down - but by golly - it isn’t going up…that is a true success.
This is what you and the fitness industry has allowed you to view as a:
“Plateauuuuuuu”
As a negative happening in your life. When actually it is a true success.
I am sure you have heard the phrase: “80% of all diets fail”. The definition of successful weight loss maintenance is:
“Successful long-term weight loss maintenance is intentionally losing at least 10% of initial body weight and keeping it off for at least 1 year.” [3]
Therefore if you are currently in an active deficit, and you have lost 10% or more of your body weight and your weight loss has “plateaued” you are actually on the path of being in the top 20% of the world’s population when it comes to dieting.
“Research has shown that approximately 20% of overweight individuals are successful at long-term weight loss when defined as losing at least 10% of initial body weight and maintaining the loss for at least 1 year” [2]
Therefore you aren’t stalling, failing or just not good enough.
You are actually in an elitist group of people. A rare cohort of incredible success - and you have been told to see it as a failure.
That’s a damn fucking shame.
I am sorry that we have done this to you. I am truly sorry that you have been led to believe that it is possible to keep dieting down and down and down and if that process ever stops then you are simply not good enough.
This has led to many people getting frustrated, angry and feeling shame at their inability to see scale weight continuing to tumble and it has to stop. Right now. Right here. With this post.
How Does Scale Weight Actually Work?
Scale Weight is a very fickle thing. You may or may not be aware that scale weight when you are in an active calorie deficit and trying to lose weight, will fluctuate.
Wildly.
Up and down. It will be stubborn at times. One day you can weigh on things, and the very next 24 hours later you can weigh 5-7lbs more.
This is normal.
In fact let me show you some of my weight readings, when I was in a caloric deficit and weighed myself each and every day.
This is July into August of 2021 - I started at 85.4kg and then deficit down to 81.9kg.
It looks like the best rollercoaster you have ever been on.
But as you can see I was constantly trading peaks and troughs. This is actually a very normal graph of scale weight. If you ever see a graph that is more linear than this - that is indeed not giving you the full picture of someone’s body weight.
I have Coached many people through weight loss and every single one of them have had this experience.
These fluctuations mainly occur due to:
Hormones and Menstrual Cycle
Medications
Sleep
Types of food you consume
Digestion
Exercise
One of the most common reasons scale weight will fluctuate is because carbohydrates retain water. When you eat any Carbohydrate your body will absorb 3g-4g of Water to help store the glycogen from the food.
This is not body fat and is perfectly normal - and is a big reason you see a big reduction in scale weight when someone goes “low-carb”
There is just one other thing to say here and that is that when you are tracking scale weight as a marker of success or not when trying to lose weight, you must gather more data than weekly scale readngs.
This is another common reason that plateaus occur - you just aren’t getting enough data.
Looking at the same graph from my weight as before I have circled every seventh reading - to repllicate one a week weigh ins.
As you can see every other week my weight was up from the week before.
Looking at the last circle, which is seven days from the one previous if I was weighing in weekly, and weighed in on the 6th day I would have had a reading that was lower than the last reading 7 days previous as opposed to one that was higher.
This is when data can become your best friend - and the more you gather the more insightful you can be when it comes to analysing what is going on.
If you have Scale Anxiety then please read my article that has helped hundreds of people overcome gravitophobia:
How To Actually Get Past Your Weight Loss Plateau
I guarantee I could find someone on the internet telling you very opposing things in relation to this question. You will be told to:
Reduce Calories
Increase Calories
More Exercise
Less Exercise
More Water
Less Water
And each person is just confusing you more and more and more - adding to your frustration and not knowing where to turn.
In truth, each solution could be correct.
Reducing your calories may lead to a calorie deficit as you will be consuming less in the short term.
Increasing your calories may lead to a calorie deficit in the long term as you might be less likely to binge and more adherent to your calorie moderate calorie deficit as opposed to always reducing and cutting and restricting.
More exercise might lead to a calorie deficit in the shorter term by way of burning calories (but this is a very silly way to go about losing weight) but it might lead to more hunger.
Less exercise might lead to a calorie deficit due to less hunger from exercise - especially with things like HIIT.
And water might help reduce hunger, but it does have a weight to it, and that will show up on the scale.
But I understand none of this is overly helpful right now.
Therefore I propose these solutions to your weight loss plateau problem.
Reframe it as a Success
What is the opposite of weight loss not going down? It going up…
And if weight loss is your ultimate goal, but it is in a “plateau” then you are indeed doing a fantastic job as your weight is stable and you are learning to manage your new body and its new weight.
I do feel like I want to caveat the above statement.
A lot of people, women especially, but men too, do feel great shame when their weight increases. This is because they get so much praise when their weight is coming down. Praise from friends, family, coaches, and society at large. This leads them to feel like failures when their weight may increase again, even if it is only slightly. As I mentioned before learning to maintain weight loss is incredibly difficult, and there is no shame or failure attached to regaining weight - because what the scale doesn't show is how much you have learnt, how much more skill you have developed in the gym, how consistent you have been with your actions, how much better your mental health is as a result of working hard and trying, how much more energy you have and how much better you are sleeping.
Even if you learn to manage your new body at its new weight and it is slightly up from the lowest scale reading you have - you are still succeeding at so much more than you are giving yourself credit for.
Remember, 80% of people cant maintain their weight.
A plateau really isn’t a bad thing.
Trust Yourself
Look at it this way…you got to the point of which a plateau can actually occur. You must have done something right thus far.
So now you just need to trust yourself. Trust you know what you are doing, trust that your actions will lead to the result you are after. One of the hardest things for people who are trying to lose weight is this element of trust.
Usually, because they have been sent on a path of yoyo dieting and then been made to feel like they themselves are the thing that is broken - not the diet itself. And relearning to trust yourself is very hard
To get to the issues of a weight loss plateau, you have a process that has worked, you have a process that is sustainable for you and you have a process that you know you can trust - you’re at this point already - and now it’s just a case of making sure that you trust that process, and trust yourself.
Remain Consistent, Remain Patient
The more weight you lose the slower it will occur. This is because many people who want to lose weight probably want to because they view the body fat they now have as excess.
They are above their body’s settling point that they are used to for themselves.
This can happen for many reasons, mainly lifestyle factors like becoming parents or changing from an active job to a sedentary one.
At the beginning with a tiny bit of focus, and dialling up a few things in terms of their diet, increasing some steps, in fact living by my 5 Awesome Rules for Fat Loss Life (please excuse how cringy the video below is), they then manage to lose that “extra” body fat relatively quickly.
But the closer you get to the point upon which you’re near when you want to be - think the classic last 5lbs of stubborn fat - then it will take an awful lot longer to get there.
The curve will always level off.
There is more at play in terms of this as well - which I go into further down.
But generally - you will lose weight quickest in the beginning - and this is also why many people do 6-week challenges that are all about losing lots of weight in that time frame - it’s a safe and easy way for personal trainers to get all the glory without having to actually do the hard work for people - get them through the moments when it feels hardest for them.
It’s a huge reason I don’t do them. I’m a Coach and there is no glory in not supporting people properly.
I digress.
As the curve levels off (something you have been told to view as a plateau), the most important thing to do here is to be consistent. Is to not change anything drastic, and just keep ticking off the days and the process.
Begin to enjoy the process more, begin to appreciate that you are doing so much more good for yourself than necessarily losing weight.
And the more you focus on the process provided it has been set up correctly (preferably with the aid of a Coach - I know a good one wink, wink, nudge, nudge: head here) then the results will eventually take care of themselves.
Patience is a virtue - and I’m sorry but if your weight hasn’t decreased in two weeks you are not in a plateau. In fact, if your weight hasn't decreased in a month, you are not in a plateau. If you are executing the behaviours that constitute a calorie deficit and your weight hasn’t moved from month one to month six, and you have investigated the areas of your life that you think might be getting in the way, then we can look into the possibility that you are indeed in a plateau.
Without a doubt, one of the main ways to get past a weight loss plateau is be more patient with yourself and the process.
Realise there is so much more to celebrate
SO MUCH MORE!
I used to call my coaching program this - because the list of things you can celebrate and crucially should celebrate away from weight loss is so much more empowering than celebrating the reduction of your body.
Getting Stronger
Being Consistent with your own health
Better Sleep
Eating in a more balanced way
Having more energy
Improving your relationship with you
Improving your relationship with others
Being in nature more
Learning new skills and applying them
Improving your relationship with food
Improving your relationship with exercise - more on this here: How To Love Exercise Again
Building your confidence through keeping promises with yourself
Building your self-esteem
Improving your mental health
Burning more energy
Increasing your Metabolism
I’m sure there’s more - but I’m a little hungover today so let’s leave it there.
But look at that list.
It’s a bloody good one isn’t it?
Why would you want to give up all of those benefits simply because you aren’t losing weight? Or you have lost weight and it appears to have stalled.
If you are engaging in a health and fitness journey and you are not working on all of those things that I have listed - and only working on losing weight - you are setting yourself up for complete failure - because naturally, your weight loss will stop - and when that happens you will feel like you are failing.
I always say:
“Focus on production, not reduction”
I appreciate that list might look overwhelming, but many of it is the by-product of just engaging in physical movement and an active lifestyle appropriately - and only focussing on weight loss - that is not an appropriate way to engage with not just movement, but yourself too.
I understand and appreciate that weight loss might be a great tool for which people begin, get started and can discover all of this - but once you have got over that initial moment of engaging because of your body weight - you need to transfer your thoughts onto that list I have laid out.
Be proud of what you managed to lift and how you managed to lift it. Be proud of the fact that you are eating in a more structured way and that is having huge benefits on your relationship with food.
And if you aren’t doing those things and if you aren’t focussing on that list …it could be an indicator as to why your weight loss has plateaued.
Bodyweight Settling Points
Set Point theory is the premise that you have a predisposition to a certain body weight. This is due to a number of factors, but genetics and lifestyle are the two main ones.
It is only a theory, but it is backed by quite a lot of evidential studies. [3, 4, 5].
This doesn’t mean that you are predetermined to always be overweight if that is where your set point is. It means that changing it might be a lot harder than you ever thought possible. Having worked with thousands of people on weight loss over my career I have found this to be true as well. Very few people lose the 3 stone of weight that they were aiming to, and then also manage to stay there for the rest of their lives. Most people I have worked with, we are always trading around 5lbs here and 5lbs there - and those who do lose more, have to overhaul a lot in their lives both mentally and physically to manage it, and it takes a lot longer than you would ever believe.
Setpoint theory is also why we define successful weight loss as losing 10% of your body weight and keeping it off for at least a year. You may lose 17% initially - but that might be an amount too great for your body and therefore 10% is the marker of successful weight loss.
Because weight will come up and down.
You can change your set point - which is why I refer to it as a “settling point”. At different phases in our lives, we will probably have different bodyweights. Think of it like this - if I took you out of your environment right now and placed you on an island somewhere to live - it is likely that your bodyweight will change - as you have different access to different foods.
This happened to me - when I moved to Australia - trying to learn the nuances in the different foods here took a while - and it meant I stuck to things I knew a little more - which were obviously brands that generally pack their food with calories.
Added to that my activity levels were very different whilst I was trying to find a job, get used to being out of the sun for certain hours of the day and not having the money to be able to pay for a Gym whilst I was setting everything up.
Then once I got used to my environment, my body weight started to decline again back to where it nearly always sits at around 80kgs.
Therefore your body settles depending on its environment - and the more comfortable you are in an environment the more likely you are to hit a plateau.
Added to all of this, we also have mechanisms in our body that when it realises calories are being reduced, it changes your hormones to increase hunger to protect you. These hormones are affected by Adipose Tissue (Fat Cells) and the more of them you have the more the hormones will affect you making things just that little bit harder for you.
And as you can imagine, the closer to that point you get - the more your body will fight back - the more likely you are to be in a plateau.
This is exactly why you should focus a lot more on the list above than just the scale readings you are collecting.
Metabolic Apdation (check in with your numbers)
Metabolic Adaption [6] is the very simple fact of life that a smaller organism needs fewer calories to survive. As you lose weight, you will require fewer calories to maintain that weight.
Therefore if you have been losing weight, and that seems to have slowed down for a long enough period to quantify an actual plateau (at least a couple of months) depending on the amount of weight you have lost in that time, it could mean you need to check your calorie deficit numbers again.
The caloric maintenance of your body has literally changed - and it is quite common for someone to still be eating the same amount of calories that were designed for when they started their fitness journey as opposed to where they are now - as they have noticed a big slow down in weight loss.
So always check in with your maintenance numbers, which will then allow you to adjust your calorie numbers.
For more on Bodyweight Maintenance head here: How To Find Your Calorie Maintenance Level
And if you want a free Calorie Calculator then please head here: Free Fitness Goodies
Build More Muscle and Be More Active???
It would be remiss of me to write this whole article without touching on these points.
And I have put a question mark next to the points for very good reason. For this article, I have written it with the perspective that you probably already are being very active - and probably don’t have the privilege. to increase that part of your life too much.
If you are stuck, and you aren’t doing 2-3x strength sessions a week, you aren’t regularly hitting 8k steps a day at least, then yes - please do that.
By doing that I almost guarantee your weight will change again.
I also want to discuss the art of building muscle here.
Everyone is different - but building muscle takes time. It takes more time if you are female and it takes more time the more experienced you are at doing it.
For a woman, you are looking at about 1lb a month in the first year, then 0.5lb a month in the second year of training.
For a man, you are looking at about 2lbs a month in the first year, and then 1lb a month in the second year of training.
1lb of Muscle at rest burns 5kcal a day.
Therefore after your first year of training as a woman, you will have only added an extra 60kcals a day to your metabolism, and if you are a man, you can double that.
Yes, building muscle will help your metabolism because you will also burn calories as you exercise, and after you exercise. But in order to improve your metabolism enough to see it on the scale and to help break through a plateau you are going to have to be very dedicated to the cause of building muscle for a period of time a lot longer than you probably believed before you read this article.
Of course, I am an advocate of strength training for all people - I just wanted to bring to your attention that when people tell you to build muscle to improve your metabolism, it is true, but not in the manner you may interpret it, or the manner in which they believe it would help you also.
Just be aware, that building muscle probably isn’t the quick fix you are hoping for to break through a plateau - but it’s a blinking good thing to do for your health.
What’s Next?
I really hope you found this article useful, and that you feel a lot better about your struggles at the moment. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work, it really does mean a lot to me to have you here.
If you would like a Free Calorie and Macro Calculator then just put your email in here:
References:
Sarwan G, Rehman A. Management Of Weight Loss Plateau. [Updated 2021 Oct 29]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK576400/
Wing RR, Phelan S. Long-term weight loss maintenance. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jul;82(1 Suppl):222S-225S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/82.1.222S. PMID: 16002825.
GEMA FRÜHBECK,, JAVIER GÓMEZ‐AMBROSI, Rationale for the existence of additional adipostatic hormones, The FASEB Journal, 10.1096/fj.00-0829hyp, 15, 11, (1996-2006), (2001).
Hoeger, W., Hoeger, S., Fawson, A., & Hoeger, C. (2019). Principles and labs for fitness and wellness. Cengage.
Liao, T., Zhang, S.-L., Yuan, X., Mo, W. Q., Wei, F., Zhao, S.N., Yang, W., Liu, H., & Rong, X. (2020). Liraglutide lowers body weight set point in DIO rats and its relationship with hypothalamic microglia activation. Obesity: A Research Journal, 28(1), 122-131. doi: 10.1002/oby.22666
Trexler, E.T., Smith-Ryan, A.E. & Norton, L.E. Metabolic adaptation to weight loss: implications for the athlete. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 11, 7 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-11-7
Why Can't I Lose Weight No Matter What I Do?
Choose a Lego Head above.
Any Lego Head.
And I imagine its pretty close to how you are feeling about your weight loss efforts…and how you happened to end up here…reading this Article.
And if you have been trying to lose weight for a while now…and you have ended up here, reading this, then I am sure you probably feel more like this:
To find the images of the Lego Heads I used two words:
“Angry” and “Frustrated”
This gives me one sole goal for this article - as your Coach - to remove your frustration and your anger about your inability to lose weight no matter what you do - and be able to set you up on a path to success.
Just like my friend Jenny who lost over 7kgs working with me online on the Strong and Confident Program.
She came to me at her whits end - having spent hours on the Gym floor, following every single piece of advice they gave her on diet and exercise. Sometimes she would exercise twice a day just to try and achieve a change on the scale, in her clothes or how she felt about herself.
And still couldn’t crack the “secret code” to weight loss.
Then we spoke on a video chat, she was very emotional and I held out my hand, told her to stop worrying, and together….we’ve got this.
She achieved this by just doing 10mins a day every day for 3 months.
Because she had a process that she could trust.
And that is what I am going to share with you today in order to make you feel empowered, strong and confident to finally Google the term:
“How to get strong enough to wrestle a bear in the woods”
Please remember this article is not from a Medical Perspective - it is a Coach’s perspective on why you aren’t losing weight no matter what you do.
I am presuming you have been to the Doctor, and got the all-clear from any severe Metabolic conditions, I am also going out on a limb and saying that if you have Hypothyroidism, PCOS, or are currently struggling with the symptoms of Menopause what I am going to share with you is still relevant, and will still work - it just is that much harder.
If you need help with PCOS and Weight Loss then read this:
The structure of this article is a little different from my “normal” ones. For each header, I am going to pose you a question for you to answer - from there I will hope to establish some holes in your approach to losing weight - and I will tell you the science-backed solution to fixing that hole in your approach.
By the end of this article, you will be able to reset, reapproach and feel reinvigorated to help make the changes you need.
All I ask from you, as you read this, is that you are honest with yourself in how you respond to these questions.
If you are able, to be honest, then I will be able to help you…and we can make you feel more like a Super Hero in your weight loss journey. We can literally get you eating ice cream and losing weight….
Which in truth is the ultimate goal anyway isn’t it?
Table of Contents for “I Can’t Lose Weight No Matter What I Do”
Are you in a Calorie Deficit?
Are you sleeping enough?
Are you blaming your Metabolism?
Are you making the most of your Metabolism?
Are you restricting your diet too much?
Are you being consistent?
Are you expecting your movement to do the job for you?
Are you on a plan that is making you unhappy?
Are you too stressed?
Are your expectations too great?
Are you comparing yourself to others?
Question 1: Are you in a Calorie Deficit?
If you have read any of my work before then you will know that a Calorie Deficit is the only way you can lose weight.
As in you need to burn more calories from your body than you are putting into it - and this is what a Calorie Deficit is.
Very simple to understand - but not easy to implement.
If you have found this article, and you have never heard the term Calorie Deficit before then this is the reason you are not losing weight no matter what you do.
You should probably watch this for further context on what a Calorie Deficit truly is and how to set yourself up in a Deficit:
If you have heard the term before, and believe it is what you have tried to implement - then keep reading because every single point I am going to explore in this article is literally going to be the best Coaching advice I have for you to investigate WHY you aren’t in a Calorie Deficit DESPITE your best efforts.
So lets get into it…
Question 2: Are you Sleeping enough?
I have laid out the correlation between sleep and weight loss in one of my more recent Blog Posts: Why Does Sleep Affect Your Weight Loss?
In writing that Blog, I came to the realization that Sleep is probably more important to a human in order to lose weight than a Calorie Deficit.
Because…
Without enough sleep, you simply will not be able to get into a Calorie Deficit.
In a nutshell…sleep helps you process your emotions like stress and anxiety. When we are deprived of sleep, there is greater activity in the part of the brain known as the Amygdala [1].
The Amygdala is responsible for your emotional responses to what is happening to you during the day.
In subjects who are more sleep deprived, the Amygdala is buzzing with activity, and therefore the sleep-deprived person is responding more emotionally than if they had their 8 hours a night.
And if your emotions are high and negative, your Caloric intake increases.
As the study ‘Modeling the Effects of Positive and Negative Mood on the Ability to Resist Eating in Obese and Non-obese Individuals’ [2] states:
“We also demonstrated strong associations between food craving and these eating behaviours, particularly after following a negative mood induction in obese individuals”
WOULD YOU LIKE A MONTH OF FREE COACHING WITH ME?
Question 3: Are you blaming your Metabolism?
Throughout life, you may have heard lots of different theories on your Metabolism. The two main ones are:
Your Metabolism slows down as you age
Your Metabolism is broken or Starvation Mode
Let’s deal with your slowing Metabolism first.
A new study called: Daily energy expenditure through the human life course [3] has found that your Metabolism is stable throughout your adult life from the age of 20 all the way up to the age of 60.
This is despite going through Menopause and Pregnancy.
This is good news. As it now clearly shows us that assigning blame when it comes to weight to something that is “out of your control”, ie; your Metabolism, is not a useful strategy.
You can now look past this, and start investigating other reasons you may be unable to lose weight - more than likely one of the other points in this blog.
And as for your Metabolism being broken from a history of eating too little…that is also not relevant.
You can’t break your Metabolism.
The thoughts on this stem down into something known as Starvation Mode; the idea that if you eat too little over your life then your body goes into a “survival mode” or a “starvation mode”.
This does not exist.
Your body metabolically adapts but does not stop as the study Metabolic slowing with massive weight loss despite preservation of fat-free mass [3] concluded:
“RMR declined out of proportion to the decrease in body mass, demonstrating a substantial metabolic adaptation” .
in 1944 the University of Minnesota wanted to find out what extreme Famine does to a population and crucially how to rehabilitate people out of extreme famine in the wake of World War 2.
The study [4] started with, starving people. For real. In study conditions.
36 participants were recruited and were put into Prisoner of War conditions. Made to do manual labour, walk 22 miles a week and were fed 50% of their caloric needs.
Oh, it gets worse…
They did this for 6 months.
One participant cut off his fingers just to get out of the study early…
And as you can imagine it got pretty rough for them. On average each participant lost 25% of their body weight. Here is a photo from the experiment:
But crucially what happened to their Metabolism?
Their metabolisms were performing about 20% lower than predicted after losing weight - their metabolisms adapted.
But this was a two-fold experiment. Participants were put into a “recovery diet” to help them regain the weight they had lost, and after 12 weeks their metabolisms were re-assessed. In 12 weeks their metabolisms were only underperforming by 10%. And in some cases - there was no Metabolic damage at all.
So after being put into Prisoner of War Camp-like conditions, given just 5o% of their caloric needs each day and being forced to do what can only be described as a fuck tonne of exercise, their Metabolisms were not “broken”.
And if you look at this study it would suggest that if you followed the recovery of the subjects in the Minnesota Starvation Experiment for longer than 12 weeks - their Metabolism made a full recovery.
And…
Each participant continued to lose weight throughout the whole experiment.
Question 4: Are you making the most of your Metabolism?
Your metabolism (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is made up of four components.
As you can see in the chart above, your Basal Metabolic Rate which is 70% of your Metabolism is the largest portion of your Metabolism. But it is also largely out of your control. This 70% is determined by your Sex, Height, and Weight. It's how your body just keeps your body functioning to get the most out of your Metabolism, as in, to burn the most amount of Calories each and every day, you should focus on your NEAT.
This makes up 15% of your Daily Caloric burn.
It outranks your time in the Gym by 10% and outranks the food you eat by 5%.
So how do you increase your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis?
Aim for 8-10k steps a day
Stand up when on the phone
Stand up when at work
Have walking meetings/social events
Park further away from the shops
Fidget more
Stand up on Public Transport
Use the upstairs toilet, not the downstairs toilet
Stand when you brush your teeth
Many people when they want to begin to lose weight will prioritize in this order:
Exercise in the Gym
Nutrition
Daily Movement
Even to the point that 2 and 3 sometimes don’t even get thought of.
But in truth it should look like this:
Nutrition
Daily Movement
Exercise in the Gym
Question 5: Are you restricting your Diet too much?
Restriction of calories can lead to weight loss.
That’s basically what a Calorie Deficit is.
But there is a dark side to this as well - and this dark side is probably the number one reason people yo-yo diet AND just can’t seem to lose weight no matter what they do.
This is what occurs:
You decide to lose weight
You jump onto a Calorie Calculator and get an arbitrary number of calories to lose say 1kg a week
That number is a very low amount of calories
You manage to stick to this very low number for a brief period
The hunger and the restriction gets too much
You stop restricting but you don’t go into a balance
You go into a Binge
This binge lasts two months because now you feel like you failed
You gain weight again
You repeat the cycle
And what happens is you spend more time out of a deficit than in one which will lead to short and sharp results with the weight loss - but ultimately you will feel like you are constantly failing and unable to ever lose weight because it’s just too damn difficult to do.
This is what I describe as a classic Binge and Restrict Cycle.
You blame yourself for not being able to stick to it.
When in truth you were always set up to fail from the start.
When you over restrict - you have to compensate for that at some point down the line and this creates a swing of too much restriction and too much indulgence.
Then over a year, you have spent more time out of a deficit than in one - which is why you seem to never be able to lose weight.
It always comes down to sustainability and giving yourself a much longer-term view of your goals rather than trying to achieve what you want in a couple of months.
You need what I call…a wide angle lens….
When really you just need to be more level with everything to begin with. Drop your expectations of losing weight on a set schedule, because scale weight doesn’t work on a schedule, and give yourself a smaller deficit - which is wholly more sustainable.
To figure that out you can download my Free Fitness Goodies which includes a personalized calorie calculator which makes sure you set yourself up for success with sustainable methods.
Question 6: Are you being consistent?
It’s an infamous word, isn’t it? Consistency. I feel we all know what it means - and we all believe we are executing on it.
But much like the binge and restrict cycle outlined previously, when it comes to consistency what occurs is perfection and abstention - and often the perfection part of the pendulum is confused for consistency.
Many many many people tell me they are being consistent:
By going to the gym every day
By avoiding processed foods every day
By cutting out sugar all the time
By tracking their food every day
Whenever you use the words “every day” or “all the time” you are not being consistent.
You are striving for perfection. And perfection is impossible.
And then when you can’t keep up the perfect routine you are excusing for consistency the feelings of failure begin again…and you eventually give up.
You don’t need to do it every day. You don’t need to work out every day. You don’t need to track your calories every day. You don’t need to eat salads every day to have success.
You do need to do it consistently - a good guide for this is the 80/20 rule which would dictate that in a month you need to be hitting your goals around 25 days of the month.
As the study “The Effect of Adherence to Dietary Tracking on Weight Loss: Using HLM to Model Weight Loss over Time” [6] states:
“Successful behavioural interventions should emphasize the benefits of consistent dietary tracking for participants, motivating individuals to track for at least 5 days of each week for sustained and clinically significant weight loss"
Not 7 days, not even 6. At least 5 days.
That sounds like an 80/20 rule to me.
To find out more about how to implement consistency in your fitness journey head here: How To Stay Consistent With Your Fitness
Question 7: Are you expecting your movement to do the job for you?
Now I am sure you have heard the old saying:
"You can’t out-train a bad diet”
And this is pretty much true - although I detest over simplifications and cliches like this.
On an average strength training workout, you are burning maybe 300 calories.
At a real push.
You could try and get a bigger calorie burn in by doing some cardio or HIIT but these exercises increase your appetite - so any gains you might make in the Calorie burning department are going to be negated by your hunger increasing.
And for women, that increase in hunger can occur 3-5 days after you have actually worked out meaning it can become really unclear on what the root cause of that increased diet is.
You may well be reading this section and thinking:
“When I work out my watch tells me that I burn 600kcal a workout”
Well, again, your watch is lying to you. There are many studies like this one [7] that shows a wristwatch can be up to 25% inaccurate when looking at calories burned from exercise.
This isn’t to say that being in the Gym isn’t useful for your health and wellbeing - especially when you are wanting to lose weight - it is vitally important to help you get a sense of wellbeing, of strength and achievement.
But you need to get into the mindset of going to the Gym to “get strong enough to fight a bear in the woods” and you need to get into the mindset of your controlling your calories to try and help you lose weight.
The gym isn’t for burning calories, its for getting strong and proving to yourself that you can do hard things and repeat behaviours over time that will lead to your long term success elsewhere in your life.
Question 8: Are you on a plan that is making you unhappy?
This again is a very common behaviour and it doesn’t matter how great the plan is in terms of results, you will never be able to do it for long enough to actually see these results if you aren’t enjoying what you are doing.
I can think of many examples of Exercise regimens and Diets that do not prioritise balance and enjoyment - and sadly they are the ones that have a lot of marketing behind them and promise “fast results”.
When it comes to diet and exercise - enjoyment is the sole driver of success.
If you don’t enjoy what it is you are doing, but do see results, that’s great. But it just will not last. The results will be temporary and the inevitable weight regain will occur on the back end.
Now sure, we would all enjoy eating doughnuts all day long…
But that too would soon become unenjoyable, just like it did with Homer.
The key to successful weight loss is getting into a process.
The last thing you want is to reach a goal and realise it was all about the process in the beginning.
By focussing on the process, you also focus on the behaviours that will change your life - and get you to your goals.
If those behaviours don’t inspire you, don’t excite you and don’t drive you to take action each and every day then you will never be able to sustain what you are doing.
If you can learn to focus on the process of looking after yourself in this manner, then my friend, you have already won.
Question 9: Are you too stressed?
Stress is very underrated in terms of how it affects your ability to lose weight.
A point beautifully demonstrated by Homer. Again.
Stress will create two behaviors in your life that make a Calorie Deficit very hard to stick to.
The first is that it will disrupt sleep - now I covered that in Question 2, however, you cannot be reminded enough that you need a better sleep regimen to be able to stay in a Calorie Deficit.
The other role stress plays is its link to emotional eating.
Now firstly we all emotionally eat - please do not think that you are “broken” because you respond to emotions with food. We all do it. The biggest difference here might be the quantity or frequency upon which we do it.
Personally, my emotional eating reveals itself in chugging a beer or two.
For others, it can be hours of eating Haribos or hours upon hours of drinking alcohol - my emotional eating binges last for the duration of the food I am consuming - whereas, for other people, it can last whole evenings, possibly three to four times a week.
Often when it comes to emotional eating, we try to fix the emotions with food - however in truth, the only thing that will fix the emotional eating is learning to process the emotions correctly - and dealing with that head-on.
Stress is proven to cause an increase in caloric intake in someone’s life.
As the study: “Stress-induced obesity and the emotional nervous system [8] concludes:
“Stress also induces secretion of glucocorticoids, which increases motivation for food, and insulin, which promotes food intake and obesity. Pleasurable feeding then reduces activity in the stress–response network, reinforcing the feeding habit. These effects of stressors emphasize the importance of teaching mental reappraisal techniques to restore responses from habitual to thoughtful, thus battling stress-induced obesity”
As you can see there is a need to help reduce your stress in the best way possible.
These are my top recommendations to help you reduce stress:
Get enough sleep regularly. If you need help with that listen to my Sleep Stories here: Three Medatitive Sleep Stories by Adam Berry
Exercise regularly. Exercise has been proven to reduce stress and help you sleep, as well as process your emotions.
Eat more nutritiously - make choices that align with your goals and you will feel like you are achieving as opposed to constantly failing.
Meditate. I don’t mean sit on the floor humming, I mean take time to connect to your breath and actively relax - that’s all meditation is. To get some free meditations from me head here: Centering The Breath: A YouTube Playlist
Question 10: Are your expectations too great?
I’ll let you in on a little secret:
Expectations are the number one reason people fail in fitness.
Forget everything else.
The issue is without a doubt expectation.
Many people start with an expectation that is wholly unrealistic - and usually based on an arbitrary human they have seen on Social Media as opposed to what is realistic for them, in their given circumstances.
And then when these expectations are seldom met, you start to feel like a failure….which inevitably results in giving up.
Let’s say you set up a goal to lose 5kgs. You aim for 0.5kgs a week and expect this to take 10 weeks.
Seems reasonable enough.
But over a 10-week period…you will inevitably have a few nights out….maybe a weekend away with your partner and let’s face it, a few missed Gym sessions.
You decide to weigh yourself weekly (more on why this is not a good idea here) and let’s say you only lose 200g one week….you have fallen behind your expectations, and go into “catch up mode”
The more this happens, the more drastic the behaviours come for you to get back on track.
The more drastic the behaviour the more unsustainable the whole thing becomes.
The only expectation you should have when it comes to your Fitness Journey is to simply try your best, do your damnedest, and get your strongest.
These are goals within your control, and they will result in your success becoming inevitable.
Question 11: Are you comparing yourself to others?
Ever heard the phrase “comparison is the thief of joy”?
Well, it’s true. By trying to live up to what someone else has achieved will only result in you not enjoying what it is you are doing.
You aren’t them. You don’t live their life. You don’t have the same abilities, genetics, finances, health, and support they have.
You are simply yourself.
You are simply only ever in competition with yourself. When you can try to just be better than you were yesterday you will build momentum, and momentum can be very very powerful.
But if you compare yourself to others, your momentum will stop immediately because you will only ever compare yourself to someone who is doing better than you - because that is all you will see.
The brain finds what we focus on. If you only want to focus on people who are thinner than you, lighter than you or more confident than you….then that is all you will ever see.
Nay.
That is all you will ever compare yourself to. When in actuality you have done better today than you did yesterday.
This is the last question in this Article. But I want to truly leave you with one thought.
One thought that will be the biggest game-changer you can imagine - an attitude that if you can adopt will allow you to stay focussed on what you are trying to accomplish and will allow the results you crave so much to come.
And it is this:
Adopt this singular thought - and your confidence will soar.
If we all just realized that nothing compares to ourselves…we will all become superheroes.
And being a superhero for yourself is what you should want to become.
Did You Find This Useful?
Thank you so much for reading my article - I really hope you found it helpful.
As I mentioned earlier in the article, I would love to work with you if you need help with any of the above.
If you would like to apply to work with me then just click here:
Thank you so much for being here.
Speak to you again soon.
Coach Adam
References:
Walker, M. P., & van der Helm, E. (2009). Overnight therapy? The role of sleep in emotional brain processing. Psychological bulletin, 135(5), 731–748.https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016570
Udo T, Grilo CM, Brownell KD, Weinberger AH, Dileone RJ, McKee SA. Modeling the effects of positive and negative mood on the ability to resist eating in obese and non-obese individuals. Eat Behav. 2013;14(1):40-46. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2012.10.010
Johannsen DL, Knuth ND, Huizenga R, Rood JC, Ravussin E, Hall KD. Metabolic slowing with massive weight loss despite preservation of fat-free mass. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Jul;97(7):2489-96. doi: 10.1210/jc.2012-1444. Epub 2012 Apr 24. Erratum in: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 May;101(5):2266. PMID: 22535969; PMCID: PMC3387402.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment
Zinchenko, Anastasia & Henselmans, Menno. (2016). Metabolic Damage: do Negative Metabolic Adaptations During Underfeeding Persist After Refeeding in Non-Obese Populations?. Medical Research Archives. 4. 10.18103/mra.v4i8.908.
Ingels JS, Misra R, Stewart J, Lucke-Wold B, Shawley-Brzoska S. The Effect of Adherence to Dietary Tracking on Weight Loss: Using HLM to Model Weight Loss over Time. J Diabetes Res. 2017;2017:6951495. doi: 10.1155/2017/6951495. Epub 2017 Aug 9. PMID: 28852651; PMCID: PMC5568610.
Shcherbina A, Mattsson CM, Waggott D, Salisbury H, Christle JW, Hastie T, Wheeler MT, Ashley EA. Accuracy in Wrist-Worn, Sensor-Based Measurements of Heart Rate and Energy Expenditure in a Diverse Cohort. Journal of Personalized Medicine. 2017; 7(2):3. https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm7020003
Mary F. Dallman, Stress-induced obesity and the emotional nervous system, Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 21, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 159-165, ISSN 1043-2760, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tem.2009.10.004
How To Stay Full In A Calorie Deficit Without Being Hungry
The Calorie Deficit is an incredible tool when it comes to weight loss.
In fact…it’s the only tool.
So if you want to lose weight…you need to understand how to make a calorie deficit as easy as possible for you.
That being said…it isn’t an easy thing to do.
One of the quandaries that dieters are in is how to eat fewer calories overall….and not get stupendously hungry in the process.
And that is the aim of this article. To teach you how to figure out this conundrum - to keep hunger low and intake as high as possible - whilst still being in a Calorie Deficit.
Added to that I am going to share some recipes with you that are from the Recipe Manuals I give to, my clients on the Strong & Confident Program
The recipes are all:
As much food volume for as few calories as possible
Have MyFitness Pal Barcodes for you to track
Tasty as hell
For example…one thing that directly affects your caloric expenditure is indeed your caloric intake.
The simple adage: “Eat Less, Move More” is not only stupid but more and more it’s becoming clearer that you just can’t simplify the energy balance equation to something so base.
Firstly, let me say thank you to you for being here. What I am hoping by the end of this article is that you comprehend more about what a Calorie Deficit looks like in terms of the foods that will make it as easy as possible for you and help reduce your hunger.
Secondly, it would be awesome if we became friends by way of you joining my mailing list.
I will, of course, email you things. Sometimes they will be educational, sometimes they will be inappropriate, and sometimes I might just want to know how you are; either way…it would be delightful to connect with you more.
Just send me a friend request by filling out the form below…
Thirdly, please bear in mind that the body is clever…and it has what we call a “Set Point”. This Set Point in terms of your weight is where your body is happiest, and it’s very hard to change….but it can be changed.
Your body loves to be exactly where it is….and moving it away from that point, whether you want to gain weight or lose weight, the body will fight you.
Fight you every step of the way.
(Side Note: Sir Ian McKellen is actually one of the nicest actors I have ever met)
The body won’t fight you because it hates you, or because you are broken.
Your Metabolism is not broken (unless diagnosed by a Doctor and even then…it can still be affected to work for your Fat Loss in nearly all situations)
Don’t believe me? Read this:
Your body fights you, and everybody’s body fights them because of something called Homeostasis - which is your body being in balance hormonally. It likes who you are. Your body just loves being cosy and warm and loves to snuggle you exactly where you are.
Personally, I have been trying to gain weight for about six months now. My body is comfortable and really happy at 80kgs - it’s where I feel best. I feel strong, I feel happy in my clothes and my belly feels normal.
In February I weighed in at 83.5kg. I remember going to a Birthday Party for a 1-year-old and I felt so out of sorts. My body didn’t feel right, my belly felt bloated and although I was at 83.5kg it felt like I was a lot higher weight than that.
It was an abnormal spike, I weigh myself every day, and I knew it was a spike. But I personally felt very uncomfortable. I was bloated and I felt awful for the whole day.
But if I look at my average weight over the last 90 days it is 82kgs - and I feel exactly the same now as I did at 80kgs.
I don’t feel bloated and uncomfortable. I feel exactly the same. I have changed my Set-Point. My Metabolism, Muscle Mass and Diet have all fallen into line with where I am at the moment.
And this happens both in weight gain and weight loss.
It takes time.
It’s not easy.
And there are ups and downs.
BUT
You can change that set point.
This is why Dieting is hard. This is why you might feel incredibly hungry when you are in a Calorie Deficit.
And this is why I have written this article.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR: How To Stay Full In A Calorie Deficit Without Being Hungry
You can listen to the audio version of this Blog Post on my Podcast: The Fitness Solution
How Much Food Should You Eat In A Calorie Deficit?
This is a crucial question.
Now I am sure you are reading this because you have an understanding of a Calorie Deficit and you probably know the numbers you are trying to work towards.
However, if that isn’t you…before you read this article please head here:
Now. personally, I get all of my clients to set their Deficit into a Caloric Window.
This window is between their Basal Metabolic Rate (70% of their Metabolism) and Goal Body Weight in LBS x 12.
(Provided they have given me a realistic Goal Body Weight - that’s a WHOLE other topic)
Then I encourage them to EAT MORE FOOD.
Many of them, when they start working with me will go for the lowest number…their BMR, because they believe that will give them their results the quickest.
But what you must always remember is:
“If the methods are unsustainable the results are unsustainable”
Therefore I encourage them wholeheartedly to eat more. Eat more food. Higher Volume food so that being in a deficit is as easy as possible for them.
If you want to learn how to lose weight and keep it off forever, then you need to do this too.
Sacrifice quick results.
For lasting results.
By eating more food than you ever have before.
The ultimate goal for your Calorie Deficit is to eat as much as you can within your numbers - that is the aim.
Not to eat as little to survive.
This comes down to the whole thrive or survive mindset - and like always I want you to be your absolute best….not just cling on for dear life.
What Foods should you eat to help with hunger?
Rather oddly.
Over the last couple of days, I have had a TikTok post go very viral.
All on this topic.
The aim of what you are going to eat should be quite clear to you now….
MORE FOOD!
But the question remains…how do you do that without increasing Calories outside your Window?
Don’t Forget To Follow Me On Instagram:
Protein - The Weight Loss SuperFood
The first place to look is here - under this Macro Nutrient.
I’m sure you are aware that Protein is a very important aspect of your diet.
I think the world is coming around to how advantageous Protein is when dieting. But many people do still underestimate how useful it really can be.
It can also be one of the hardest things to increase to adequate amounts. (about 1.8-2g/kg of Lean Body Mass)
It has only 4kcal/g and has a multitude of other benefits when dieting:
Helps maintain muscle when losing weight (i like to think of this as eating muscle to get muscle).
Keeps you fuller for longer - as it takes longer to digest.
Reduces Appetite and Hunger Levels - as it reduces the hunger hormone Grehlin in your body.
My Favourite Sources of Protein (PRO):
Meat per 100g serving:
Chicken Breast: ~30g Pro / 6g Fat / 0g Cho / 165kcal
Turkey Breast: ~28g Pro / 7g Fat / 0g Cho / 189kcal
Steak: ~26g Pro / 19g Fat / 0g Cho / 276kcal
Kangaroo: ~20g Pro / 1.3g Fat / 0g Cho / 102 kcal
Fish per 100g serving:
Tuna Steak: ~29g Pro / 1.3g Fat / 0g Cho / 132 kcal
Salmon: ~22g Pro / 13g Fat / 0g Cho / 208kcal
Dover Sole: ~18g Pro / 1g Fat / 0g Cho / 89kcal
Halibut: ~22g Pro / 2.5g Fat / 0g Cho / 115kcal
Dairy per 100g serving:
Eggs: ~12g Pro / 11g Fat / 1.1g Cho / 155kcal
Greek Yoghurt: ~10g Pro / 0.4.g Fat / 3.6g Cho / 59kcal
Whole Milk: ~3g Pro / 3.4g Fat / 4.8g Cho / 63kcal
Some people find Milk filling, and others don’t. I quite often when I am trying to lose weight am able to survive all morning on two medium Coffees.
YoPro Plain Yoghurt: ~10.6g / 0.3g Fat / 4.4g Cho / 64kcal
Cottage Cheese: ~11g Pro / 6g Fat / 1.9g Cho / 127kcal
Many of my clients really don’t like Cottage Cheese, so I tell them my strategy. Use it instead of Butter in your Sandwiches and Rolls and you won’t even notice it is in there.
Vegetarian Options per 100g:
Tofu: ~11.9g Pro / 7.5g Fat / 0g Cho / 127kcal
Tempeh: ~12.4g Pro / 5g Fat / 0.5g Cho / 112kcal
Seitan: ~25g Pro / 0.6g Fat / 5.3g Cho / 126kcal
Lentils: ~9g Pro / 0.4g Fat / 20g Cho / 116kcal
Supplementation of Protein per 100g:
Isolate Whey Protein: ~ 84g Pro / 3.9g Fat / 1.22g Cho / 380kcal
Quest Protein Bars ~ 35g Pro / 10g Fat / 7g Cho / 302kcal
My Favourite High Protein Meals:
Carbohydrates - The Demonised Food
Let me take a moment to be abundantly clear here.
Carbohydrates do not make you fat.
Sugar does not make you fat.
Carbs are literally a third of your diet and they are mightily important.
That being said some Carbohydrates have this annoying trifecta effect.
They are so damn tasty.
They are can be very high in calories
You don’t get to eat a lot of food for that calorie amount
And remember we are trying to make sure you feel full after eating - not empty. So your best Carbohydrate options will be the ones that are Lower Calorie, Higher Volume and will fill you up for longer as they contain more Fibre too.
I always advise the friends I coach online to lean into their Carbohydrate intake. If Calories are hard to keep down…then changing up your Carbohydrate source is the most powerful thing you can do.
Carbohydrates have exactly the same energy in them as Protein.
Please read that again.
Protein has 4kcal per gram and Carbohydrate has 4kcal per gram.
Irrespective of if you are eating sugar as your Carbohydrate or a Vegetable.
The issue arises when we eat sugar we normally eat an awful lot of it at once, and it makes us want more….which is why we begin to gain weight when we eat it.
My Favourite Sources of Carbohydrate (CHO):
Vegetables per 100g serving:
Sweet Potato: ~20g of Cho / 1.6g Pro / 0.1g Fat / 86kcal
Potato: ~17g of Cho / 2g Pro / 0.1g Fat / 77kcal
Carrots: ~9.6g of Cho / 0.9g Pro / 0.2g Fat / 41kcal
Broccoli: ~7g of Cho / 2.8g Pro / 0.4g Fat / 34kcal
Tomatoes: ~4g of Cho / 0.9g Pro / 0.2g Fat / 18kcal
Bell Pepper: ~6g of Cho / 1g Pro / 0.3g Fat / 31kcal
Interestingly Potatoes rank as the highest satiating food on the planet….according to the Satiety Index - and you can see the difference between Potato and Sweet Potato is negligible - both have their individual benefits.
My other fun fact about Vegetables is that this rule generally rings true: If it grows under the ground it will be slightly higher in calories than if it grows above the ground.
Fruits per 100g serving:
Strawberries: ~8g of Cho / 0.7g Pro / 0.3g Fat / 32kcal
Blueberries: ~15g of Cho / 0.7g Pro / 0.3g Fat / 57kcal
Blackberries: ~10g of Cho / 1.4g Pro / 0.5g Fat / 43kcal
Banana: ~23g of Cho / 1.1g Pro / 0.3g Fat / 89kcal
Apples: 14g of Cho / 0.3g Pro / 0.2g Fat / 52kcal
Watermelon: 8g of Cho / 0.6g Pro / 0.2g Fat / 30kcal
Fruits are incredibly powerful in filling you out and being able to fuel your workouts. I have a Banana before every strength session I do and start most days with fruit and a protein yogurt. Many fruits are so incredibly low in calories which means you can eat an awful lot of them if you need to cure hunger.
Whole Grains per 100g serving:
Oats: ~12g Cho / 2.4g Pro / 1.4g Fat / 68kcal
Brown Rice: ~23g Cho / 2.3g Pro / 0.9g Fat / 111kcal
White Rice: ~28g of Cho / 2.7g Pro / 0.3g Fat / 130kcal
Bulgur Wheat: ~76g Cho / 12g Pro / 1.3g Fat / 342kcal
Quinoa: ~21g Cho / 4.4g Pro / 1.9g / 120kcal
Cous Cous: ~23g Cho / 3.8g Pro / 0.2g Fat / 112kcal
Beans and Legumes per 100g serving:
Legumes: ~14g Cho / 5g Pro / 0.4 Fat / 81kcal
Tinned Mixed Beans: ~22.8g Cho / 8.7g Pro / 0.5g Fat / 127kcal
My Favourite High Carb/Low-Calorie Meals:
Dietary Fats
As we are here let me know touch on Fats.
Fats in and of themselves might not be the satiating for you. It’s quite a personal thing.
Some foods high in Fats like nuts, also contain Fibre just like many of the carbohydrates foods I have outlined above.
However, Fats carry a whopping 9kcal per gram and so when you start to increase these in your diet…you also increase your Calories.
Fats play an essential role in our health - they help the absorption of the ADEK Vitamins. Fats are also very useful for our cognitive function and helping to regulate our Hormones.
Don’t avoid them. But when focussing on Fat Loss make sure that you use them wisely.
I always like to add a portion of Nuts to my Salads and I usually have an Avocado with Salads and whenever I have Beans on Toast.
It seems to keep me going just fine.
Other Foods That Will Help You:
High Protein Bread per 100g:
My personal favourite is Burgen Soy and Linseed Bread: 15.2g protein/287kcal
Helga’s Soy and Toasted Sesame Bread: 15.8g protein/280kcal
These are both great options - as they rank high in the Fibre department too.
Many people believe that “bread is bad” and actually, come to think of it when I first started as a Personal Trainer nearly 7 years ago….I used to say this too.
But I got educated, and am happy to admit that I am on a journey of growth as much as anyone else.
I love these two loaves of bread because, well, it gives you an opportunity to make a more informed choice that will help you. You are always going to eat the bread…so how do you affect the quality of that bread? Well, I think these two do that just brilliantly.
Zero Calorie or Very Low-Calorie Sparkling Water per 100ml:
Plain and simple Carbonated Water is 0kcal per 100ml.
or
Mount Franklin Lightly Sparkling Raspberry Flavour: 2kcal/100ml
I use Sparkling Water all of the time. I use it late at night to help me avoid going for Beer when I am just sick of drinking water - and it’s really effective, it’s really refreshing and I can’t recommend it enough.
Low-Calorie Pasta Alternatives per 100g:
Slendier Spaghetti: 3.9g Fibre/8kcal
The whole Slendier Range is just simply magnificent. The amount of Volume of food you can eat for such little calories - I wouldn’t be surprised if they put conventional out of business very soon.
My fiancee and I use this whenever we make Spaghetti Bolognaise, and honestly…I notice no difference at all.
Low-Calorie Ice Cream per 100g:
Strawberry Cheesecake Halo Top: 5g protein, 15g carbohydrate/132kcal
My Favourite Desserts:
Other Tips and Tricks to Help with Hunger
Brush Your Teeth
It’s odd how brushing your teeth kills your appetite. But apparently, it’s because removing the small food particles in your mouth it stops them from playing tricks with your brain about how hungry you are.
I think there’s also something nice about it that prepares you for bed and you are aware you don’t want to be eating too close to when you sleep.
Mindful Eating
That rage. That rage you feel when you are hungry….
I know you know it well. Because we all experience it.
And then you eat something….
And the rage seems to still be there.
Oh.
Maybe you weren’t hungry, to begin with, hey? (sorry….Australia is starting to get to me).
Being truly mindful in these situations is really helpful. I do think Mindfulness and the whole chat around it at the moment is just vogue…and it’s not really a term I truly enjoy using. But it does seem to sum this up quite well.
When you feel hungry ask yourself: “Am I actually hungry or just a bit bored?”
Boredom eating is a form of emotional eating combined with stress eating - something which I think we all do in truth.
What is really going on here is your inability to work with and process the emotions you are feeling.
It might not be as cut and dry as “hungry vs bored”. You could be anxious, depressed, upset, feeling lonely, or vulnerable.
When you feel “hungry” it’s really important you begin to ask yourself what is truly going on. Have an important and difficult conversation with yourself and see if there are other emotions at play that you need to process.
Slow The F-Down
I’m terrible at this too. I eat far too quickly - and whenever I do I am always a touch more unsatisfied than when I just take my time.
There is also Science associated with taking your time when you eat.
There’s a hormone in your belly called Leptin - and this Hormone tells your brain when you are full.
But Leptin isn’t quick - it takes 20mins for that signal to be sent, and twenty minutes is more than enough time to absolutely eat many many more calories.
Some key strategies to slow you down would be:
Put your fork down between each mouthful.
Don’t watch TV or Sport when you are eating.
Engage in conversation with your family at the Dinner Table.
Don’t “work on your lunch break”
Try it. See how it feels.
Did You Find This Useful?
Thank you so much for reading my article - I really hope you found it helpful.
I work with clients all over the world in my One on One Coaching Program called The Strong & Confident Program.
A New Program Designed To Get You Stronger, Healthier & more confident than ever before.
My aim with the friends I work with is to give them so much more out of their fitness by focussing them on the process of getting stronger and therefore making them more confident.
Just like with this article - where I like to give as much help to you as I can
My approach to online training is no different. The whole program is about you - how best can I serve you, and therefore help you in the best way possible.
If you have enjoyed this article and want to see if a Free Month of Coaching would suit you then please click on the Learn More Button below:
I also have a couple of other articles that might help you navigate your Calorie Deficit:
Again, I hope you enjoy them.
Speak again soon,
Coach Adam