Don’t trust everything you read. Except Here. Trust It All.
Welcome to my Blog. Here you can learn everything you want to know about getting stronger, losing weight and managing your diet, in an empathetic and scientific way.
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
5 Easy Ways To Do A Calorie Deficit Diet Without Working Out
I call these my Five Awesome Rules for Fat Loss Life.
They have been my guiding anchor for the entirety of my career.
And they haven’t ever let me down yet. Every single human that I have worked with has followed this plan and it is responsible for a lot of the results you see here.
Each and every one of the people that I work within my Online Coaching Program gets this as Lesson 1. It is a really simple, easy to follow set of actionable steps you can do every day that will ensure you start getting the results you truly want from your Weight Loss Journey.
But before we get started it would be wonderful if you got onto my email list.
I’ll email you things. Sometimes they will be educational, sometimes they will be inappropriate, sometimes I might just want to know how you are; either way…it means we can be friends.
So just fill in the form below and send me a friend request.
Oh, and I will also send you some free fitness goodies to help start our new friendship off on the best foot possible.
When it comes to the Calorie Deficit Diet there is one guiding principle that you must acknowledge before we go any further.
“A Calorie Deficit is simple, but its not easy”
I have written on the topic of what a Calorie Deficit is many times before.
Here in fact: What is a Calorie Deficit Diet Plan?
And you are welcome to read it…once you have finished with this story first.
I am sure I will write about a Calorie Deficit at least once a month for the rest of my life because it is that complex.
Now I need to cue some irony because I am going to try and make the Calorie Deficit as simple, as accessible, and as easy for you to follow as I possibly can.
But please remember this. When you get to the end of the article, you will be pumped, inspired, and excited to get started.
But this is still difficult to adhere to consistently and patiently to allow yourself the real-time that fat loss needs.
This is an amazing starting point, and this should be your constant solid foundation, your comfort blanket for Fat Loss results.
If you want the video version of, 5 Easy Ways To Do A Calorie Deficit Diet Without Working Out, you can grab that right here:
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Awesome Rule For Fat Loss Life #2 - Three Litres of Water A Day
Awesome Rule For Fat Loss Life #3 - Protein and Veggies At Every Meal
These are in no particular order of importance. They all require as much time and attention as the next one, and if you favor one over the other then you are very much cheating yourself out of success.
But first let me answer this:
Can You Lose Fat In A Calorie Deficit Without Exercise?
Yes.
In fact, whenever I work with a client online, and they have a weight loss goal, then I encourage them to not view their exercise as a tool to help make that happen.
When you only view exercise as a means to burn calories, you destroy your relationship with exercise, and it is a surefire way to lose all motivation for working out.
If you are trying to lose weight, please view the balance of exercise and diet his way:
You work out to get strong.
You eat to a calorie deficit
If you can do that, not only will your diet improve, but also your ability and desire to see movement for what it is in your life will improve dramatically too.
I don’t encourage clients to just lose weight without any movement, as there are drawbacks related to doing just that:
It could effect your metabolism.
You will lose strength.
You won’t feel empowered in your new body.
You will focus too much just on the scale.
You could effect your relationship with food negatively.
Exercise is a great tool to protect you from all of the above as well, and exercise does not often have to conform to the ideas you think it might to support your weight loss journey.
So please bear that in mind as well.
Now onto the Five Awesome Rules for Fat Loss Life:
Awesome Rule For Fat Loss Life #1
You need to be in a Caloric Deficit.
Every rule hereafter will help you be in a Calorie Deficit.
But you cannot lose body weight, burn body fat, and try to change that scale number if you are not being adherent to a Calorie Deficit.
So how do you know if you are indeed in said deficit?
The crucial understanding for this is the principle of Energy Balance.
This dictates the following:
Energy In = Energy Out = Calorie Maintence
Energy In < Energy Out = Weight Loss
Energy In > Energy Out = Weight Gain
Therefore by understanding this you can manipulate your Caloric Intake to make sure that you keep your calories where you want to achieve your goals.
Personally, I suggest tracking your calories each day using an app like MyFitness Pal.
However there a few considerations you need to have when using MyFitnessPal.
The Caloric Goal it will set you is too aggressive for long term sustainable weight loss. So please ignore it. Instead, use the following formula:
Goal Body Weight in LBS x 12 = Caloric Deficit
2. Calories are the most important for your goals.
3. Secondly its Protein, however, Protein doesn’t have to be your biggest Macro Nutrient. Yes, Protein is important, but that doesn’t mean it has to be the biggest part of your diet. Then your Carbohydrates and your Fats. These are all just targets. Not pass/fail markers. If you don’t manage to hit your targets, don’t worry as long as your Calories are still in the right place.
4. Ignore Calories Burned from exercise. MYFP will take into account the calories you are expending from exercise, and then it will encourage you to add that against your calorie targets. Please do not do this. The whole point of your movement is to help you get into a Caloric Deficit, if you eat it all back…then what are you gaining if you are after Fat Loss? Added to that MYFP pulls in that Data from your smartwatch and these have been proven time and time again not be very accurate at calculating calories burned from aerobic exercise.
5. Remember you will never get it right. It is quite literally your best guess. All the time. Breaking down your homemade meals is a pain and it can become time-consuming and frustrating. Bear in mind you are using it as best guess, that its never going to be perfect will help take the pressure off you.
6. You only have to do it for a month — six weeks. This isn’t, and nor should it be a lifelong sentence for you to track your calories. All you need is to get yourself more calorie educated in two departments: Portion Control and Calories in your favorite foods. Once you have spent time educating yourself on these things then you will have a much better idea of where your calories are at each day.
7. It will take time out of your day. But don’t forget the big picture. 10 minutes a day for 6 weeks is little time invested compared to years of half arsing it and struggling along because you haven’t taken a moment to get educated and understand the process enough.
Don’t Forget To Follow Me On Instagram:
Awesome Rule For Fat Loss Life #2
3 Litres of Water A Day
Water has zero calories in it. As does Diet Soda.
The reason I am saying to you to drink more water is not because of the nonexistent calories in there.
It’s because Water will help you with a number of “negatives” that you might get when you start a Calorie Deficit.
Being in a Calorie can and will cause hunger as well as ever so slightly lowered energy levels.
Being hydrated will without a doubt help you curb your hunger, which in turn helps you stay adherent to a Calorie Deficit.
But it will also give you energy. The difference between you being hydrated and not being hydrated will become clear…when you become hydrated. A lot of people think that 3 litres is too much water, and can find it hard, to begin with. I understand that, so build up to it. Take it steady, and add 500ml of water each day as you build slowly until you hit your 3 litres.
I had a client once who told me she would drown if she drank 3 litres of water a day. She also told me that she would get water intoxication.
I bargained with her. It will feel like a huge change and a large amount of liquid. But you will always look for reasons to not do something. You will always fight drastic measures to a degree. And you are right to do so. But in my 5 years of working with people…I have never had anyone say to me that this is a negative aspect of their work.
I told my client to give it a go, build slowly, and see what happens. She went on to lose 10kgs working with me, and she drank her water.
It's not a magic number. Everybody is different, and everybody is different. But it’s a good baseline. It’s a number that is high enough to make you increase where you are currently at, it’s a good amount so you can get the benefits from it, and is achievable.
Here are some tips to help you get that water intake up:
Start early. Wake up and get 500ml into your system from the off.
Get a water bottle you enjoy drinking from and is at least 750ml big.
Build slowly.
Drink clear water on top of other liquids throughout the day. Don’t include Coffee, Tea, Juice as part of your 3L.
And here is the best bit.
You will be drinking more. Which means you will be going to the loo more.
When this happens and interrupts work etc…
Just remember Elmo…
Awesome Rule For Fat Loss Life #3
Protein and Veggies at every meal
In truth, I don’t care what you eat if you are working on a Calorie Deficit, as long as you are sticking to your numbers.
But…and this is a big wallopping Kim Kardashian “but”
What you eat will make your life on a Calorie Deficit either a lot easier…or a hell of a lot harder.
There’s a fantastically huge amount of people out there who will set your deficit too low, tell you to eat Mars Bars and Donuts, and still lose weight.
Sell you the perfect dream.
You will lose weight, and they will get some great Work In Process Pictures from you. But they quite simply are not caring for your needs, and if you are willing to submit yourself to such torture, then you aren’t caring for your needs either. All these trainers want is a great photo of you, so they can move onto someone else based on your hard work.
Then once it is all done, and the 12 weeks are over…well…they don’t care about how much you have binged, or how you feel mentally or physically. They got your photo that proves they got you a result.
Not quite such a perfect dream is it?
This is why I don’t ever dictate to clients what foods they should be eating…but ask them to stick to some guidelines. And one of these guidelines is the following: Protein and Veggies at every meal.
Build your plate wisely.
I want you to feel the best you can whilst trying to lose weight, both mentally and physically.
This means eating protein because protein is satiating, it will help you preserve muscle and is always a good thing to eat.
There are many theories out there on “how much” protein you need. With this, like everything, do your best.
Whether its 1g per lb of bodyweight. Or 2g per lg of bodyweight.
Don’t lose sleep over it. Just remember, a lot like getting in 3L of water a day, we need you to aim for something more than you are currently doing, and whatever you achieve will be great. The percentage of Protein in your Diet will very rarely be higher than your Carbohydrate intake — that's ok.
Then let's add Vegetables. A good solid source of Carbohydrates, they are extremely nutrient-dense and don’t carry with them lots of calories.
From there…I always say that Carbs can come long for the ride. You can sprinkle in some rice, bulgur wheat, couscous, pasta, bread, or whatever. Sprinkle it in once you have your plate built with Protein and Veggies first. This way you will really give yourself a big tick in terms of portion control.
Awesome Rule For Fat Loss Life #4
10,000 steps a day.
Good old FitBit. Good old activity trackers. Good old 10k steps a day.
I’m sure you are starting to see a theme here.
10k steps a day is not a magic number. If all you do right now is 1k steps a day…then getting you to 10x that is wholly unrealistic.
But the benefits of increasing that are still huge.
The technical reason this is in there is known as your NEAT; your Non-Exercise Thermogenesis. This basically means all movement you do which isn’t prescribed training. Which isn’t lifting weights.
This is the part of your Metabolism that you have the most control over…and is part of your Metabolism that many people don’t pay enough attention to.
For more information on your Metabolism and whether or not it is “broken”. Then read this article of mine that has helped 100s of people understand what to do in order to keep their metabolism burning body fat: https://www.thegymstarter.com/blog/is-your-metabolism-broken
I want you to move more. I want you to allow movement to become part of your life. Whether that means doing the gardening, climbing the stairs at work or parking further away at the Grocery Store…if you do all of them then you are well on your way to increasing your NEAT.
Don’t feel defeated if you don’t hit the magic 10k.
As long as you are increasing and building this up from the moment you started your Calorie Deficit from where it was before…you are winning.
Awesome Rule For Fat Loss Life #5
7–8 Hours Sleep A Night
Sleep. The final frontier.
If you fail to make Sleep something you are willing to focus on when trying to lose weight, then you are basically doing the following to your success:
I fully appreciate and understand that sleep is harder to come by for some people due to little children and young families.
And I empathize. I really do.
But if you want to make Fat Loss as easy as possible then you need to understand that making sleep a priority is really really important.
Without the re-charge. Without the deep NREM sleep that you can achieve you aren’t going to wake up with enough energy for the next day.
And that energy isn’t just to workout.
It comes down to your willpower.
A tired person is a hungry person.
A tired person is a caffeine reliant person.
A tired person is a more stressed person.
A tired person is a person who’s calories will increase.
That's the be-all and end-all.
If you are tired. Your calories will increase.
So how do we manage your tiredness? Well like most things, prevention is better than reaction, and improving your Sleep Hygiene will be a huge win in your column.
I am going to write a list of optimal behaviors for your sleep. You don’t have to follow them all…but again, that's up to you. If you do follow them all you will be in a much more advantageous position than if not. But I’m not here to tell you what to do. I’m here to empower you to make the best choices for yourself.
Electronics off at least 60mins before bedtime.
Dim the lights of an evening
No caffeine after midday.
Meditate Daily
Listen to a Sleep Story
Try to get to sleep before midnight
Don’t drink alcohol
Exercise during the day
Get the sun on the skin
To be able to sleep you need to inspire your body to send Melatonin through your body. This comes from the Pineal Gland and is sent through the bloodstream. Melatonin is released when the body realizes it is indeed bedtime, and there are many cues that can occur for that. Having a pattern of behavior really helps your body sense the signals to release Melatonin into your system.
This is why bedtime habits are really important, and in your day defining the difference between Night and Day really helps.
If you start implementing some better habits around your bedtime then you will start to sleep like a baby.
Conclusion
This is it. Five ways to make your Calorie Deficit Diet easy without working out.
And, just because you can lose weight without working out doesn’t mean you should.
The benefits of looking after yourself physically in this manner are far too plentiful for it to be ignored.
If you want the best results possible, then combine this list of Rules with a very well-thought-out Strength Programme.
Stick to what I have outlined in this article and you will do really well.
But remember these five rules aren’t really rules.
They’re more like guidelines…
Did You Find This Useful?
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, which 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.
I have plenty more articles about weight loss for females on this website.
Here is a selection I think would make great further reading for you:
Thank you so much for reading my work, and good luck on your weight loss journey.
I cannot wait to see how you go!
Coach Adam
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
We all hate that view, right? Well hopefully not anymore.
This week I spent a long time writing a book called Your Scale Strategy for my Online Clients on The Strong and Confident Program, and it got me to thinking that this information needs to be more “out there”.
Too many people are losing their desire, goals, and success because of two massive issues with the Scale.
They do not know how it works
They do not know how to make it work
My book is called Your Scale Strategy, and I wanted to share my strategy from it, to hopefully help you understand how to make the Scale work in a much better way for you.
Table of Contents for: Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
My aim is to give you a strategy for the Scale. This is what we will cover:
We will discuss your perspective of the scale
We will discuss the science of the scale
We will discuss A Workable Plan for you to move forward
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Before we get into it though let show you what effect this Strategy has had on my client. Case Studies are great because they demonstrate to you that this works for people like you. People who are struggling, people who need real answers to real results, and people who are figuring it out. Slowly by surely.
Let’s take my client, Beverley. Beverley has had limiting beliefs about her weight all her life. She is aware it makes her feel very unhappy, and actively avoids being in photos or videos with friends and family. Bev made a commitment to me to implement this Strategy as it is laid out in my book for at least 30 days. She went from not knowing what her weight was for over 2 years to adopt this plan and is now being consistent in both her behaviors and her fitness regime.
She's incredible. I’m so damn proud of her. But more importantly, she is proud of herself.
Here is what she found in 14 days in terms of her scale weight:
DAY 1 (15 stone 6lbs) and DAY 14 (15 stone 4lbs)
Beverley said the following two weeks in:
“To go from never knowing my weight because of what I thought it meant to me, the judgement that was wrapped up in the number and the ideas of self-disappointment, lack of confidence and constantly feeling like a failure…to now not caring what the scale says. Literally accepting it is just a number, and one that will mess with your head if you let it has been such a huge weight off my shoulders. For years knowing there was something about me I couldn’t confront because of the shame attached to it, meant I wasn’t willing to admit I was ashamed of myself. The scale represented that. But now…after implementing this strategy, it's all gone. All the worry and the angst. The number is just that, a number. Of course, I have goals I want to reach, but knowing I am doing the work each day to ensure that one day in the future it will take care of itself and that I have to be patient, respectful and understand truly how it works is life-changing. I’m no longer scared of the scale. I’m no longer ashamed”
I also made a video all about Beverly’s journey. There are two parts, and in it I discuss the ups and downs of this strategy and what she went through when trying to heal her relationship with the scale.
You can watch that here:
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Your Perspective of the Scale
I love this meme. Perspective is everything. Is the cup half-full or half-empty? I’m sure you know the “correct” answer to that but this can be so hard to implement in terms of weight loss.
Let's look at your previous unsuccessful journey in terms of weight loss.
You decided to take action — gym, slimming club, eating “clean”
You lost a few lbs
You had a social event you couldn’t avoid
Stepped on the scale again
Gained a few lbs
Thought this will never work
Gave up
Felt awful
Realized this “healthy” ‘thing was never for you
You might do this a few times over…in the course of a month or two…but eventually steps 7, 8, and 9 are the winners. Sound familiar?
Before you shoot me just hear me out. Please.
I am not stalking you. I promise. I’m not a fortune teller (although I did used to be a Magician at the biggest Toy Store in the World — Hamleys) but I promise you I am not reading your mind.
Want to know how I know you have done this time and time again?
Because you are normal. Because I have seen it happen with 99.99999% of the population.
But you think its just you. You think you are the slightly broken one…when you are not. When you are just perfectly normal. Its all about perspective. When you realise that everyone is going through the same struggle as you, when everyone is not actually losing 60lbs every three months, and they are in truth trading lbs day in and day out, up and down every day until over a long period of time they reach a goal (a much smaller goal than they initially thought) then you realise that you aren’t the problem.
The system might be.
Here is a thought:
Maybe the Diet failed you, you didn’t fail at the diet.
Know how I know this? Traditional restrictive diets fail everyone.
And see that shift in perspective, when you start seeing it change thus…you can begin to see that actually what you want is out there. Your goals are achievable.
SUMMARY: Perspective is really important when it comes to the scale. You need perspective with what is relaistic with yourself compared to what you see on Social Media, and you need perspective with the journey as well.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
The Self Perspective: Empathy
In terms of your perspective, you also need to embrace this word. You need to give yourself a hug a lot more often. In your story of previous unsuccessful attempts, between 6 and 7
6. Thought this will never work
7. Gave up
You need a 6.5: Empathy.
In your 10 point story, you never gave yourself a moment to reflect. The 10 point story happens over a period of time. A one-off example might not be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, but this is a big picture example.
However, I am willing to bet you are doing the same thing not only every time a new diet fails you…but:
Every time you have “bad” food.
Every time you drink some wine.
Every time you chose to go out as opposed to the Gym.
Every time you step on and off the scale.
And over time it all accumulates to you stopping, losing motivation and just wishing it was all a hell of a lot easier.
That number you see, without empathy and love, is a judgement. It's your High School bully laughing at you, it's your greatest fears about how you look and how sexy you feel. It’s a reminder of you being a “loser”, not a winner. It’s a judgement on the food you ate, the wine you had, and the fact you slept in as oppose to work out.
It’s a judgement of your own self-talk saying: “You are useless. Why are you even trying”
And that is all you hear in yourself. You don’t take into account all the other factors that are at play in your ability to adhere to a Calorie Deficit. Things like:
How much sleep you are able to get?
Your personal Finances?
The support of your friends and family?
Your accessibility to be able to exercise?
How stressed you are?
How your mood is?
These few factors alone will have a huge impact on your Calorie Deficit and therefore the number you see staring back at you.
Your whole perspective on the scale is imaginative. And that's not your fault. It’s the fault of the Fitness Industry, The Media, I’m sure you are even thinking that it could be your Mum’s fault or your Partners.
But looking for fault isn’t going to help anyone. You need to change your entire outlook. And when you do, you will be able to treat yourself with the empathy you deserve.
SUMMARY: Empathy is your number one priority when it comes to healing your relationship with the scale. You need to realsie your factors in your life that will impact how adherent to a Calorie Deficit you can actually be, and allow the results you track from that Calorie Deficit to allow for these factors.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
The Outside Perspective: Comparison
One of my favourite quotes is:
“Comparison is the death of joy”
And it is quite simply because we can’t compare evenly. You spend your life comparing people instantly on Social Media, but the issue with these platforms is they pander to your confirmation bias.
You only see people who have:
Been Succesful
You don’t notice all the people struggling, all the other people not making it…all your brain sees is the successful ones.
My best example of this from my life is what I call “London Underground is Ruining My Life”.
It’s storytime.
Now when I was a young buck at Drama School I got my own flat in London in my third year. Until that point, I didn’t need to spread my wings and fly. But in Third Year enough was enough. And my parents and I managed to afford a flatshare for myself. Of course, this came with the usual expectation of a 21-year-old living in London wanting to live the high life as an “up and coming actor” So obviously I wanted to seduce the women. Luckily I had one who actually said “Yes”.
We had an enjoyable evening. And then I had to spend the next two weeks riding on the tube. And the tube had changed. I promise you. For those not familiar with the London Underground…there is a LOT and I mean a LOT of billboard adverts on the tube.
And I promise you, hand on heart, every single advert, that evening henceforth, was for some sort of Pregnancy thing.
Whether it was Well Woman Vitabiotics, Clear Blue Pregnancy Testing, or even an advert for a West End Show…every advert was about pregnancy.
All 16,000+ of them.
This is a prime example of Confirmation Bias. My world ie: my brain was showing me my fear. All I was looking for was things to back up my own silly hypothesis that I was about to become a Dad.
…
And when you are on Social Media this is what your brain is doing. It is only finding things you want it to find…to confirm your preexisting thoughts about yourself.
To conquer the scale, you must realize that you are normal. You are like 99.9% of the world out there. That is why you have got this far into this article because it resonates with you…and you are not alone.
For example, we are in the midst of an “obesity crisis”. This literally tells you that more people in the world are struggling with this than are succeeding.
So embrace your normality. Understand everyone is in the same boat and the minority is what you believe to be the majority. From there…you can begin to see the wins you are achieving, as opposed to only Stop comparing your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 14.
Just focus on your journey, your progress, and how far you are coming.
SUMMARY: When we look at ourselves through the prism of comparison we will only ever compare to someone who is doing better than us. We never look down, only up. The more you compare the more your brain will be conditioned to only seeing who is doing better than you, not the reality of society at large.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
The Science of the Scale
So you have spent the majority of your life being all consumed by this little square block on your bathroom floor, and in truth…you know very very little about what makes up that number.
Which when you think about it…it's crazy.
You don’t really know what it represents, you don’t know what makes up that number and you don’t know all the factors involved in what it says and why it says it.
So let me break it down for you:
The human body as weight is made up of Bone, Organs, Muscle and Fat, and averagely this is split thus:
Bone: Men: 15%; Women: 10%
Muscle: Men: 45%; Women: 37%
Organs: Men and Women: 25%
Fat: Men 15%; Women 28%
These are estimates as its really hard to know the true figures, and we will never know our actual Body Fat Percentage unless we have an Autopsy…which is really inconvenient. Your Body Fat Percentage may well be higher than the average…but its never 100% of what you are.
That's really important to remember.
This is what should strike you the most from those figures:
Your body really isn't made up of much Fat at all…With the Body Fat Percentage figure, you must remember you cannot get to 0% Body Fat as you will die, and it is extremely unlikely you will ever get to >8% Body Fat (Men) and >21% Body Fat (Women) unless you become an Athlete. So what we can realistically effect in terms of Body Fat Percentage is about 8% Body Fat (Female) and 7% Body Fat (Male) based on the above averages. If you carry more Body Fat, this figure will be increased but can be affected more easily.
Your Muscle is Heavy…you have more muscle than you think you do. And Muscle is really hard to lose and really hard to gain. We lose about 3–5% of our Muscle Mass per decade over the age of 30 unless we train to keep it. We can gain muscle at a rate of 0.5lb per week. But even that is rare and takes extreme dedication.
Your weight gain over time isn't likely to be muscle gain. You might have heard that muscle weighs less than fat, which isn’t true.
What weighs more? A tonne of feathers? Or a tonne of bricks?
They are exactly the same weight, and the same is true for 1lb of fat and 1lb of muscle. They both weigh one pound.
Muscle takes up less space over a bone and therefore you can fit more of it onto the space you have available.
Muscle is incredibly hard to build - it's a little easier if you are newer to training but the longer you have been strength training, the longer it takes to build.
In the early days, some of your weight gains might be due to the muscle being built, but if your weight is increasing, and you are in a Calorie Deficit, past the three-month mark as a new gym goer, then it will be due to a caloric surplus and is likely to be fat gain, not muscle gain.
Time for a little PSA.
If you have a Trainer that is telling you, past these parameters, that your weight gain is because you are getting stronger and that it's not due to your Caloric Intake, then you need to get rid of your trainer and hire a better Coach.
I'm sure you have heard that scale weight is affected by a number of factors...and it is. These are:
Water retention from Salt in your diet
Water retention from lifting weights
You need to poop
You ate more yesterday than usual
You had more Carbohydrates than normal in your diet yesterday
Your Menstrual Cycle
This means that the Scale will go up and down like a rollercoaster - even if you are in a deficit.
But it is only water - I promise you. For example, if you eat 1g of Carbohydrates your body absorbs 3g of Water. This si why when you go on a “Low Carb” Diet you lose Scale Weight very quickly. You are indeed losing water - not actual Body Fat.
I recently did a 60 Day weight loss challenge. I lost 4.1kgs in about 60 days and I decided to weigh myself every day for the last 30 days so I could show you what it really looks like:
What a rollercoaster!
Looking at that you can see just how much scale weight fluctuates. There are peaks and whooshes everywhere, and in fact, I don’t think it whooshed on repetitive days once.
Added to that, I wasn’t in a deficit every day either, and the peaks were a lot harder to stomach on the days after I knew I wasn’t in a Deficit.
Even though I knew I wasn’t actually gaining weight, I had more than likely eaten more carbohydrates, it still felt incongruent to my goal, to lose weight.
I knew deep down the result would come provided I was in a Calorie Deficit for a consistent (25/30 days) period of time. I also only managed to make this a success, because I gave it enough time to succeed.
Even after consecutive days of the scale going up, I didn’t give up and therefore allowed myself to see the success I deserved from the work I was putting into it.
I also adopted the following mantra, which I highly recommend you follow:
“All you have to do is get back on track, and you haven’t failed”
I have spent the first half of this article educating you on the Scale - so that you can take all of this knowledge into implementing a plan to help you heal your relationship with the scale.
How Does My Menstural Cycle Effect my Fitness and Weight Loss? <<< Read My Article that has already helped over 100 women understand their Cycle and the effect it is having.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
So What Is Your Plan for the Scale?
This is your plan. Your schedule is really important, and it has to be easy to follow, otherwise, you won’t continue to do it.
You are going to weigh yourself daily. Every single day.
This study tells you why: HOW WEIGHING YOURSELF MORE REGUARLY WILL KEEP YOUR WEIGHT OFF
But allow me to pull out one key conclusion of the study:
“Findings from the registry suggest six key strategies for long-term success at weight loss: 1) engaging in high levels of physical activity; 2) eating a diet that is low in calories and fat; 3) eating breakfast; 4) self-monitoring weight on a regular basis; 5) maintaining a consistent eating pattern; and 6) catching “slips” before they turn into larger regains”
All of these points are really very important. Although it can be argued you do not need to eat breakfast in order to lose weight as all you need is a caloric deficit, although in this study when they refer to breakfast they refer to cereal (which surprised me!), it doesn’t define what kind at all — cereal is a very broad term, and fruit. It would be my suspicion that it’s due to an increase in Fibre in their diet which is helping here.
Added to that this Study took a cohort of people, and got them to weigh themselves over a 51 week period reducing the frequency of weighing as time went on. The three groups were split thus:
High/Consistent equalling 6 days/week of weighing over 51 weeks
Moderate/Declined equalling 4-5 days/week of weighing and then a gradual decline to 2 days/week over time.
Minimal/Declined equalling 5-6 days/week until Week 33 and then 0 days/week thereafter.
The results were:
“The high/consistent group achieved greater weight loss than either the moderate/declined and minimal/declined groups at 6 months and 12 months, respectively. The high/consistent group had a greater mean number days per week of adherence to calorie intake goal or step goal but not higher than the moderate/declined group.”
And they concluded:
“This is the first study to reveal distinct temporal patterns of self-weighing behavior. The majority of participants were able to sustain a habit of daily self-weighing with regular self-weighing leading to weight loss and maintenance as well as adherence to energy intake and step goals”
The key takeaway here is that weighing yourself every day leads to better adherence to the behaviors that create weight loss: Calorie Deficit and Step Targets to name a couple.
I need to interject here, also. You can lose weight as well if you only weigh yourself once a day. But you need to think of weighing yourself daily as Data collection - not a judgement on what you are doing each day.
The more data you collect, the more informed a decision you can make about what is happening.
You also need to control the variance that can effect the scale reading as much as possible.
So. in order to do that this is your schedule
Wake Up
Go to the toilet
Weigh yourself
Then eat your breakfast / Drink your Tea or Coffee
Always try and weigh yourself in this manner each and every morning.
Before we go any further please read the following:
Don’t get me wrong, there is a cost to every behavior we partake in as humans, and although I am in favor of weighing ourselves daily, I am not blind to the fact it can have negative repercussions too. If you have ever suffered from an Eating Disorder, and/or Mental Health Issues then using the scale in this way should be discussed with your Doctor and your Medical Team.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Stop Playing The Scale Lottery
Weighing yourself once a week, once a month or less than this is like playing the lottery.
You will lose.
You are shooting in the dark. You aren’t collecting enough data.
Blindly hoping you get a down day…as opposed to an up day with your weight fluctuations. Even if you hit a down day 50% of the time…the other 50% will be the percentage you focus on…the percentage you remember and essentially the one that will stop you in your tracks.
You need regularity by weighing yourself daily. Weighing yourself daily does mean that you will have to see the number go up - but that’s okay - because you aren’t gaining body fat.
This study took 29 men and made them eat 40% above their Maintenance Calories, which was about 1200-1500kcals extra a day. Over the 8 week period, they gained 9lbs of fat, equivalent to 0.16lbs a day.
Added to that another study took participants and made them eat 1000kcal/day above their maintenance for one week, which lead to a scale weight gain of 1kg for the whole week. This kilogram was then split up into two sections - half of it was muscle glycogen, and the other half was body fat - which means they gained 71g of body weight a day.
This is why we must be very careful about how you look at and analyse the scale data you collect.
With my clients I implement this:
We compare every two weeks. Not every 2 days. Not every 7 days. Not every 10 days.
14 Days. And it’s a lot longer than you think it is.
There is a reason the studies I have spoken about in this article track people for 51 weeks - because weight loss takes time.
Or if you are overly concerned with your Menstrual Cycle and you know that affects your adherence to a Calorie Deficit you can use this model:
And again, we work on a 14-day schedule of comparison.
If you aren’t seeing the results you are happy with you will then need to analyze what you have been doing and amend one of these factors:
Track your Calories more accurately
Increase your NEAT
Increase your Sleep
Increase your Hydration
Increase your adherence to the Five Awesome Rules For Life:
Increase your Caloric Deficit
The Five Awesome Rules for Fat Loss Life <<< Watch my Video on how to nail your Fat Loss every day
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Metabolic Adaptation
One last thing we need to be aware of in the plan for your progress is Metabolic Adaptation. As you lose weight your Caloric needs will change.
Smaller bodies need fewer calories.
Therefore make sure you go back to the Calorie Calculator every two months and if you have made progress re-evaluate your numbers and see what it says. The change might not be huge, but it will be good to make sure that you are keeping a check on what your body needs and that changes over time.
You can mitigate the effects of metabolic adaption by making sure when you lose weight you continue to strength train with the goal of preserving muscle mass - and eating enough Protein each day.
Grab My Calorie Calculator Right Here <<< I will email it straight to you
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
And That’s It…
It is my belief that you shouldn’t use scale weight as a determinate of who you are unless you know everything there is to know about the Scale. I hope this book has opened your eyes to what goes into the Scale and why it can be a very flippant and testing thing to use to mark your progress and who you are.
So remember these Take-Aways:
You have to gain a better perspective on what the scale is and how weight works otherwise you will lose motivation really quickly.
99.99999% of people find this really hard and struggle to maintain motivation because of how their perspective is.
Give yourself more time - don’t give up before you see your success from your consistency.
One day of a spike isn’t actually fat gain
Get away from the Prison of Time — allow yourself the time this needs and deserves, so you can empathize with your humanity and the stresses of normal life whilst losing weight
Set a sensible Goal Weight and remember that is based around being active as well - and download my Calorie Calculator to make sure you do that.
Weigh yourself Daily this will keep you accountable.
Stop playing the Scale Lottery.
Track your progress every two weeks and be disciplined in this as it will tell you the real picture.
Do You Have Scale Anxiety? Improve Your Relationship With The Scale
Did you find this useful?
Thank you so much for reading my article - I really hope you found it helpful.
You are also invited to get a bundle of Fat Loss Goodies from me including:
✅ Get yourself a free month of workouts (Home and Gym-based options)
✅ Get yourself a free copy of my e-book ”27 Ways To Faster Fast Loss”
✅ Get yourself a free customized Calorie Calculator
Straight to your Inbox
All you have to do is put your email address in below:
How To Count Calories
How To Count Calories
There I was on Instagram doing my daily video asking my audience what I might be able to help them with…and I got this response:
“I don’t know how to count calories…can you help me?”
Well, of course, it's my pleasure to help anyone if I can. But with this message, I felt like the person sending it to me felt guilty that she didn’t know how to do this — which is absurd. Why would you know how to do this if it's not something you have looked into how to do it. In the fitness industry, we spend a lot of time talking about things which we know…and we don’t do a great job of informing people about actually how to do what we talk about. This is for one reason…many people in this industry want to make them seem like they have a secret you don’t have…thus you will part with your cash in order to get said secret. It's nonsense. Nothing makes someone actually want to invest in you more than you empowering them to solve problems themselves. Helping them when they think they will never be able to figure it out.
Therefore this article is here to:
Explain why you should count calories
Show you how to count calories
Make you aware of the positives and negatives of counting calories
and
4. Send you on your way feeling empowered to take control of this part of your Fitness Journey.
Why You Should Count Calories
Most Diets you have ever heard of, will in some way do two things.
Count your Calories
Get you into a Calorie Deficit or a Calorie Surplus
For the purposes of this article, let's just use the premise that you want a calorie deficit to lose weight. Whether you followed Slimming World, Weight Watchers or Atkins they all incorporate a “system” for counting your calories. The issue with these diets is they also encourage you to develop very questionable relationships with how you view your food which in the long run creates a very messy relationship between you and your diet. They also use this calorie counting system to restrict your intake of calories…hence getting you into a Calorie Deficit.
These companies have clearly realised that part of a successful Fat Loss diet is that you manage to get the dieter to learn how to restrict their food, and thus get results.
Have you ever heard the phrase “what is measured can be managed”?
Well, that is why you should count your calories if you want to lose weight. We need to keep track. And that's it. Keep track of the amount of energy you are eating.
That's all a calorie is: A unit of energy.
In the same way, a mile is a unit of distance. A calorie is a unit of energy.
And in the same way, you are tracking how far you are running or walking, or how much you are lifting…you must also track how much you are eating.
You wouldn’t step foot into the Gym and not take note of how heavy the dumbbell you are lifting is, would you? So why are you not treating your food the same?
Emotions. Which I empathise with…(and if you need help with that then please read my article titled: How Do You Define Binge Eating?)…but that's not for this article.
It is also my belief that counting calories is important as we habitually wildly underestimate how many calories we are eating. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1) and an article published by Public Health England (2)both state that participants under-report their calorie consumption.
This is why I believe it is very important for you, if you want to begin to lose weight to start counting your calories as accurately as possible. In the Western World we are so poorly educated on this subject…it leads to a huge overconsumption of caloric intake. We just have very little idea on two things, how many calories we actually require each day (our Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and how many calories are in our foods.
There is:
97kcal in a Cappuccino from Starbucks (Tall)
130kcal in a bag of Salt and Vinegar Walkers Crisps
214kcal in a large glass of Red Wine
1064kcl in a 200g bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk
1720kcal in a medium Dominos Pepperoni Pizza
Now imagine you had some garlic bread with the pizza or a dash of syrup in your cappuccino. Maybe had two glasses of wine not just the one…you can see how the little bits here, the little bits there add up.
And if you don’t track that…you can begin to take away from all of your hard work in the gym.
That being said…
“All calories count, but you don’t have to count all calories” — Jordan Syatt
You can get into a Caloric Deficit without counting calories, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t educate yourself on them. Learning how many calories are in the foods you eat is a simple and easy way to make sure you can keep track, even when you aren’t “tracking”.
How Do You Count Calories?
Great question.
Before we get into this…I want you to know that at times it's not easy to be very accurate. It used to drive me bonkers, the few times I have counted calories that it was never perfect. So right off the bat…i’m telling you this is NEVER an exact science.
In fact, even the calories published on packets are not 100% accurate. The FDA in the US allows up to 20% deviation on what the packet might actually contain either way…
So how do you get around this? Well, you give yourself a nice long time frame to lose weight…you experiment and keep making little changes until it starts to work for your goals.
Personally, I recommend to my clients to download the app “MyFitnessPal” although some clients have had great success with FitBit Tracking too.
With MyFitness Pal you set up your Goal Weight…and it will give you a Daily Amount of Calories that you can consume.
Then throughout the day you scan barcodes, type in and figure out what you are eating in order to find out how many calories you are eating. It has an extensive list of food stuffs in its library and there are few things in this world that aren’t on there. Including Restaurant Menus, Cocktails and your favourite Fast Foods.
But figuring out portion sizes can be difficult.
There's another catch with MyFitnessPal if you want to lose weight…and its this:
Image from @thegymstarter on Instagram
MyFitnessPal gives you back Calories burnt from exercise as per your exercise tracker (the red arrows on the illustration above). Fitness Trackers don’t accurately calculate the number of calories you have burned through exercise and therefore the number of calories MyFitnessPal says you can have back is not going to be accurate.
Added to that…if you have increased your movement…and burnt some calories…why would you then want to eat that back?
You are just undoing your hard work.
What If The Food I Eat Is Home Cooked and Doesn’t Have A Barcode?
Tracking Home Cooked food is terribly irritating on MyFitnessPal. As you will have to weigh all your food, every ingredient and figure out how you cooked it because how you cook food changes its calorie content…there becomes a lot of barriers in place which will stop you from tracking your calories.
And as you may well know…my number one rule for Fitness is enjoyment. As enjoyment leads to adherence. And if there are lots of barriers in place you simply will not remain adherent to what you are doing…because its no longer enjoyable…but onerous.
Luckily for you, I have a Fat Loss My Fitness Pal rule in place for this very problem.
If you are eating home cooked food, or whole foods nearly the whole of the time, that sticks to the rule of Protein and Veggies at every meal…and Carbs come along for the ride (one of my 5 AwesomeRules for life) then it is my belief you don’t have to track that food.
But…
And its a Big But…if you eat anything with a Barcode on it…you must scan and track that.
If you are finding you are getting to within 60% of your Calorie allowance (the Goal Number on the image above) from Barcoded Foods…then it is a fair statement to say that you are eating over your calorie allowance.
This means that if you have a calorie allowance of 1500kcals a day and you are eating 900kcals worth of Coffees from Costa, Wine, Crisps and Dip, Sodas, Chocolate or Sandwiches from Pret then I think we can assume you are going over your calories each day.
So the Big Food Number on your MyFitnesPal should read no more than 900kcals (60% of your Daily Caloric Allowance) in this example.
YOUR BMR or GOAL CALORIES — Know Your Numbers
I set all my clients up with a calorie target of two numbers.
A Lower Limit
An Upper Limit.
The lower limit is set to their BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which is the number that dictates how many calories they burn just by being them. Their Digestion, Respiration, Minimal Daily Movement all leads us to this figure.
If you want to know your BMR then email me a request and I will tell you how to get a number (adam@thegymstarter.com)
The upper limit is normally their Goal B/W ins LBS x12.
This figure is always higher than we expect and scares a few people. But if you are consistent with your training and your NEAT especially, then it will work fine for you.
I ask all my clients to try and make sure that each day they will fall somewhere between these two numbers, and by doing so…they will over a course of time…lose weight, and keep it off.
One last important point…
I heard this from Susan Neibergall on my Podcast: The Fitness Solution (listen on iTunes here). Susan said that the aim of being in a Calorie Deficit isn’t to see how little you can eat…but to see how much you can eat within that number.
That's the challenge.
It's not about restriction.
It's about abundance within your limits. Imagine you driving a car, and you are coming onto a Motorway, you know that your limit is 70mph on the motorway…you are going to drive damn near to that number. You aren’t going to travel on the motorway at 40mph because you want to get your destination as quickly as possible, and you know that going that slow…when everything else around you is going that quick…is damn dangerous.
Yout might cruise at 60/65mph…but no slower.
What Are The Positives and Negatives of Counting Calories?
The positives are the following:
You can educate yourself on the calories you are eating each day and see how that is effecting your Fat Loss Journey
It gives you a way of looking at food as just energy. Not good or bad foods…it just is literally a combination of calories formatted in a certain way for you to consume.
It is time-restricted. This is not something you need to do for the rest of your life. Once you get a handle on the foods you like to enjoy…and learn how much energy is in them then you are free to roam the world and keep looser tabs on what you are doing. Then if things go array…you have a tried and tested format to help you get back on track.
It will lead to results. If you track accurately…it will lead to results for you.
It allows you to stop being a Dieter. You can finally walk away from Slimming World and Weight Watchers and actually learn that food is just food…and if it fits inside your number…then you can eat it. It basically gives you guilt-free freedom.
Read number five again.
I know I spoke about negatives a the top of this section…and there are a few. But what I really mean are pitfalls. There are common mistakes that people make when tracking calories which will drastically hinder their progress.
Again, let me call on Instagram:
Image from @thegymstarter on Instagram
As you can see there are plenty of ways that this method of tracking your consumption can let you down, and therefore will hinder your progress.
I can only suggest avoiding these mistakes and you will be able to remain accurate with what you are doing.
The other negatives associated with Calorie Tracking is thus:
People can become obsessed with it.
People don’t want to see the truth.
Point 1: They can be completely obsessed with their numbers and that can totally impact the way they view their food.
What I would say about this is the following. We may all know someone who is “obsessed” with their numbers. But in truth, that is one person out of many more that you are focusing on. You are looking for the anomaly to prove your point. Far more people casually track their calories in this world, than get obsessed with it. Don’t use one person to prove your already biased opinion.
Point 2: It can be scary. If this is something that you believe you have had a handle on your whole life, but know the scale has never actually told you what you want to hear…then being accountable for what you are putting in your mouth can be a very scary moment. Seeing it in black and white…is, without doubt, a bitter pill to swallow. But if you can make your peace with that right now, then it will pay dividends, compared to you regretting not being able to when you are 55 and need a hip replacement.
To Conclude
For me the answer is simple: Track Your Calories
Its not a life sentence. You don’t have to do this for the rest of your life. But if you can accurately track for a month or so…then you will learn so much about your food you will be able to take so much more control over what you are eating.
Numbers are King. You need to know your numbers to succeed. Your Upper Limit, Your Lower Limit and hit between those each day for a long period of time…and you will succeed.
Eat as much as you can within your numbers. That's the goal here. To eat as much as possible…not as little as possible.
Stick to the 60% rule don’t let MyFitness Pals annoyances stop you from succeeding. Learn to work with it, rather than against it, and you will find success.
Guilt-Free Freedom this is your goal. To learn to enjoy all foods so long as they work within your numbers. Foods are not good, or bad. They just are.
And thats it.
How To Track Calories by me,
The Gym Starter…
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Sources:
New England Journal of Medicine. 2020. Discrepancy Between Self-Reported And Actual Caloric Intake And Exercise In Obese Subjects | NEJM. [online] Available at: <https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199212313272701> [Accessed 9 April 2020].
Ons.gov.uk. 2020. A Government Statistical Service Perspective On Official Estimates Of Calorie Consumption — Office For National Statistics. [online] Available at: <https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/methodologies/agovernmentstatisticalserviceperspectiveonofficialestimatesofcalorieconsumption#toc> [Accessed 9 April 2020].
DID YOU FIND THIS USEFUL?
You can Join The Fitness Collective which is my Membership Group. In there I give Monthly Updates, Live Q and A’s, I provide you with new workouts each and every month, and write guidance on your fintess journey.
To find out more about The Fitness Collective you can click here: The Fitness Collective
Please share this with your friends and anyone else you may know who is worried about training in a gym, and feel free to follow me using the links below…
And if you want to get updates on when I publish new articles, publish new podcasts or anything else then please remember to sign up below
And above all remember this…for as long as you are trying your best no one can ask for more from you.
Coach Adam
What is Binge Eating Disorder?
What is Binge Eating Disorder?
Last night I had a wonderful chat with a client about Binge Eating.
And it got me thinking about how do we define what a Binge truly is?
Part of me wants to say that “Binge-Eating” is one of those terms we throw around these days as its becoming a little more of the zeitgeist.
And don’t get me wrong awareness of this is very very important and I would never undermine anyone bringing awareness to it, for others and themselves.
But how do we define it?
Standard rules say this: “The consumption of large quantities of food in a short period of time, typically as part of an eating disorder”
Which doesn’t really help us.
“Large Quantities of food”
Is this any food? Can you binge on Broccoli? Is large quantities relating to the calorie content only, or the grams of food you have eaten?
“Short Period of Time”
What is a short period of time? 1 hour? 1 Evening? One journey? One Month?
and then the part of it “typically being part of an eating disorder” doesn’t help either. As it opens up the fact if you don’t have an eating disorder you are too a Binge Eater.
Well, that’s no help…so what do you do now?
I try to avoid my clients from using the term “binge” due to it allowing them to sink into a world of negative self-talk.
Which is to be avoided at all times.
I would always prefer a client to refer to their food more objectively than subjectively. Calories are calories are calories.
Therefore in terms of a binge…maybe we could define it as eating 70% of their daily calories in a short period of time
Therefore if someone is eating 2000 calories a day.
In a matter of hours or an evening they will have needed to consume 70% of that.
1400 calories.
But this comes with problems in that 1400 calories is the same as just:
Two McDonalds Iced Vanilla Frappe
Two McDonalds Double Quarter Pounders with Cheese
A Big Mac Meal with a Hot Apple Pie
Now if you ate any of that at lunch time….I don’t think you would sit there and class what you just had as a Binge.
It seems almost too reasonable.
Which brings me to my next point.
Is it defined by emotion?
Ah-ha.
Does Binge Eating come down to whether or not you feel guilty about what you just ate?
And if it does….then we can’t define it in any way shape or form because we are all so bloody different in the way we feel about these things.
Sure, in the past I have eaten lots of food….probably beyond 70% of my daily calorie intake.
But I personally have never felt guilty about it.
I’ve never felt the need to purge it from my body in the form of exercise or excessive dieting.
Or worse: facing down the toilet.
I have only once ever felt like this, and that was after trying a cigarette for the first time when I was about 17. (sorry mum!)
It was menthol, and it was wonderful
I had two drags.
But the next day I woke up and knew I had to get rid of the craving that was building up inside me. So I went running and got rid of that craving.
Now, this was easy for me to do…because I don’t NEED cigarettes to live. In fact quite the opposite.
But with food, as it is our source of survival, I would not suggest purging the food from your body in any way shape or form because you are feeling guilty about what you did.
I think its best you just step away from what you have experienced.
Draw a line under it.
Get to bed
Say Fuck IT
And reset again tomorrow.
Again….
A lot easier said than done.
Conclusion….?
I have no idea. I’m, really not overly sure what constitutes a binge.
I think it must come down to “a feeling you have about yourself when you consume something to excess that you feel like you probably shouldn’t have in a shorter period of time than you feel is adequate”
But I really don’t know.
Maybe defining it isn’t something we need to worry about…
As a coach, I just need to listen to you when you say you did, respect your opinion of yourself and try to help you move away from those feelings about yourself, and help you reflect on why it occurred, and how we can manage it for next time.
Which is basically my philosophy to life.
Draw A Line Under It
Say Fuck It
Get to Bed
Start again tomorrow.
What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from you.