Weight Loss: You're Probably Doing it Wrong

One thing that frustrates me is all the bad weight loss advice out there. Why is it so hard to get the truth? So many companies are trying to get your money by selling you a quick fix, when all you need is the right knowledge. Food companies are selling you low fat/low cal food that tastes bad and has less nutrition than a pencil! Fitness people put out videos claiming you can target your problem areas in just minutes a day! Other companies put out countless products such as pills, shakes, and snack bars claiming the fat will just melt off if you use their products!


In the past, I tried some of those quick fixes. One thing I almost tried were these patches that said they'd help you lose weight. What?! I tried taking pills that said they would help me burn fat. I tried eating too little. And guess what? I lost weight, BUT I gained it all back, and then some.


If you're looking to get healthy for life, take a step back and think logically. Do you want to lose weight quickly? Or are you more interested in creating a healthier lifestyle that will enable you to lose weight AND keep it off? If you think about it... what is sustainable? Are you really going to continue drinking those shakes for the rest of your life? Are you really going to say NO to ice cream and pizza forever?


My number one point would be:

Start Slow!

If you don't exercise, START NOW. Go for walks, try to jog, get on your bike, do some pushups and squats with just your body weight, get a DVD.

Take a look at your diet. Do you eat any fruits and veggies? When I was just starting out last Spring and looked at my diet I was sad when I realized I hardly ate any fresh fruits and veggies at all. Get rid of the chips and crackers and have some carrots and sugar snap peas for a snack! Make yourself a smoothie.




 
Swap a couple of your regular items for healthier choices. And I don't necessarily mean low fat/low calorie items. Read nutrition labels. Some diet foods have artificial additives and less nutrients than the full fat/full calorie alternative. There is some merit to eating full fat foods. Your body needs healthy fats. Regular butter, mayo, and healthy oils like olive and coconut are OK to eat every day in moderation! Stay away from trans fat completely.


When looking at your diet, also consider your portion sizes. That was a big problem for me. A suggestion that I hope everyone takes is to start measuring your food! Bust out those measuring cups, and get yourself a food scale. You can buy this one at Walmart, its that easy. Many food labels give you a portion size in ounces. If you don't measure, how will you know if you're eating a proper serving of chicken? I've been measuring my food for months now. Once you start measuring, you will be surprised at how many portions you are actually eating.


Also, realize that any food is ok, IN MODERATION. As I said before, are you going to say no to your favorite foods for the rest of your life? Not realistic. I used to beat myself up for eating certain things. Now, I'm much happier eating my nightly bowl of ice cream or chocolate, or enjoying dinner and drinks out with friends because I take care to watch what I'm eating on the whole. One meal or snack is not going to derail you. It is what it is. Carry on!



Which brings me to my all important next point:

Know How Your Body Works!

Do you know how many calories you should be eating? Many people have no idea. You can probably tell me that 3,500 calories equals a pound though.
Most people approach weight loss with the mentality that if they eat less, they will lose weight. Sure, that's true. But you could end up starving your poor body, leaving you weak and unhappy. Your body will start to store up fat and you will lose muscle. Here's a great article: Read especially the part that says: Staci in Early 2010. Prime example of what many people do.

When you're first starting out, I think its important to track what you're eating and track your exercise. If you don't know where you are to start, how will you get to where you want to go? You may think calorie counting is lame or too meticulous, but trust me it helps.

I am a member of a site called MyFitnessPal. When I started up in the fall of 2012, my calorie goal was set to 1300. Its a sad little amount of calories. I stuck to it well, but lost no weight. I was exercising and doing everything I was supposed to but no results. I browsed the forums and learned a lot from other people. Just regular people who lost weight, but did it the smart way. I ended up changing my calorie goals, ate MORE and lost weight.



I learned a little something about how the body works. Everyone forgets that your body burns calories ALL THE TIME. While you're sitting down, eating, digesting, breathing, sleeping. Your body is always burning calories.

How many calories does your body burn while at rest? You can get a rough estimate of your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) by plugging your stats into a calculator. I will list several at the bottom of the page. It's been explained to me that your BMR is the amount of calories a doctor would feed you if you were in a coma-- just enough to keep you alive.

That's great. Now you know how many calories you need to stay alive and not starve your body. But, we all move around during the day. Even if you sit at a desk all day, you still get up every so often, you walk to and from your car, etc. Now you need to know your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). Great thing is, you can also get a rough estimate of this with a calculator. Your body needs calories to fuel you and your workouts. Guess what? The more you move around and work out, the more you get to eat!! Its a lovely thing. 

I'll give you my numbers as an example. I plugged my stats into several online calculators and averaged them out.

The BMR for a 5'4" female weighing 135 averages out to around 1416 calories per day. Just to exist, my body burns more than 1400 calories!

The TDEE for a moderately active (3-5 workouts a week) 5'4" female weighing 135 averages to 2166!!

In order to maintain my current weight, I can eat around 2100 calories. This makes me happy! Happy happy dance! Because I love food! I just readjusted my calorie goals on MyFitnessPal a couple weeks ago. I had hit a plateau and realized that I was probably done losing weight, but not done losing fat. I really really wanted to hit 130, but more importantly, I wanted to continue to build muscle. In order to build muscle, the body needs calories. I bumped my calories up by 400 and am still holding steady.



In order to lose weight, try eating your TDEE minus 20%. This will give you a calorie deficit, which will result in weight loss while still fueling your body properly. So for me, that comes to 1680, or 1700 as I had rounded up :) Still, probably more calories than you thought right? You can cut more calories, but still be sure you are eating above your BMR. And reassess every so often. When your weight changes, your BMR and TDEE change.

Try it for a couple weeks. If something isn't right, reassess and add or subtract a couple hundred calories. I went from 1300 to 1500 to 1700 all the way up to 2100 now. But be realistic with your goals. One to two pounds a week is good for most people. More or less depending on how large or small you are.

Make sure your workouts don't become stale. Mix it up!! Take a week off of your regular workouts and try something new. The body adjusts after awhile. It becomes more efficient at whatever it is you're doing. That is, after all, what you're trying to do right? Make your body more efficient in everything it does, including burning fat.



My last point is:

Don't Get Discouraged By The Scale

You should take measurements in addition to weighing in. The scale is a tricky thing. Its a great tool to use at first, but the closer you get to your goal, the less indicative of progress it is.

And please please please stop saying "A pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat."

Do you hear what you're saying? "A pound weighs more than a pound." 

 No it doesn't. What you mean to say is that muscle is more dense than fat. Which means, the more fat you lose, the more INCHES you will lose. And the closer you get to your goal, if you are strength training (which you should be, everyone should but I'll save that for another post) you will be more likely to see a stall or even a gain on the scale. You are losing inches, but putting on muscle. This is why taking measurements is so important. You can also supplement this by judging how well your clothes fit. Are your old clothes still too big on you? Good. You're fine. Are your new jeans still making your butt look sexy? Even better!

You might not lose those last 5 lbs. Don't judge yourself by what the scale says. Tuck it away for awhile and focus on how you feel.  




There are many many myths out there, more than I have time to tackle today. But the main advice I can give you is be smart and keep a log of everything. I definitely recommend MyFitnessPal, especially if you enjoy social media and connecting with other people who have similar goals.

Losing weight is not easy, it takes dedication and commitment. If it were as easy as taking a pill or drinking some special shakes, no one would have a weight issue!!

BMR/TDEE Calculators:
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
http://www.quickbmr.com/
http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
http://www.weight-loss-for-women-over-40.com/bmr-calorie-needs-calculator.htm