This is something I often hear and the most common explanation people follow it up with is 'I have a very slow metabolism'.
Sadly this is not the case, so why are you not losing weight?
To stat with a calorie is a calorie. If you eat 500 calories of vegetables or 500 calories of chocolate , either way you have still eaten 500 calories. The vegetables will contain lot's of nutrients and be better from our health but this does not result in weight loss. To reduce body weight you need to eat less calories then your body requires to maintain your current weight. To prove a point their have been numerous cases where individuals have eating nothing but junk food and lost weight. For example Jeff Wilser, the author of 'The Good News About What's Bad for You', ate only junk food and whiskey for an entire month, yet he still lost 11 pounds. John Cisna decided to only eat McDonalds for 6 months, yet he managed to lose an incredible 60 pounds!
So what did both these experiments have in common and what is their secret?
CALORIE DEFICIT.
Yep.....that is it.
They both maintained a calorie deficit and this resulted in weight loss! Now this is not something I would encourage anyone to do, however it has been shown that weight loss alone can have significant improvements on your health in acute stages despite eating 'unhealthy' foods.
I track my calories so why am I not losing weight?
1) Guestimating - To ensure you are logging your food correctly you need to individually weigh each item of food on the scales.
2) Kitchen Measuring Tools - using such items like a tablespoon can become a very inaccurate way to log food because one person's level is another ones heaped tablespoons.
3) Backdating Diary - Logging your food diary a few days later, the next day or evening of the same day can make you very susceptible to missing certain food you have logged.
4) Not Logging Drinks - Often people don't track the milk they add to their coffee or sugar free drinks. Just because a drink contains no sugar it doesn't necessarily mean it contains no calories.
5) Not Logging Fruit and Vegetables - Just because fruit and vegetables are highly nutritious this again doesn't mean they don't contain calories.
6) Selecting pre-set meals on your tracking app - Not adding your own individual ingredients and just selecting a pre-set meal is very likely to be inaccurate.
7) Eating out to much - There is nothing wrong with going out for a meal or having takeaway but unfortunately this can become very hard to track and the more you do this, the less accurate your tracking data will become.
8) Missing Days - It may seem harmless missing the odd day or even the odd meal but if you are new to tracking or have have hit a plateau it is extremely important.
Eating in a calorie deficit we ALWAYS result in weight loss!
In the 1944 a medical research experiment took place known as the 'Minnesota Starvation Experiment'. With many of the allies soldiers in POW camps, the researches wanted to get a better understanding of starvation and how to refeed these men on their return. 36 men were chosen for the experiment from 200 volunteers. The 36 men were put on a starvation diet of 1570 calories a day for 6 months.
Did they not lose weight because their metabolism was slow?
Did they not lose weight because they were stressed and their hormone balance was all wrong? Did they not lose weight because their carb diet was to high?
No, no and NO!
It was reported that their metabolism dropped by 40% due to reduction in body weight and being in an extreme calorie reduction for a long amount time. The men reported fatigue, irritability, depression and apathy. Their diet mainly consisted of high carbohydrate foods because of these foods were easily accessible during the war. This included potatoes, root vegetables, bread and macaroni.
Despite this, every participant who completed the experiment lost 25% of their initial body weight and dropped their body fat down to just 5%.
Conclusion
I don't wont you to go and only eat fast food or put yourself into starvation, as all the above are extreme examples. What I do want you to take away from this is that as long as you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight. Therefore if you can fit some of your favourite foods into this you are more likely going to stick to the diet and achieve good long term sustainable results. Stop punishing yourself for eating your favourite foods and start incorporating them into your weight loss diet.
'
If you would like more information about this particular topic or have any other questions, please just drop me an email and I will be happy to help.
Comments