Tuesday Tip: Key weight loss tips 📝

If you’re trying to lose weight here are a few prices of key information which should help.

# ANY diet that causes you to lose weight over an extended time frame does so by decreasing calorie intake. Whether it does it under the guise of some other mechanism or not it all ultimately comes down to a calorie deficit. Keto, intermittent fasting, weight loss clubs, etc – they all only work if they result in a calorie deficit.

# Despite what you see online calories in vs calories out is not a myth. It has the largest influence over what we weigh and our bodyfat. Thousands of studies support this.

# While calories matter, food quality still matters. Eating fewer calories will undoubtedly cause you to lose weight but if you also want to feel good and be healthy then it’s worth ensuring you’re still including nutrient dense foods too.

# 1kg of body fat is made up of approx 7,700kcal. Of your weight changes quickly within a day or so then it’s simply not possible that it’s all body fat.

Large changes in weight in short time frames (whether up or down) are mostly due to changes in weight from water, glycogen and food rather than actual body fat.

# Eating more protein doesn’t directly help weight loss. However it does increase feelings of fullness and satiety, can help ensure muscle mass is preserved when you do lose weight (assuming you’re also working out too) and does very marginally increase calorie burn.

# Consistency is key. Trying to eat

“perfectly” 100% of the time is unlikely to work. Having some degree of flexibility can help improve consistency over the longer term.

# You need to find what works for YOU.

Energy balance applies for everybody – it’s always about a calorie deficit. But how you achieve that calorie deficit and what works best for you and feels good long term varies from person to person.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Volume Eating 😋

One of the key tips I give my clients revolves around volume eating. If you’re trying to lose weight then volume eating can be really beneficial. Volume eating is all about consuming larger quantities of low-calorie, high-volume foods such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains. It allows you to eat more food and feel fuller while maintaining a lower calorie intake.

Foods like fruit (berries, grapes, pineapples etc), salad (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, lettuce, mushrooms etc), and vegetables (pumpkin, leafy greens, broccoli etc) have high water and fibre content. It adds volume to our meals without adding many calories. Another advantage of volume eating is it can often increase the micronutrient content of the diet. Usually (but not always) these high volume foods are nutrient-dense, meaning they are rich in vitamins and minerals which is beneficial for overall health.

Volume eating can potentially help in developing sustainable eating habits too. Restrictive diets can lead to feelings of deprivation, but volume eating encourages incorporating varied food sources and decent portion sizes, so can reduce some of this restriction

Ways to do this include making sure that for your main meals 50% of the plate is made up with these high volume foods. Ensure you’re also having whole grain , unrefined carbs too as they aid in satiety, muscle recovery and training performance /energy levels (and they’re tasty!).

For snacks consider adding fruit or salad to your snacks. So rather than just having 2 biscuits, have 2 biscuits and a large portion of berries, or instead of having a packet of crisps have a lower calorie crisp option and have some cucumber and carrot sticks with it etc. Zero calorie drinks also help to add volume – especially to snacks.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Consistency is key 😇

I say it all the time and I’m sure you find yourself saying it too – ‘I just need to be consistent…and then I’ll start seeing results’. But whilst that is undoubtedly true the issue lies in what we think of as ‘consistency’. Often we struggle with consistency because our expectations and perception of what consistency looks like aren’t realistic. We assume it means being 100% on our nutrition every day, smashing out 1-2 workouts every day hitting 10,000 steps daily, getting to bed early every day, and being 100% on it and motivated every single day.

But who can actually do that every day? I couldn’t! We’re all busy with work, families, social lives and many of us are already running on close to empty as it is. Trying to eat and workout like an Olympic athlete isn’t going to work. You don’t have time and you can’t sustain it . And this is why you feel like you’re failing – your expectations don’t match your capabilities. The better approach is to have a realistic, sustainable plan based on what you can manage.

A good way to do this – every Sunday (or any day that works for you) have a think about:

• How many workouts you can realistically fit in and that you want to fit in that week? Maybe it’s 2 maybe it’s 4 … whatever is fine! Schedule them in.
• Food wise could I keep it simple with the same basic breakfast and lunch for a few days? If so what do I need to get for that?
• What social events/meals out do I need to plan ahead for?
• How many steps did I manage last week? Could I do the same or slightly more this week (500 extra steps for example).
• What small steps could you take this week to help reach your goal e.g. only drinking alcohol 2 nights instead of 4, swapping a heavy calorie snack for a lower calorie one etc

Focus on being consistent at things that you can actually fit into your life and you’ll find you’ll actually succeed.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx