Enjoying a seasonal treat …. 🥚 🍫

I never tell clients to cut out any foods/drinks totally from their diet and as a big fan of Easter chocolate I certainly wouldn’t ever be ‘banning’ chocolate eggs, but if you are trying to lose weight/fat then you may just want to be aware of the calories involved.

There’s no reason you can’t have any Easter eggs you want as it ultimately comes down to whether you’re in a calorie deficit. However, with the size of some of the eggs out there now it’s very easy to rack up over a thousand calories or more, without even noticing!

For example – if you’re a mini egg fan and lucky enough to receive the Ultimate egg you’d be looking at over 1900 cals for the entire egg and accompanying bag of mini eggs (the egg alone is over 1500 cals!). That’s more than most people’s daily calorie goal 😬

In contrast you could enjoy a medium one and the mini eggs for around 993 cals. Now ok, the egg is just a milk choc egg (not full of mini egg bits like the ultimate one) but it’s still delicious and that’s still a large chunk of a day’s calories for many people.

So if Easter eggs are your thing (they are definitely mine!) then maybe just be aware of the cals in them if you’re trying to stick to your goals.

Enjoy! 🐣

Xx

Weight loss is rarely linear…. 📉

I’ve had to remind a few clients of this recently so I thought it was worth re-sharing. Most people measure their fat loss progress by stepping on scales. This can create an all or nothing mentality and can impact not only your happiness but your behaviour. If the scales don’t go down when you’ve been ‘good’ then what’s the point? You may as well throw in the towel and enjoy that cake!

Weight loss is rarely linear. It’s normal for your weight to fluctuate on a day-to-day basis. There will be days where your scale weight goes up, just like there will be days where your weight will drop, and there will also be days (maybe even weeks) where your weight will stay exactly the same. Your weight can fluctuate up to 6kg during the day depending on what you eat and drink, and how you exercise. If you drink 2-3 litres of water a day that’s up to 3kg. Then how much do you pee, sweat and breathe out over the day? It’s impossible to measure. Our bodies are mainly water so changes in hydration cause significant weight fluctuations.

In addition a bowel full of food, a big meal the night before, fibrous or salty meals, and menstrual cycle hormone changes can all influence weight and cause greater daily fluctuations so real change can be hidden. Exercise can affect the scale both ways; if, after a workout, you’ve refuelled properly your muscles will be full of glycogen and water. On the other hand if you’ve sweated loads your weight will drop due to dehydration. Alcohol does the same; it’s a diuretic so will dehydrate you initially, but can cause cravings for salty foods leading to water retention.

For many of us, seeing that weight go up, despite ‘being good’, can make us give up. It’s vital to trust the process and think long term. This graph is real client data. Look at how the weight fluctuates and look at the overall trend. By trusting the process and not giving up when the scales went up they’ve continued their weight loss over time.

We’re conditioned to focus on weight but instead try to use other measures e.g. items of clothing and how they fit, or cm measurements etc. If you must step on the scales then look at averages over time rather than daily variations and focus on long term trends.

🤗 xx

Why you think you’re struggling with weight loss …. 🤔

If you’re struggling to lose weight you may look to things like your age, metabolism, stress levels, hormones, lack of sleep, amount of water you’re drinking etc as the reasons why you can’t achieve your goals.

It’s true that all these areas can and do have an effect and some will certainly impact on things like your appetite and ability to ‘stick’ to a calorie deficit. However it’s actually rare that these are the main reasons behind stalled progress. They do however get a lot of attention – why? Because they are much easier to accept than ‘You’re eating too much’. It’s a lot easier to focus on the idea that your metabolism, hormones or stress levels are preventing your weight loss rather than a heavy social life being the issue.

Of course things like snacking, increased portion sizes and booze can be a response to lack of sleep or stress, or hormones, but it’s far better to focus on these habits instead. Why? because they’re the direct cause, they’re tangible and easily identifiable and they’re the thing that need to change. Rather than trying for some vague notion of ‘increasing sleep’ or ‘reducing stress’.

Obviously nutrition and weight loss can be complicated but if you try focusing on things like reduced portion sizes, fewer or lower calorie snacks, less booze you will see progress. Managing meals out or reducing them (it’s extremely hard to eat out multiple times a week and maintain a calorie deficit without some proper planning), and increasing general activity (note this isn’t just exercise sessions but general activity – walking, fidgeting, moving more!) are also things which are tangible ways to help make progress. You will probably find that despite any issues with sleep, stress, hormones etc you will be able to make progress. Certainly my clients can and have done! So if they can, so can you!

🤗
Xx