Weight Loss
WHERE DO YOU F**KING START?!
Keeping the theme from blog one about calories going. It’s early in the year and some of you might be struggling to achieve the progress you were hoping for through January.
Don’t panic! You’re not alone.
Please enjoy the following essay…
You might be doing something that worked before but isn’t working now. You might be trying something new but not noticing any difference. You might be completely stuck for where to even begin.
It can actually be fairly simple when you know a few key things to think about.
First of all - crash diets don’t work. The research is out there to show how badly these fail. Some studies show 80%+ would put on more weight than they lost following extreme dieting.
If it’s not sustainable then neither are the results!
My preference - start small and simple.
A huge lifestyle change could be hard to maintain. I’ll give you an example from an old client of mine:
Busy, stressful job working in the city Monday to Friday
Awake about 530am, on the train about 630am
Back home from work around 6/630pm
2 young kids at home
Bit of time spent on the side hustle weekday evenings and weekends
No exercise/sporadic workouts (once or twice a fortnight at best)
Eats 3000cals of anything he can per day, but needs about 2500cals per day for the shape he wants
Looking at that guy’s week does it seem like a good idea to tell him to completely overhaul his eating habits and train 3-5 times a week at the gym?
How do you help a guy with such limited time? Can he learn how to control his eating in the little spare time he does have? How will he fit in the workouts?
To switch his diet from…
‘grab anything I can find on the go’
‘snacking because I’m knackered’
‘don’t have time to get anything decent’
into…
‘this is nutritious but also tasty’
‘I’ll grab a healthy snack instead of that Mars bar’
‘I know what I’m having for lunch’
orrrrrrr even better…
‘I’ve got a great plan A, but if I’m stuck for time I’ve got a good plan B’
…that takes a bit of practice. There’ll usually be some trial and error.
Best all around approach:
Calorie deficit - the one thing you HAVE to have for weight loss
Correct water intake - calculate this! Don’t just guess or say “about 2 litres per day right?”
Get your activity up - you’ll look better when you lose weight if you’re more active
Get your sleep right - and no, a shit 5 hours per night is not right
All of that could be quite a bit to think about in the beginning though…
So what do we think is the best way to get going?
Add activity to your week.
You’re already eating what you’re eating. Carry that on and the activity will help you burn off more calories than you are currently.
If you aren’t very active at all then one workout/activity a week is a start. If you train once or twice a week aim to do one more workout/activity than that - basically, do a bit more than you’re doing already.
Then once being active is settling in as a habit have a look at the food.
When you aren’t having to think about the exercise because it’s become part of your routine it’ll be easier to think about the food.
From my experience clients usually start to make healthier eating choices when they’re more active anyway, so I like adding activity before adjusting eating habits.
Then onto the real crux of the matter - managing those calories.
Overeating (“I need X amount of calories but I’m eating more than X”) is going to lead to you putting weight on.
Calorie deficit (“I need X amount of calories but I’m eating a sensible amount that’s lower than X”) leads to weight loss. Our happy place.
Undereating (“I need X amount of calories for a deficit but I’m eating waaaaaay less than X”) leads to misery.
Your body is not a car engine where the fuel tank starts at zero and anything above that will make it work.
Your body needs calories. Calories are energy.
Unless your body is magic and suddenly shuts down entirely then reboots when it needs to then you’ll use calories all day every day.
So you will need to have an idea of how many calories you as an individual need each day.
I usually look at two things:
Daily calorie amount to maintain current weight
Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Anyone who suggests, or worse prescribes, the generic 2,000cals for females or 2,500cals for males that are advertised everywhere should be put in the bin.
Daily calorie numbers should be calculated for the individual. We’re all different so generic numbers usually won’t help much.
Figure out the daily calorie amount you would need to maintain weight. Drop below that number and you’re losing weight. Figure out a sensible amount to aim for each day. I usually give clients a drop of about 300-500 calories but that depends on how much we can afford to drop off. Eating 3,000cals? You’ve got 500cals available to lose. Eating 1,500cals? Not so much.
Basal metabolic rate - short explanation: the rate at which the body uses energy while doing nothing.
Think of BMR as the minimum calories you need for your body to work.
So if you’re below that number (I see this a LOT) you’re unlikely to lose weight.
Your metabolism will grind to a halt because your body notices what’s happening and clings to everything you consume.
Get the calories right and the weight will consistently drop off until you’re happy enough to stay where you are.
Most important thing in my mind for weight loss: take your time to find what works for you.
If you feel irritable, hungry or you’re getting headaches - change the plan. Maybe you need more carbs. Maybe just some extra calories in general. Maybe your water intake.
If you can’t find the time to train - look at how you’re training. An hour on the stepper is not a good use of time. It’s also incredibly boring. You could get the same calorie burn in an intense 15mins if you know what you’re doing. If you’re short on time 20-30mins is plenty for an intense workout. Unless you’re entering a stair climbing competition then don’t waste your time.
This post could probably go on for hours.
For references to this information go to Google. This is a blog not the British Medical Journal.
Next time we’ll discuss something other than calories.
I hope you all enjoyed this TED talk.
✌🏼🤙🏼