BY EMMET RUSHE:
I hear it all the time in consultations. You may have even said it yourself at one stage or another. It is one of the most confusing things for most people who try and be ‘good’ and still cannot lose weight and it usually goes like this;
‘I don’t understand, I eat healthy all the time, but I can’t lose weight’
If you ask a hundred different people what ‘healthy eating’ is, you will more than likely get a hundred different answers.
Some people think that eating healthy means cutting out certain foods. Others think that it is about cutting out a food group (carbs, fats). For others, it is about eating a ‘balanced’ diet.
The problem with ‘healthy eating is simple; people don’t know the difference between eating for health and eating for weight loss.
Energy balance in the body is the relationship between ‘energy in’ (food and calories through food and drink) and ‘energy out’ (calories used for daily energy requirements). This relationship dictates whether weight is lost, gained or remains the same.
Whether you are eating healthy or not, if you are in a positive energy balance, you are taking more calories in than you are expending through physical activity, you will gain weight. If your calorie intake matches your calorie expenditure, you are in a Neutral energy balance and weight will remain the same.
It is only when you get into a negative energy balance, where you are expending more calories than you are taking in, that weight loss will occur.
Good nutrition should achieve health, but it should also provide nutrient density, control energy balance and be outcome-based.
The outcome is the main point that most miss when they start to eat ‘healthy’.
They want to lose weight, so they start what they think is a healthy eating plan.
They initially get some weight loss, and then it stalls. They continue with the healthy eating plan, even though it isn’t doing what they wanted it to do when they started it: to help them to lose weight.
With any nutrition plan, whether it be ‘healthy eating’, ‘clean eating’ ‘low carb’, ‘paleo’, or any of the thousands of other diets that are out there, the rules remain the same;
If you take in more calories than you expend, YOU WILL NOT LOSE WEIGHT, It is impossible.
The ‘Laws of Thermodynamics’ do not change, no matter what the plan is.
The type of foods that you choose during your healthy eating plan is usually the problem.
For most, they will class foods like salads as the healthy option, but some of these salads can come in higher in calories than even a big mac meal.
A Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad can come in at a whopping 1000 calories, and that is before you add the salad dressing.
Your typical egg, tuna or chicken salad can come in at 700 calories.
Your choice of breakfast can also set back your weight loss goals.
A typical ‘healthy’ breakfast that you would see on any advertisement is usually, wholewheat toast, orange juice, a bowl of special k and an egg.
This ‘healthy’ breakfast can come in at a whopping 700 calories.
An average female, looking to lose weight, who had this breakfast and a Caesar salad would probably be a maintenance calories at this stage, and this isn’t allowing for dinner or snacks.
Your weight loss goals will always be determined by your calorie intake.
It doesn’t matter how healthy you think you are eating, if your goal is weight loss and you are not losing weight, you need to re-evaluate your goals. #TrainSmart
If you have any question on this article or for getting a tailored program based on your starting point, please contact me through the link below. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rushe-Fitness/120518884715118
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