We are excited to share this special guest post from Rebecca the Dietitian! We recognize how much the way you fuel your body influences your exercise results, and are excited to be able to bring you Rebecca’s sound eating advice to help you optimize your health, enjoy eating and get the most out of your workouts. We hope you will check out her post below and look forward to learning more from her. If you are in need of more guidance when it comes to nutrition, her comprehensive course, “Nourished & Fit” teaches you everything you need to know in order to lose weight, increase your energy, and balance your hormones (while enjoying delicious food of course)! Along with the course you will be invited to monthly group calls and a private Facebook community of amazing, supportive women. Please check out this link here to learn more (be sure to use the code ‘JSTV’ for a 30% discount).
Everywhere we look lately it seems that we are barraged with messages and advertisements about how to lose weight fast. We live in a society where we are used to getting things we want quickly. We can have packages delivered to our door in a few hours. We can send messages instantly. We can get information anytime, anywhere.
Unfortunately, our body doesn’t respond quite as quickly to changes that we make. We may feel like we deserve our high school body back after one salad or a few carrots, but our weight loss efforts often end up being a test of patience.
Here are a few tips that I’ve learned over the years of working with ladies who want to lose weight quickly:
#1: Realize that “fast” weight loss for most of us is actually 1-2 pounds per week.
You may lose weight faster than this for the first week or 2 of a new plan, but unless you have a lot of weight to lose, any more weight loss than this is usually water loss. Think about the science of fat loss. It takes about (studies on weight loss demonstrate that this is an estimate that varies) a 3500 calorie deficit to lose a pound of fat. This means that if you are able to consume 500 calories each day less than what you had been eating you could lose 1 pound of fat in 1 week. If you could burn 500 calories and eat 500 calories less then you might be able to lose 2 pounds of fat. But, unless you are eating thousands of calories more than your body needs, you won’t be able to cut down enough calories to lose more than 1-2 pounds of actual fat in a week.
The good news is, if you are able to stay consistent in your efforts and lose an average of 1 pound per week, in 3 months you’ll be 12 pounds lighter than you are right now. And that’s a big deal!
#2: Most of us need more than 1,200 calories per day on average to lose weight.
You have to consume enough calories to keep your metabolism up. You can use this calculator to determine about how many calories your body needs each day to survive (at complete rest) and how many calories you actually burn functioning in normal life here: https://www.omnicalculator.com/health/bmr-harris-benedict-equation
If you cut your calories too low your body will respond by sabotaging your weight loss efforts in a variety of ways trying to keep you alive. It lowers your metabolism so that you can live on fewer calories. It also increases your hunger and decreases your energy.
When I work with women who have tried very low calorie diets for a while, we have to work on slowly increasing calories until their bodies have adjusted to allow for continued weight loss.
Play with calorie levels that allow you to lose that 1-2 pounds per week, feel energetic and happy, and stay consistent at that average intake to watch the progress over time.
#3: Weight loss supplements won’t work long term.
If a safe effective weight loss drug or supplement comes out, we will let you know. In the meantime, it doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, most weight loss drugs that do work short term are stimulants that suppress your appetite and increase your metabolism. The problem is, that as soon as you go off of the drug, your metabolism is now slower than it was before and you are hungry again. Leaving you vulnerable to end up heavier than when you started.
Unless you plan to take the drug forever, don’t start it. Instead, figure out a weight loss plan that you will actually enjoy long-term.
#4: Skip the diet that feels too complicated, too restrictive or causes you to feel deprived.
Focus on eating in a way that works for your needs instead of trying confusing plans that force you to do complicated calculations, eat at very specific times, etc.
Instead of trying to follow a very specific plan that someone has come up with, try to figure out which foods make you feel the most full and satisfied and happy and energetic. I recommend that you do some experiments to figure out which foods help you feel your best. For example, are you happy and satisfied all morning after eating 300 calories of oats? Or does a 300 calorie omelet make you feel amazing. Play around with a variety of nutritious foods at different times that work for your daily needs until you find the plan that works best for you. Ideally it will be simple. No calculus required.
#5: Focusing on nutrient dense, filling foods is your best bet for speeding up weight loss.
The more high fiber, nutrient dense foods you consume, the faster you will lose weight. These foods fill you up without a lot of calories and provide your body with the fuel it needs to function optimally so that your metabolism will keep revving. Fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, and lean proteins should be the bulk of your plan. High quality fats like avocado and nuts should be included but be careful about quantity since these foods contain a lot of calories (1 cup of nuts is about 800 calories and at the end of the day, calories do matter when it comes to weight loss).
When you figure out a plan full of nutrient dense foods that you love that make you feel amazing every day, you won’t mind sticking with it long-term. And that’s the best way to get lasting weight-loss results (as fast as is possible for real sustainable results).
As always, we hope that you are taking the best possible care of yourself. Let us know what you’ve learned about weight loss in the comments below!
Do you have a question or a topic you’d like Rebecca to write about? We love hearing from you, so please share with us in the comments below!
MORE HELPFUL POSTS FROM REBECCA:
4 THINGS THAT CAN BLOCK YOUR HEALTHY CHOICES (AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM)
TOP 4 NUTRITION SHIFTS TO MAKE THIS YEAR FOR A STRONGER, HEALTHIER BODY
3 WAYS INTERMITTENT FASTING MIGHT HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT (AND HOW TO TELL IF IT’S RIGHT FOR YOU)
EATING AND EXERCISE: WHAT TO EAT BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER YOUR WORKOUT FOR BEST RESULTS
Hi
I do better following a menu plan. Do you have one that you can substitute foods if the you don’t like something in the menu.
Thank you
Joa n