Fat Loss Mistake Number 3: Restricting Calories
I used to be ‘skinny-fat’. I looked fine in clothes but I was not happy with my body. I was in a vicious cycle of restricting calories and over exercising, and not really getting anywhere fast other than exhaustion.
Fast forward to now where I eat between 5-6 meals a day, have developed a healthy relationship with my training and rarely feel hungry. I finally felt confident and happy in my own skin. I have been there and know how it feels to be on a low calorie diet and see no results!
This is the one big mistake I see over and over again with clients who believe in order to lose fat we must eat less and less. There are a number of problems with this as you will burn out and simply not be able to maintain the calorie deficit you are in which will lead to:
Putting back on any lost weight
Or (shock horror) gain even more weight back: the classic yo-yo dieter
You will feel constantly lethargic and not on top of your game. You might hit afternoon slumps or get headaches and dizzy all the time. Who wants to spend their life like that just in pursuit of an ‘ideal’ body?!
But wait, it doesn’t have to be this way! Now before you go and order a take away pizza we need to understand why this is the case.
Our bodies are very intelligent and are constantly evolving to their environment. For example, we put on muscle when we lift weights as our bodies adapt to the stimulus we place on them. So yes we might get short terms effects from cutting calories but ultimately will plateau.
Storing Food as Fat
In our primal days when we had to hunt for our food, and if there was a scarcity of food our bodies would protect us by ensuring the majority of nutrients we ate was stored as fat. This would mean if it was a month before our next meal our bodies were well equipped to cope and could live off the fat we had stored. Fast forward to current day and the abundance of food surrounding us; but our bodies still go through the same mentality. If we starve ourselves of food it will protect itself by storing the calories as fat.
So then if we say starve ourselves Monday to Friday and then binge at the weekend, or starve ourselves during the day and then binge at night, the food we eat will not be used as fuel but stored in the places our bodies believe we need it, like our stomachs, legs and thighs for future fuel.
Decreasing Muscle Mass
If you have read my previous blogs you will know how important muscle is for fat loss. In a prolonged calorie deficit not only will gaining muscle be almost impossible, but the first place your body will seek energy from is your muscles as it can be spared more readily. So not only will you not be able to gain muscle you will also decrease the muscle mass you already have.
Makes Sense Right?
But how do you get yourself out of this calorie deprivation?
As with all things worthwhile the key is to go slowly. With all my clients the first thing I do is get them to their ‘baseline’. This is their Basel Metabolic Rate, so the amount of calories you would burn if you were to do nothing but resting for 24 hours. For some people this may take 2 weeks, for other 2 months or longer.
Try these 4 simple rules to start:
Start by eating three meals a day, breakfast lunch and dinner
Make sure each meal contains a protein (meat ideally) and lots of green leafy vegetables
Reintroduce carbs post training and have a fat with your other meals
Stay away from processed foods which will spike blood sugar levels and instead choose whole foods
Over time you will find that by eating high quality foods more regularly throughout the day, you will be less tempted to reach for the sugary treats or binge in the evening or weekends. You will also start to have more energy, have more mental clarity and eventually your body will start to lose fat.
The key is to take it slowly, be patient and the results will come. It may sound cliché’ but there is no easy fix so trust the process and the rest will follow.
Happy eating!