Let’s get straight to the point.
Losing weight requires a calorie deficit. Calories In vs. Calories Out (CICO) matters.
Creating a deficit consistently until the weight is off, isn’t easy. It will take a lot of preparation and work, but you can do it.
Here are 4 things you need to have an honest assessment about because they may be hindering your progress.
1. Weekend overeating
Calories still matter on the weekend. I know many people have a “cheat meal/day”. This can work on a fat loss plan, but you still have to understand how it affects your weekly caloric budget.
Food labels and restaurant menus aren’t totally accurate when it comes to nutritional facts. They aren’t even legally bound to provide accuracy. Dinner out on Friday and takeout lunch on Saturday can easily add hundreds if not thousands of additional calories.
Try using a food tracking app on your phone for a couple of weeks. This experience can provide you with valuable data on where your additional calories may be coming from.
2. Untracked alcohol
I had a couple of drinks…did you have two? Or did you have 5?
A standard alcoholic drink consists of 14g of alcohol. This equates to:
- 5oz of wine (5-14% alcohol)
- 12oz beer (5% alcohol)
- Distilled spirits (40% alcohol)
For my beer drinkers, that 16oz, 8% IPA counts for at least two!
If you are a drinker, you know how easy a glass of wine can become a bottle. Your 100 calorie White Claws add up quickly- There's no laws when drinking the claws.
Also, we can easily lose sight of portion control and snacking when the buzz kicks in.
It’s not just the calories. The effects of alcohol on hormones and metabolism can work against your fat loss efforts.
3. Underestimating food intake/calories
As I mentioned above, food labels and menus can be inaccurate. We also forget about the pat of butter on our toast or how we eye-balled the tablespoon of oil the recipe called for. How much cheese is the actual “sprinkle” on your salad or eggs?
Let’s not forget about that big ole scoop of peanut butter or heavy pour of coffee creamer.
There is research that shows people actually underestimate their caloric intake by 50%!
Dressings, sauces and fat from oils and butter are very, very sneaky.
4. Overestimated activity
I love to eat, just like most of my clients. BUT, as the saying goes…YOU WILL NOT OUT-TRAIN A POOR DIET.
Exercise for a lot of people isn’t about the feeling of accomplishment and happy endorphins.
It’s about calories burned. You rely on your watch or some other technology that tells you that you’ve burned an insane amount of calories per day. These monitors and devices have been shown to overestimate calories burned by 30-90%!
So, as an example, your device is saying 1,000 calories, but that could be 700 or less.
If you are serious about fat loss, the best thing, in my opinion, is to track and weigh everything you eat for the next two weeks.
This will be an eye-opening experience and will change the way you eat. Also weigh yourself every day at the same time, under the same conditions. Keep track of your average weekly weight and your average weekly calorie intake. You’ll get a good idea of what’s really going on by doing this.
This isn’t something you have to do forever, but it’s a great way to create awareness.
When it comes to losing fat and keeping it off, mindfulness and awareness of what, how, where and with whom we eat are foundational elements that must be in place.
Don’t look at this list and get overwhelmed because all four hit a nerve. Choose one and work on it. One change can go a very long way.
Keep moving,
Coach Dom
