Did you know counting calories can be counterproductive to reaching your weight loss goals? It’s true! Today I will be explaining why, and also discussing how losing weight does not necessarily mean burning fat. There is a BIG difference between weight loss and fat loss!
We will also be talking about yo-yo dieting – the unfortunate weight loss pattern where you’re literally watching the same, 5 to 10 pounds just bounce around on your scale without any real or measurable progress being made. Not only is yo-yo dieting frustrating, but it’s also terrible for your health!
So let’s get started. Today you will learn: “The TRUTH About Calories”…..
The first thing I want tell you is that calorie reductive diets are not always the best way to lose weight.
I say this because when we’re younger, say 25 years old, we can go on a calorie reductive diet and potentially see some results from that. A big reason for this is because you have a very strong metabolism at that stage in your life. Now, I’m not saying that eating less when you are attempting to lose weight is a terrible idea. By no means!
While it is important to be mindful of how much you are eating, the dated theory of: “eat less, move more, lose weight.” is flawed because it does not show you the whole picture! There can be so much more to weight loss than what you are putting in your mouth! And when you’re already eating less and moving more and not seeing that scale going anywhere, it can be so demotivating.
When we are in our 20’s, our metabolism is strong and powerful. So reducing calories and getting more exercise may yield the results we are hoping to achieve. But if you can relate to the following statement, “I have tried all the things that used to work for me to get the weight off, and the scale just won’t move anymore!” You likely have experienced the significant decrease to your metabolic rate that can occurs as we age.
The same diet you followed at 25 with great results, probably will not work so well if you are attempting it 20 years older. This is because your metabolism adjusts to the number of calories you are consuming. If you already have a sluggish metabolism, decreasing calories even further will cause it to burn slower and less efficiently than it has been already!
The end result will not be fat loss…and it also won’t be healthy.
So if not calories, what SHOULD you be focusing on? In short, the true catalyst for metabolic change is the nutritional quality and glycemic impact of the foods you’re eating. Calories are NOT created equal!
Certain foods are going to fuel your metabolism to grow, and certain foods are not.
And unfortunately, the differentiation between those foods does not lie in “is this a healthy food or an unhealthy food?” It goes deeper than that. This is the reason that sometimes, even if you’re eating healthily and cutting calories, your weight is still not going anywhere.
You need a strong, healthy metabolism to effectively burn fat. Eating the right foods in the correct portions will make this happen. Counting calories will not.
And that’s going to segway into our next piece of the puzzle, which is fat loss versus weight loss.
Do you want to burn fat or do you want to lose weight? This is an important question. I am positive most of you are saying…”Obviously, I want to burn fat.”
But let’s think about this a little deeper. How many times have you stepped onto your scale, saw a lower number, and celebrated this reduction?
You didn’t stop to think about, did I lose fat on that scale, or is that just overall body weight reduction?
It’s important to know the difference! We need to be careful about the diets we choose to follow and understand what they are doing to our bodies. When I talk about body mass reduction, I’m talking about losing fluid, losing fat, losing muscle, and losing waste.
As you can see, there’s more to body mass reduction than just burning fat. And though you may be celebrating in the moment, weight loss like this is very difficult to keep going.
Picture this: you go on a diet, stick to it pretty strictly, and see some results.
- You drop 5-10 pounds, and then all of a sudden your scale just completely stops moving.
- You didn’t change your diet, you didn’t stop doing what you were supposed to do.
- You didn’t decrease your activity level.
- You didn’t start eating Oreo cookies in the evening, but your scale came to a dead stop.
News flash: You don’t want to lose muscle.
Not only will your weight loss be short lived and ineffective, but your overall health will also be at risk, and you will essentially be wreaking havoc on your metabolism.
Participating in any kind of weight loss program that doesn’t take into account the risk of muscle loss is not the best choice for you.
Making sure the plan you are following is promoting your overall health and building your metabolism ensures you will burn the right thing. That is essentially at the heart of what we do here at inStriv.
The importance of dieting properly has so many benefits, but one big one I would like to touch on is preventing the dreaded “yo yo” cycle.
You know the story…. you go on diet, lose 5-10 pounds, get stuck, feel demotivated, eat what you want, and….GAIN IT ALL BACK. Over, and over, and over again….
Yo Yo dieting is horrible for your health. This is because on a typical diet, as you lose, you are losing muscle, water, fiber, and fat, but when you gain back, you are only gaining back the fat.
Over time, your body fat percentage is going to be elevating gradually. And it will elevate time after time after time as you repeat this cycle.
So it goes without saying, every time you go through this cycle, your body is further diminishing the muscle, and further slowing your metabolism while risking your health.
At inStriv, we know how frustrating it can feel to be stuck in this cycle, but we also know how to stop it.
The key to changing things isn’t to continue to try methods that haven’t been working. The key is doing something different. There is a better way.
Our plan can make it so you don’t have to live on a diet and battle this cycle for the rest of your life! Think about the freedom of not needing to constantly monitor and stress over every last thing you eat!
InStriv is not a diet. It is a lifestyle change. The basic principle is eating in a way that makes your body metabolically healthy and strong. We don’t focus on calorie counting or starvation because these methods will actually do the opposite. To lose the right thing – fat – and to keep your weight loss going and make it sustainable, you do not have to eat less. You have to eat MORE of the right things in the right portions.
Sustainability on this program comes from fueling your body with the foods it will thrive on the majority of the time, but occasionally indulging in the things you enjoy as well. You don’t need to live on a diet! You don’t need to feel guilty when you enjoy a slice of pizza or a piece of cake at a party. These things are part of normal life, and can and will be a part of yours! When you reach your goal weight, inStriv will teach you the essential balance in your diet that will keep you at your goal weight, while still allowing you to enjoy all the foods you love.
The best part? We will do all of this without counting..
One. Single. Calorie. 🙂
