.png)
So you want to loose weight? That’s great! Weight loss requires a balance of factors and requires a person to commit to themselves to make some real progress. Unfortunately for a lot of people, a weight loss journey can be quite emotionally and physically draining. Trying to figure out the best exercises, the best diet, all whilst trying to balance a full life of other tasks. Weight loss is a process of multiple steps, in the post we are going to discuss the tips and trick to get started on your weight loss journey, how to best deal with all the ‘best diets and exercise plans’ and how to stop ‘weight loss’ from taking over your life.
What is weight loss, and how do we track it?
When your fitness goal is ‘to loose weight’ what you actually want is to loose fat. Although this might sound like the same thing there is an important difference. Have a think about this, if in 6 months time you smashed your exercise goals, kept on track with nutrition and transformed your physique to look like a super-model, BUT your bodyweight stayed exactly the same, would you not feel good? I would assume you would feel great! Realistically when your fitness goal is ‘weight loss’ we actually mean fat loss, and there is a key difference. We can’t (very) accurately track fat loss on a pair of scales because when we consistently exercise, other parts of our bodies change too. Muscle mass is likely to increase, we are likely to be more hydrated and better fuelled when following a ‘healthy’ nutrition plan, and all these things may actually increase our total bodyweight.
However, don’t assume that scales are useless. The scales are still an effective method for tracking progress, but the point here is that they are not the only method. If you are starting your weight loss journey, we recommend you use photos as well as weight to track your progress. Using photos will help you see realistic and ACTUAL progress in your physique over time, and this will take some of your attention away from the scale.
Here is a link to the British Heart Foundation, discussing multiple methods in measuring body fat. Some of these methods may not be fully accessible to all but they share some interesting points and reviews on other methods we haven’t mentioned.
What’s the best ‘method’ for weight loss?
Thousands of videos online will claim to preach the ‘BEST’ method for weight loss, but realistically there is one necessary factor essential for weight loss, a calorie deficit. So what is a calorie deficit, how does it work and why is it so important?
A calorie deficit is a shortage of calories consumed compared to calories burnt over a period of time. An interesting and quite empowering fact is that 1lbs of fat = 3,500 calories (roughly). The reason I think this is quite an empowering fact is because when we understand this, we can take the guess work out of weight loss. Now it is important to understand that it is not as simple as ‘burn 3,500 calories, loose a pound.’, because what our body uses for energy is dependant on what type of exercise we are doing, how hydrated and fuelled we are and other factors like age and gender can also make differences.
However, every ‘rapid weight loss’ diet, or ‘get lean fast’ workout plan is a disguised method of creating a calorie deficit. Notice how your ‘get toned in 12 weeks diet’ just makes you eat 500 calories every day? That’s because they all revolve around the principle of a calorie deficit.
Tracking my calories, is it worth it?
Now we know what we need to achieve, how can you achieve it? It is important to understand, losing weight isn’t easy for anyone, but EVERYONE can do it. The first step is to choose how you are going to track your nutrition. Without tracking your nutrition, guess work can lead to inaccuracy in how many calories we think we’ve eaten in a day. We have put together an easy template for diet tracking below. Remember, the weight loss journey takes discipline. Stay consistent and accurate with your tracking and your results are guaranteed. `
So how do I create and SUSTAIN a calorie deficit?
STEP 1 - Your first step is to create a realistic goal. It is unlikely you will be able to manage and sustain a 500 calorie deficit tomorrow, if you haven’t built up to it. Firstly, you need to calculate your ‘maintenance calories’. This is equal to the amount of calories you will burn daily. A quick rough calculation to calculate your maintenance calories is below…
your bodyweight (in lbs) x (10) to (12) = your maintenance calories.
(use 10 if you are very inactive / use 12 if you are very active)
So for a very active person weighing 176lbs (80kg), their maintenance calories is 2,112. Once you have calculated your maintenance calories, you have your start line. As we mentioned above, it is unlikely you will be able to maintain a deficit straight away, so starting to track your calories at your maintenance level will give you a good rolling start to progress from. If you are completely new to flexible dieting, we recommend sticking to your maintenance calories for at least 2 weeks, from there you can review your progress and start to build a calorie deficit.
STEP 2 - After about 2 weeks of working at your maintenance level, it’s time to start your first calorie deficit. At this point you may have even seem some changes in your eating habits, energy level and maybe even your weight. Start with a 100-200 calorie deficit every day. This means 100-200 minus your maintenance level. So for our example above, a 176lb very active person should aim for around 2,000 calories to be in a deficit of 100-200. Because we have been sustaining our maintenance level for the last 2 weeks, this jump shouldn’t feel too massive. Again you should aim to sustain this level for 1-2 weeks.
STEP 3 - The next step is dependant on your goals (and health). Over an extended period of time, a 100-200 calorie deficit will result in just as much weight loss as a 400-500 calorie deficit, but it will take longer. If you want to accelerate your weight loss, start to increase your deficit. We recommend you do not exceed a 500 calorie deficit every day. On paper, continuously increasing your deficit will keep boosting the rate of weight loss, however, when you are in a calorie deficit, you are reducing energy intake, micronutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) and essential nutrition our bodies need. There is a certain threshold for how little our bodies can consume, which is why we recommend no more than -500 calories of your maintenance calories.
STEP 4 - Take a ‘re-fuel week’. At this point you have built up your calorie deficit over 2-3 months (max.), you have likely seen some great results but our bodies need to stay healthy to sustain our goals and progress. Re-calculate your maintenance calories, as it has likely changed due to changes in bodyweight, and spend a week back at this level. You won’t put any weight back on, but it’s almost like a pit-stop for our bodies to reset so we can sustain our weight loss goals.
important information for starting your calorie deficit - You should only take on a calorie deficit if you are fit and healthy. If you have any medical conditions that could be affected by a calorie deficit you should consider speaking to a doctor first. If you start to feel some serious effects when you begin your calorie deficit, such as low energy, constant nausea and or dizziness, stop the deficit and return to maintenance level.
Comments