Let’s be honest: fat loss takes effort and dedication. There’s no magic bullet, but I can help you set realistic expectations.
The secret? Consistency. I’m sure you know, there’s more to it though.
You don’t absolutely need to be perfect, but aiming for 80-85% consistency over time will get you to your goal.
Here’s what that means in practice: to lose fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit.
This simply means consuming fewer calories than your body burns through daily activities. Don’t worry about meticulously tracking every burned calorie with exercise (there’s a reason for that, read it here).
Now, the million-dollar question: how do you ensure you’re in a calorie deficit? The most common approach is counting calories for every bite you eat, including those sneaky culprits like oil and sauces and ninja sugary drinks. Consistency is again crucial here – the more you track, the better you’ll understand your eating patterns and see results. It’s important that you have clear, though, that the level of consistency you have will influence your results.
But
What happens when you do everything right and it doesn’t work?
So, you’re following all the advice, religiously counting calories, and exercising regularly. Yet, the scale stubbornly refuses to go down, or worse, it goes up. It’s enough to make anyone feel defeated and question everything they’re doing.
Hold on a minute before you ditch the healthy habits in favor of “I can’t lose weight” and rush on the internet for magic weight-loss pills (spoiler alert: they DO NOT work).
There might be a simpler explanation.
Here’s the thing: sometimes, even with the best intentions, you might be unintentionally sabotaging your own progress.
Let me illustrate this point. I recently spoke with a client who was sure she was following the exact same routine as during a previous successful fat loss phase. Yet, the results were nowhere to be seen. In situations like these, I want to better understand the situation by asking specific questions that help me catching some important details.
Thing I ask usually are:
- Walk me through your day of eating and how you feel (tired, energetic, hungry, full)
- Help me understand how you measure your food
- How do you track it?
- Can you show me the calories tracked and your macros (protein carbs fat) split?
- What type of foods do you eat? Do you cook yourself or you eat out/buy cooked meals?
- Do you have pictures of your meals?
- How consistent you’d say you’ve been on tracking your nutrition from 0% to 100%?
The trick of perception Vs reality
When I ask these questions I do it with a specific purpose: to understand your approach to calorie and nutrient tracking.
I’d want to see the type of foods you consume, but most importantly, how you perceive your own consistency and accuracy in tracking.
There are additional questions I ask, but these are the core ones relevant to the discussion this week.
Through my experience, I’ve observed a common issue: many clients, despite having the absolutely best intentions, unintentionally misreport or mistrack their food intake. Remember, the emphasis is on “with perfectly good intentions.”
Here’s the exact point: when these miscalculations occur, you might not be achieving a calorie deficit despite thinking you are. This can lead to either a calorie surplus (consuming more than you burn) or a slower fat loss journey.
The frustration lies in believing you’re doing everything right yet not seeing the expected results. The reality might be that you haven’t quite reached the optimal approach yet.
It’s important to understand that simply thinking you’re doing things correctly doesn’t mean you are.
Read this twice: there’s no malice involved, but there might be blind spots in your process.
Additionally, your expectations for fat loss might not align with the reality of your current effort and consistency.
Wait wait, not all is lost!
Sure, it can be frustrating to face this reality check. But here’s the good news: by being ok with the reality of your situation, you open the door to small gradual improvements to achieve the results you truly desire.
How can a coach help?
As a coach (or any coach, for that matter), my role is to help you navigate the complexities of your very own personal nutrition and fitness equation.
Together, we can identify the best course of action for you to reach your goals in a sustainable way.
This requires you to keep a flexible mindset, acknowledging that sometimes reality might not match your initial expectations. You may have even believed something was working when, in fact, it wasn’t.
I say this very often, fat loss is a marathon, not a sprint. There’s time to course-correct and get back on track towards your goals.
However, it’s important to understand that as a coach I can only guide you so far.
You’ll still need to put in the effort to implement the actions we develop together, ensuring they fit into your unique lifestyle.
“I’m doing everything right, but the weight won’t go down. It must be me, I just can’t lose fat.”
Hold on a second and take a deep breathe. Are you absolutely certain you’ve maintained at least 85% consistency in tracking your calories accurately (within a 10% tolerance of your daily goal) for a full eight weeks?
Because if you truly did that and saw no results, well, there’s a chance you might be mistaken without realizing it.
Don’t just get mad at me, here’s the science behind it: research shows a significant gap between:
- what we think we consume (or the exercise we do)
- what actually goes into our bodies (or the actual amount of exercise performed).
Here are some studies examples.
The science of unintentional fat loss mistakes
In this study the participants (obese individuals) were divided in two groups, the “diet resistant group” (group 1) that tried dieting several times but failed to lose weight and the “control group” (group 2) without no history of diet resistance. Here is what the outcome was:
- “The study revealed that the diet resistant group members underreported their food intake by about 47% (meaning that actually had 47% higher daily calories intake) and overreported their level of physical activity by 51%.
- The group 1 members described their eating as relatively normal and attributed their obesity to genetic causes. “
In this study that compares 9 other studies on self-reported dietary energy intake it was reported that:
[…]Considerable inaccuracy in self-reports of energy intake has been documented. Reported intakes tend to be lower than expenditure and thus are often underestimates of true habitual energy intake. Because the degree of underreporting increases with intake, it is speculated that individuals tend to report intakes that are closer to perceived norms than to actual intake”
In this study where they compared self reported energy intakes it was found out that:
[…] Even in non-obese adults, where bias is minimal, the standard deviation for individual errors in energy intake approaches 20%.[…] Because of bias and imprecision, self-reported energy intakes should be interpreted with caution[…]
These studies aren’t meant to place blame on you. In fact, I can completely relate!
Just like many people, I underestimated my calorie intake too. I genuinely believed I was hitting my daily goals, but reality painted a different picture.
So, how did I (and how can you) bridge this gap?
One day, I decided to meticulously measure all my food, including sneaky culprits like oil and sauces.
Let me tell you, it was an eye-opener.
My usual breakfast, for instance, clocked in at a whopping 1,100 calories!
Was it inherently bad? Not necessarily. But it definitely made it difficult to stay within my calorie range with lunch, pre-workout snacks, and dinner left.
As this realization was a bit of a cold shower, a wake-up call, it became clear that my nutrition needed some adjustments.
Sure, it took some effort and tweaks, but it absolutely paid off. By addressing this blind spot, I set myself on the right path towards my goal.
Strategies for your success
While calorie counting might not be the most thrilling activity, I highly recommend giving it a try, at least temporarily.
It will shed light on your current calorie intake and where you stand in your journey so you can make your decisions from there. Here are two effective strategies you can try:
The One-Day Warrior:
- Choose a relaxed day with a less hectic schedule.
- Meticulously track every bite you consume – meals, snacks, everything – using an app or pen and paper. Include oil and sauces and sugary drinks, those are sneaky calorie culprits!
- Repeat this process for one day a week for eight consecutive weeks.
- Gradually increase the number of tracked days by one each week at your pace.
- Repeat points 2-3-4 until you cover a full week (or 85% of it) for 8 weeks.
The Meal-by-Meal Master:
- Pick a specific meal of your day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.).
- For the next eight weeks, meticulously track the calories and macros for that chosen meal using a tracking app or pen and paper.
- Once comfortable, add another meal to your tracking routine.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you’re tracking all your meals for a full day.
- Gradually increase the number of tracked days, meal by meal, until you reach a full week.
- Maintain this routine for eight weeks, aiming for (or exceeding) 85% consistency.
Remember, this isn’t a lifelong commitment. But by following one of these strategies for a temporary period, you’ll gain invaluable insight into your eating habits.
As mentioned earlier, fat loss is a gradual process that requires adjustments and some trial-and-error.
However, with consistent effort (around 85% over at least 2 months), you’ll see AMAZING results!
If you feel overwhelmed, a coach can be a valuable resource to provide personalized guidance and help you integrate fat loss seamlessly into your lifestyle.
Success depends on your commitment and effort, but with dedication, you’ll absolutely achieve progress and reach your goals!
Want to know more about what the heck are calories and what does it mean to count calories? Read more here!