If Your Goal is Weight Loss: Eat MORE

If your goal is to lose weight, you might think you need to eat as little as possible.

BUT

If your goal is long-term fat loss, eating more might will have more of a positive impact.

I know that sounds counter intuitive, but stay with me.

You’ve probably been fed (hah, pun…) for as long as you can remember

      "calories in versus calories out”

to lose weight.

While yes, this is mostly TRUE, most people go about it all wrong.

…and one of the reasons why is because we’re impatient and want results LIKE NOW.

So, you try to eat as little as possible and often times restrict entire food groups (sigh, poor carbohydrates getting a bad rap).

AND maybe this works for a few days/weeks (although, more often than not what you’re seeing is a loss of water weight, not fat).

Then, you binge OR you get frustrated you’re not losing as much as you’d like, you’re hungry, miserable, missing fun foods, irritated, and think “f*ck it.”

Sound like you?

I think it’s time to change your approach. What do you think?

Let’s go over 3 reasons why I’d encourage you to think about eating MORE if fat loss is your goal.

1) More Food = More Energy

A calorie = a unit of energy.

When you consume calories your body either uses that energy for immediate needs or stores it (as glycogen or as fat) for future use.

When you burn calories, your body is using energy to keep your systems running, perform physical activity, etc.

Our bodies need a certain amount of calories to function properly.

If you eat in a calorie deficit for a long period of time, your body is going to have a physiological response to that. This is called metabolic adaptation. Your body is going to adapt to a lower energy intake and it does this by making changes to conserve energy.

Now, if you’re doing a reasonable and healthy deficit you won’t notice these changes too much.

The bigger the deficit, the more you’ll notice the changes:

• You’ll start to move slower, feel more fatigued, wake up from sleep more tired.

• You’ll have less energy for your workouts and so you’ll train less hard.

• You’ll move less throughout the day (aka your NEAT will go down).

In extreme cases your body will start to shut down important processes like your menstrual cycle (hypothalamic amenorrhea).

The more you eat, especially the right balance of macros (protein/fat/fiber), the more energy you’ll have and the more energy you’ll expend.

2) Hunger Management

If you have been in a calorie deficit, you'll know that you get hungry.

That’s…normal.

When your body is in a calorie deficit for long enough, it’s going to signal to your brain that it's hungry. And it’ll keep doing that until it gets the energy it needs.

Eventually, it will start to take that energy from other areas, like our fat storage.

That's exactly why our body stores fat - for moments where it might need it in the future (woohoo). Fat is a long-term energy reserve, so the body will go here first.

HOWEVER, if you’re not eating enough protein or using your muscles enough (like through working out) your body might also go to using muscle, which becomes a problem that we’ll address next.

Look, our bodies are freaking AWESOME, and all they want to do is keep us alive and healthy.

So, as long as it’s not getting what it thinks it needs, it's going to continue signaling to your brain, "I want a little bit of food. We're not getting enough in right now."

Which will result in feeling hungry and increasing cravings.

The goal here is to make this as easy as possible for you + long term success.

So, if you can accept that it might take a little bit longer, a slightly smaller deficit will make it much easier to manage hunger and you’ll still be able to incorporate the foods that you love so you’re not miserable and missing out on life.

3) Maintaining Muscle Mass

As I mentioned before, if you're in a calorie deficit, your body is going to be trying to find and conserve energy. Ideally, it finds the energy through using our fat stores.

However, if we’re not eating enough protein or working out, it could change the way your body prioritizes energy sources and your muscles might be at a higher risk of being broken down sooner - which we definitely don’t want, and here’s why:

• Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it burns more calories at rest (so while doing nothing) compared to fat tissue.

• Having adequate muscle mass can provide more energy and stamina for daily activities and workouts.

• Muscle mass contributes to overall strength and stability, reducing the risk of falls and injuries.

• Muscle contraction stimulates bone growth and helps maintain bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

• Muscle mass can help improve insulin sensitivity, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

• Having a higher muscle mass has been linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer.

This is one of the reasons why I say “fat loss” instead of “weight loss.”

We want to lose fat, while maintaining and building muscle.

If we eat too little, we can lose muscle mass, which is counter-productive to fat loss goals because we're going to be losing metabolically active tissue, making it harder to lose (and keep off) fat.

By eating a little bit more, you're giving your body the energy that it needs to train well enough to maintain muscle mass.

So, what exactly does “eating more” look like in the context of losing weight?

Simply put: Prioritize whole foods (fruits, vegetables, protein, whole grains, etc.). Specifically protein and fiber.

Why?

• You can eat more food, without necessarily eating more calories.

• You’ll naturally crowd out foods that might be more calorically dense, but less nutritiously dense.

• You’ll feel fuller for longer, decreasing snacking urges.

• Your blood sugar will be more balanced, decreasing cravings.

How? Book a 1-1 Coaching Call to learn!

If your goal is to lose fat and keep it off, you don't need to hate your life whilst doing it.