This is the most important thing you can do if you want to lose weight.
Thoughts and emotions influence your health
Scotch whiskey distiller Thomas Dewar once said, “Minds are like parachutes; they work best when they’re open.”
I want you to keep an open mind for the next five minutes it will take you to read this article.
I want to present an idea that you will find useful if you want to lose weight and improve your body composition.
Self-help health experts remind us to refrain from using language like Lose weight due to its symbolic connection with the return of weight. You ‘release’ unwanted body fat, they will know.
However, for the sake of this article I am referring to weight loss so as not to confuse the reader.
Why am I qualified to speak on this topic?
I began my career as a personal trainer many years ago, before moving on to writing and speaking about health and self-empowerment.
In that capacity, I have been fortunate to work with thousands of people who have lost weight and kept it off while regaining their health.
How?
I discovered a principle in his journey and mine about the key role thoughts and emotions play in regulating our health.
I wrote a book that was endorsed by internationally acclaimed author Dr. Eldon Taylor. He also received praise from Australia’s leading sports neuroscientist, Dr. Roy Sugarman.
How money and calories are the same
During this period it occurred to me that losing weight was like managing money. As someone who occasionally hacks their health, I track my calories and macronutrients in the name of observation and personal insight.
I followed a ketogenic diet for three years, tracking my food and calorie intake. I gained a wealth of data and insights that helped me find the most effective ways to lose weight and keep it off.
This was supported by my The Power To Navigate Life program, in which I studied the role thoughts, beliefs, and emotions play in regulating health.
Tracking my calories during this time, I noticed that the process was similar to my money spending habits, in terms of usage and spending.
What I am proposing in the next few paragraphs is not a cure, potion, or remedy. It is a short-term intervention to make you aware of how you consume calories, in order to develop good habits to avoid overeating.
It’s not all about the calories though, as being on a ketogenic diet proved that.
There were periods where I consumed up to 3500+ calories per day and continued to lose weight while regaining muscle composition. I took exact body measurements and recorded my blood lipids to highlight changes, making sure nothing was left to chance.
I learned the ancient myth of calories in, calories out not applied while in ketosis. However, few people are willing to follow a low-carb or keto diet due to its restrictions.
So for the rest of us, being mindful of our caloric intake is one way to manage our weight.
The American science writer Gary Taubes states in Why do we get fat and what to do about it: “Absolutely the only thing we have to do if we want to lose weight, if we want to get the fat out of our adipose tissue and burn it, is reduce our insulin and secrete less insulin to begin with.”
Superfluous Calories to Blame
What I discovered was the following.
Regarding my money habits, if I didn’t track my financial expenses at the end of the week, I wasn’t sure where I was spending my money. I had little recollection of the items or services I paid for, as the transactions occurred days ago.
Talking to people over the years, this was a problem faced by many. However, when I tracked my spending, I was able to see where the money was going and put a budget in place to curb frivolous spending.
So far so good.
During this time, I came off the ketogenic diet and gained 6-8 pounds (3-4 kg) over the winter.
What did I do?
I applied the same process to calories which helped me control my spending. It turned out that during the winter months I ate snacks with superfluous calories that made me gain weight.
Now, I realize that gaining 3-4kg is not a big deal in the scheme of things. However, it is not the weight gain, but the experience gained from recording calories that was valuable.
Money and food have the same relationship, where you are likely to spend money and consume food easily.
So they need to be checked in until you can manage both without having to consult an app or meal tracker.
Until now, I haven’t mentioned exercise and movement because I didn’t want this article to be an instructional piece on how to lose weight.
Exercise and movement do play a role in maintaining a healthy weight, but not in the way we’ve been led to believe. For now, I’m assuming you exercise or are involved in some kind of regular movement.
So here is my summary if you want to lose weight, whether big or small, the principles are the same:
- Track your food and calorie intake for 30 days
Thirty days is a reasonable period to collect enough data on how many calories you consume. As the saying goes: “If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it”.
It is important to recognize where hidden calories are consumed. I suggest using an app or software program to calculate your macronutrient ratios and stick to them as much as possible. You can see mine in the attached image.
An advantage of recording data is that it takes into account the times when you are likely to consume more calories, such as going out to dinner or a birthday party. Avoid worrying about the total calories consumed that day, but focus your attention on the total calories and macronutrients for the week.
“We don’t get fat because we overeat; we overeat because we’re getting fat,” says Gary Taubes.
The goal is to cut calories over a four-week period for weight loss to occur. Again, I suggest you use an app or online program to calculate your minimum and maximum caloric intake for the day, rather than estimating it.
If you continue this same trajectory of consuming the calculated weekly calories, you will continue to lose weight in the following months. You will also have cemented a new habit that lasts beyond that time.
- Cut your calories based on what you log
This is simple. Reduce your calories per day depending on your weight loss goal. As a warning, I suggest starting slowly rather than trying to lose weight quickly.
Based on my personal experience training people over a ten year period, what is lost is likely to come back quickly. As the saying goes: the best time to start a new habit is yesterday.”
- Continue the habit in the following months
As described in point number one, continue your habit once the 30-day period has passed. You will have collected enough data on the food you ate in the last 30 days. If you’re unsure about a food, stick with it and see what effect it has on your caloric intake.
If you experience setbacks related to illness, injury, or personal circumstances, log your calories for two days and use them to get back on track.
- If you gain weight again, go back to tracking your caloric intake
After coming off the ketogenic diet, I ate more carbs than I previously omitted from my diet. Naturally, during the winter I was drawn to these foods once again and gained weight.
Instead of getting discouraged, I tracked my calories for a few days or sometimes a whole week to help me resume my weight loss until I reached my goal.
“In order to effectively lose weight and keep it off, you need to strategically modify your body weight set point,” explains Gerard E. Mullin in The Gut Balance Revolution: Boost Your Metabolism, Restore Your Internal Ecology, and Lose Weight Forever!
Remember, this is not a long-term solution. Many will find that once they lose weight, they will want to stick with the formula because it is successful.
However, there are downsides to limiting calories for a longer period, including deprivation of essential macro and micronutrients. Not to mention the mental and emotional ravages caused by maintaining this way of life.
I was precise in my approach, using the FitDay software to track my macro and micronutrient ratios and supplementing when needed.
“You don’t get fat because your metabolism slows down; your metabolism slows down because you’re getting fat,” is Gary Taubes’ reminder.
It bears reiterating: this is not a system. It’s a means of control to make sure you’re not consuming extra calories that lead to weight gain.
More importantly, it helps you eat healthier because, just like spending money, you can’t afford to spend calories frivolously if you want to maintain a trim figure.
The real message of this article is that your health is your highest priority.
Weight loss is a means to an end that helps you maintain a healthy figure with a higher muscle-to-fat ratio, regardless of your body type or composition.
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