Nutrition and Fitness Blog

Guidelines for Weight-loss (10 minute read)

Many people have at some point in there life made the conscious decision to start a weight-loss programme. This decision can be motivated by many factors which are generally divided into 2 categories: you want to improve how you feel or how you look. If you have ever made this decision in your life you might have found that the whole process can be difficult and frustrating. These guidelines will simplify the concept of weight-loss and highlight some practical tips that can help you if you are struggling with achieving your weight-loss goals.

Weight-loss Vs Fat-loss

When people mention weight-loss what they are actually referring to is fat loss in the vast majority of cases. The goal of these programmes is specifically to decrease the percentage of body fat which results in us looking leaner and feeling better due to the physical (increased mobility, stamina) and psychological benefits (self-confidence) associated with a healthier body. This distinction between weight and fat is important to understand because people tend to attribute the success or failure of their efforts solely based on the scale weight without even considering that their body fat percentage may have actually decreased. Scale weight is a good indicator of progress but it has the downside of being susceptible to short term fluctuations for several reasons such as time of day you weigh in at, water weight retained from salt in your body, foods your body is still digesting and menstrual cycle for women.

Determinants of weight-loss

There are 2 factors we have control over when it comes to weight-loss: the amount of calories we consume (nutrition) and the amount of calories we burn off (physical activity). The physical composition of the human body is essentially dictated by this 'equation' with the calories ingested accounting for the majority of the progress. People tend to overvalue the role of exercise (calories burned) for fat loss. Physical activity will definitely accelerate the rate at which you lose weight as well as stimulate blood flow, increase endorphin release, provide you with mental benefits, better mobility, and increased muscle mass.

I personally would highly recommend implementing some form of exercise in your weight-loss programme for these reasons, however it is important to understand that your nutrition will dictate the majority of your progress. If you are an individual who strongly dislikes exercise, you can make tremendous progress simply controlling the amount of calories you consume. Naturally, after a certain point you will reach a weight-loss plateau and in order to overcome it you will either have to further reduce your calorie intake or increase your physical activity.

Calories

There are 3 states your body can be in depending on your caloric intake and expenditure: Calorie surplus, maintenance and calorie deficit. A calorie surplus is when you consume more calories than you burn off resulting in weight gain. Maintenance is the number of calories needed for your body to maintain its current weight. Calorie deficit is when you consume fewer calories than your body burns off and ideally is the state you should strive to be in as frequently as possible for weight-loss to occur. These 3 states differ per person depending on gender, age, height, metabolic activity, physical activity and your current weight. For example a 25 year old professional male athlete may need to consume 3000 calories to maintain his current body weight whereas a woman working a sedentary job may only need 1600 calories. It is important that you identify how many calories your body needs and consume less than that number to be in a calorie deficit. Depending on how fast you want to see results, you can alter how much of a calorie deficit to be in. This is the fundamental underlying concept behind any diet and the one consistent way to 'guarantee' results.

Macronutrients Vs Micronutrients

To further break down the concept of calories, we can distinguish the properties of foods into micronutrients and macronutrients. Micronutrients refer to the nutritional properties of foods that do not contain calories such as minerals and vitamins. Fruits and vegetables are examples of foods that are dense in micronutrients which is essentially what makes them healthy for our organisms. The actual physical composition (weight) of your body however is dictated by 3 macro nutrients; protein, carbohydrates (carbs), fats. The numerical value that we see in calories is derived from these macronutrients. For example a 100g banana has 89 calories which are derived from 0.3g of fat, 21g of carbs and 1g of protein. Protein and carbs each contain 4 calories per gram whereas fats contain 9 calories per gram. Alcohol has a calorie density of 7 calories per one gram.

What is the best Diet for weight-loss?

Different diets will suggest different intakes of these macro nutrients for example the ketogenic diet involves consuming very few carbs to try and burn body fat faster. Generally it is recommended to have a certain daily intake of all 3 of these macro nutrients however as a general rule of thumb higher protein foods are beneficial for weight-loss.

We have established that you have to consume fewer calories than your maintenance to lose weight, so what diet should you follow to achieve this goal? The short and simple answer is there is no specific diet you should follow but rather you must find a diet that works for your situation. You will find countless people promoting their meal plans and trying to convince you that theirs is the 'best' one but the reality is there is no perfect diet that can be applied to every person. Some people enjoy the taste of foods with higher carbs such as bread, pasta or fruit, while others prefer foods with higher fats such as chocolate or cheeses. Decide for yourself what are the foods you really enjoy and incorporate them in your weight-loss programme, with moderation, alongside the healthy low-calorie foods.

The problem with 'Perfect' Diets

There is a tendency to gravitate towards perfection when starting a diet such as completely cutting out pizza and chocolate and only eating plain yogurts and salads for week after week. In theory, this would be ideal if we could just stick to that 'perfect' diet forever. The reality of the situation however is that people eventually get bored, demotivated or impacted negatively by following these 'perfect diets' and then are more likely to impulsively binge on high calorie foods one day or just abandon the diet all together. Another common scenario that occurs is that you will follow a 6-week weight-loss programme, suffer through it eating only foods you hate, lose a substantial amount of weight during that period of time (e.g 5kg) and then proceed to gain back most if not all of that weight in the following weeks or months after the diet is concluded.

This is obviously a very inefficient way of tackling the issue and is not a long-term solution to the problem. The best way to address it is to incorporate those foods you truly enjoy, with moderation, in your weight-loss programme. This doesn't mean you can just eat whatever you want every day and expect results but rather that if there are foods that improve your overall life satisfaction/happiness you aren't obliged to give them up completely to be able to lose weight. Be realistic and completely honest with yourself when you are 'designing' your diet to ensure it is one you will be able to follow for an extended period of time without being miserable.

Best way to ensure you are making progress: Count your calories

The best way to ensure progress is to count your calories. If you have never done this before it can be a tedious process which is why many people outsource this task to a fitness professional. If you are willing to commit an extra 10-15 minutes of your day to this you can keep track of your calorie intake by yourself. The simplest way of doing this is to write down everything you eat either on your phone/computer or a piece of paper and then estimate the calorie content for each food. You can use the nutrition label for some foods or search online (type 'calories in X food' on Google) if the product does not have a nutrition label. You do not have to keep track of the amount of coffee, tea, or water you ingest as these have no calories (unless you add milk/sugar/honey in which case you should note that down). The hardest part of the process is estimating the quantities of the food you are eating but it gets easier the more frequently you do it. One tip is to purchase a food scale as these are extremely useful for the calorie counting process. Once you have listed the foods you have eaten for the day and a reasonable estimate of the quantities (you don't have to be precise to the last gram as long as the estimate is more or less accurate) all that is left to do is the boring math. Multiply the quantity of the food by the calorie content of that food first, e.g. 200grams beef steak X 2.7calories = 540calories. Do this for every separate food and then simply add them together to find your daily calorie intake. Your daily calorie intake should be set at below your maintenance level and you should strive to keep your total calories under this number to ensure progress in your weight-loss goals.

Do you need to count calories to lose weight? No, you can make substantial progress by intuitively estimating how many calories you are consuming and adjust your behaviour accordingly. If you know you had a high calorie lunch such as a burger with fries you can opt for a lighter dinner to compensate. Counting or estimating your calories serves the purpose of ensuring you make progress. It will also help you understand which foods are stalling your progress and generally help you make healthier decisions in the future. Those 300 calories you may have ingested with your 50g of peanuts snack or those 110 calories with that glass of orange juice may be holding you back without you even realizing it.

What should I eat to lose weight?

Which foods should you incorporate in your diet and which foods should you steer clear from? One practical tip is to try and include foods with a large volume-calorie ratio such as strawberries, watermelon, green vegetables and salad. These will take up more space in your stomach allowing you to eat a larger quantity for fewer calories and serve the additional benefit of reducing hunger. Chicken and turkey are excellent meat options for main courses, cottage cheese and 0% fat Greek yogurt are great low-calorie dairy alternatives. Most fruits and fish, with the exception of the high fat ones (e.g. Avocado, Salmon) as well as egg whites are good options. Hunger will most likely be an issue at some point during a diet particularly during the early stages of adoption. Coffee, tea and water can help suppress your appetite without consuming any calories. Water consumption has countless benefits for our body and is a great habit to develop regardless of weight-loss considerations, so be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day (Minimum recommended daily consumption at least 2 Litres). Try and avoid sauces such as mayonnaise, BBQ, and ketchup or opt for the lower calorie substitutes if you really enjoy them. Try using herbs and spices to flavour your food instead as these have negligible calories. One cooking tip is to opt for boiling or grilling rather than frying food as this will avoid the extra calories present in the oil/butter.

A quick note on financial considerations: the healthiest best quality foods will often charge a price premium and therefore be more expensive compared to the less healthy alternatives. If you have the means to, you should strive to purchase the healthiest lowest calorie options, within reason, however be smart about your selection. You can get a varied assortment of healthy foods without spending absurd amounts of money at the supermarket every other day. Consider all the food options you have readily available, be comfortable reading the nutritional labels and decide for yourself if it is worth paying more for that specific food item.

When and how many times should I eat to lose weight?

Meal timing and frequency are two other factors to consider when starting a weight-loss programme. There is no difference in how you decide to distribute your calorie consumption for the day for weight-loss purposes. In other words it doesn't matter how many meals you consume or what time you sit down to eat as long as you are in a calorie deficit overall. This means you are free to choose how to schedule your meals according to your individual preference. There are however some physiological considerations with regards to mental acuity and energy levels. Intermittent fasting, a meal timing schedule which consists of going several hours (e.g. 16h or 20h) without consuming any calories, has become increasingly popular for weight loss. This will typically take the form of an individual having a meal in the evening (e.g. 8pm) and then not eating again till the early hours of the afternoon the next day or even later. There are many alleged health benefits of this method (a meta study on the topic concluded that it is not superior to traditional dieting) however the main practical benefits are the fewer meal frequency and the facilitation of the calorie counting process. This can be an excellent strategy if you are someone who enjoys having a big meal or consuming most of your calories in a short period of time however this is not for everyone.

If you are someone who enjoys eating frequently throughout the day I wouldn't suggest opting for an intermittent fasting schedule all of a sudden as it could have some negative effects such as irritability from prolonged hunger as well as lower energy levels. In this case I would recommend dividing your calories up into more frequent small meals (e.g light breakfast>light lunch> snack 1>light dinner>snack2) and if you would like to try out intermittent fasting start with a shorter time period for your fast at least initially. If you are incorporating some form of physical activity in your weight-loss programme you should also consider your performance when you are consuming no calories prior to your activity. Many people, including myself, have reported the same or similar performance in physical activity whilst being in an intermittently fasted state however depending on your activity this may change. Ultimately, just like the foods to include in your diet, this is a personal preference and you should do what works best for you. Other factors also influence this decision such as your work schedule, social gatherings, accessibility to the food and financial considerations (for example when traveling) however if you put the time to properly plan in advance you can most likely design a meal schedule that will help you effectively achieve your weight-loss goals.

Avoid external comparisons

One additional piece of advice is to stop comparing your fitness progress with other people's results. No matter who you are (even top athletes), it is easy to find people in your life who are either fitter or less fit than you. If you compare yourself to the less fit group you might think 'atleast I am not that unfit' and lose motivation to progress. If you compare yourself to the fitter group you might think 'I will never be as fit as X' so what is the point of trying. In both scenarios you are gaining no value from drawing this comparison and just adding psychological hurdles to overcome in addition to the other obstacles inherently present in the process of weight-loss. This is why I would suggest to avoid external comparisons and if you really feel the need to compare your fitness progress to stay motivated then use yourself for comparison. Are you in a better position today than you were yesterday? What about compared to last week or when you started your weight-loss programme? It is worth noting that for some people even self comparisons can be counterproductive particularly if they are made following a period of bad results (e.g. you consumed too many calories this weekend, skipped your last 2 workouts and the scale weight has consequently gone up compared to last week).

Don't get demotivated when you experience bad results. It is going to happen, as are good results, so be aware of this fact and have realistic expectations when committing to your weight-loss goals. It does not matter if you make mistakes in the short term, this happens to everyone, the important thing is that you recognize them and move on from them without losing motivation or being overly critical towards yourself. How well you deal with and learn from your mistakes will contribute to how quickly you reach your fitness goals. At some points you may be doing everything right and your weight may still be the same or possibly higher for a period of time. You must not get discouraged when this occurs, this is simply the nature of the process. Weight-loss in not a linear consistent process where you lose X body weight every day. You could have a week or two where the scale doesn't move and then the third week you lose 1 or 2kgs while following the exact same diet. These are natural inherent fluctuations that occur. Rest assured that if you are putting in the work, even if the scale weight does not move on any given day, you are making progress towards your goal and the results will come. If you have a realistic expectation of the time it will take to achieve your goals, this will make it much easier to deal with these fluctuations as well as stay motivated throughout the inevitable low points of your weight-loss journey.

Process-oriented decision making

In order to be successful at losing fat you need to adopt a process oriented approach rather than results oriented. This can be a difficult mental transition for many people as a lot of society is dictated by results; just think of school grades, salaries or video view counts. This is why the process of losing fat can be frustrating for many people as you can't control the results in the short term. You cannot wake up one morning and decide you are going to lose half a Kilo. You could be consuming very few calories, exercising extensively and still not see any progress on the scale over the course of a few days. As humans we tend to feel entitled to results particularly when we have put in the effort but in order to succeed in the fitness domain we have to adopt a different way of thinking. This doesn't mean that your efforts are futile, on the contrary if you commit to your health/fitness goals consistently the results will come. You simply must recognize and accept the rules of the game, you cannot go from overweight to having abs overnight. It is a long-term process and you can only directly control the effort you input, not the outcome.

Accountability for your weight-loss journey

One final suggestion is to find a way to be held accountable for your fitness progress. If you have friends or family members in your life that would support your fitness goals and be willing to talk about it positively this could be helpful. However, sometimes expressing your intentions to improve can make other people self-conscious about their personal fitness and they might unwillingly hinder your progress. If you think this might be the case for you or you feel like additional support would help you with your goals, other reasonable options include: 1. Discussing your progress on online forums dedicated to weight-loss/fitness 2. Holding yourself personally accountable (most difficult option) 3. Hiring a fitness professional/coach that can both guide you and help keep you committed to your goals. I offer remote weight-loss coaching accessible wherever you may be located at a time convenient for you. The first session is completely free. Simply click on the "Contact me" or "Request a Session" tab on my website to learn more.

Claudio Silvestrini

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