Fast weight loss results prove that you can diet, not that you're healthy
Mama, how many “diets” have you been on where you lost a bunch of weight quickly, but gained it all back almost instantly after you stopped the diet? Just about every diet ever, right? I get it, you want quick results! Quick results make you feel accomplished and good about yourself. But, how does it feel when the weight comes back? It’s a million times more frustrating, right? Just because you got quick results doesn’t mean you made a healthy decision.
Diets aren’t meant to go on forever. They have a start and stop date, which is just one reason why you lose weight and then gain it back. Diets restrict certain nutrients (no-carb, low-fat, etc.) which can have negative effects on your body when done for too long.
Long story short, dieting isn’t a long-term solution to weight loss.
Losing weight in a healthy way means that you might have slower results, but you’ll also have longer-lasting results. Losing weight in a healthy way requires more than just a diet; it requires a lifestyle change.
Knowledge is more important than quick results
The number one reason diets don’t work is because you’re not learning what healthy eating looks like. Diets usually give you a lit of do’s and don’t’s and you learn how to follow rules - but you don’t learn why these rules are important or when, or if, you can break them.
I did the Paleo diet for years, and if I knew anything about Paleo, it was that I shouldn’t eat carbs. I could eat any dessert I wanted as long as it was labeled “Paleo” or “low-carb”
The thing was that I never lost any weight doing the Paleo diet. But I thought that I knew so much about food from it! When in reality I just learned how to eat from an approved list of foods.
When I switched to macro tracking and started eating carbs (and losing weight while eating carbs) I was astounded! I didn’t realize that the reason I didn’t have energy before was because my body wasn’t getting enough carbs. And I didn’t understand that I could use carbs to help rev up my metabolism!
Not only do you fail to learn about nutrition from diets, but long-term dieting can mess up your body and cause serious damage. For example, fat is essential to hormonal balance, if you follow a low-fat diet for too long, you can wreak havoc on your hormones which can lead to major health issues.
The good news is that you don’t have to sacrifice weight loss for knowledge; in fact, if you’re learning the fundamentals of nutrition then you’re bound to have results! But like anything worth working for, they may take time.
Instead of focusing on just weight loss when you’re choosing a diet, look at what the diet is teaching you.
A healthy lifestyle change should teach you how to:
Utilize food to keep you energized throughout the day.
Make healthy decisions when you’re eating out.
Incorporate exercise and nutrition so you build muscle and lose fat.
Eat at parties or celebrations without overeating.
Understand what a balanced diet looks like for YOU.
I want to dive deeper into that last point because, in traditional diet culture, you’re taught that food is either good or bad. Either you can have it or you can’t. But these rules don’t apply to everyone!
Diet culture says that anyone who eats donuts is an unhealthy person. Whereas everyone who eats salads is healthy.
But that’s not how nutrition works! I am a healthy person and I eat donuts! The key is that I know what a donut costs me nutritionally. And I know how to balance that donut out in my day so that I still get the nutrients my body needs!
If you don’t know how to create that balance in your life, then you don’t have a healthy lifestyle…yet.
How to get weight loss results that last
The not-so-secret to losing weight without gaining it back is eating a balanced diet. I’m not talking about just eating a little bit of everything in moderation. That’s a good start, but that doesn’t guarantee weight loss.
I’m talking about learning exactly how much food it takes for you to lose weight, maintain your weight and even gain weight.
No, before you go, “I don’t want to gain weight, why would I want to know that?”I want you to understand something. You can’t always be losing weight. I know, I know, we would all love to hit our ideal weight and stay there forever, but that’s not how it works. And, just so you know, we can’t be losing weight all the time either, but that’s not healthy!
Our bodies are meant to fluctuate. You’re supposed to lose weight and gain weight throughout the year.
That being said, we want to keep your weight loss and weight gain at healthy levels. This is why we need to understand how much food is needed for each stage.
In my Macros Made Easy program, I teach mamas how to go through the four stages of weight loss
Reversing
Maintenance
Surplus
Cut
It’s important to learn all four stages because 99.9% of people don’t know what maintenance looks like and are either living in a cut or a surplus - and they’re gaining weight in both!
By learning about these phases and what kind of calories you should be eating during each phase, you start to learn what is healthy for you.
That alone is something that most people don’t pay attention to! But I take it even further and I teach mamas what the right balance of protein, fat and carbs is best for their bodies.
Macros are not one-size-fits-all. They have to be calculated for every single person. Even macro calculators are tricky to use because they’re too general! I look at the basics, height, weight, gender, age and activity level, but then I dive deeper so that your macros work for you!
I look at your sleep habits, how much you’re eating right now (I’m not going to tell you to eat 150g of protein if you’re only eating 80g right now!) and other factors to determine not just where you should be right now, but what your goals will be as we work together.
The only way to learn about nutrition and a balanced diet is by doing it! You need to learn what portions look like for you. You need to know what foods work for your body and lifestyle and what foods don’t. You really need to learn how to plan, prep and protect your nutrition so that you can reach your goals!
Once you know all the answers to these questions, then you’ll be able to lose weight, keep it off and still enjoy all that life has to offer!
Schedule a free discovery call today to ditch diets and start learning what a healthy lifestyle looks like for you!
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