Index

  1. Calories are the main key weight loss
  2. Healthy clean eating vs Quality of food
  3. Exercise and Stress
  4. Stop waiting for the right moment: Take action now and build better habits
  5. References

1) Calories are the main key in weight loss

Definition of Calorie – A calorie or kilocalorie (Kcal) is a unit of measurement that measures a unit of energy. So when someone say 80 calories, it’s a way of describing how much energy you can get from eating or drinking it.

In order to lose body fat the amount of energy you consume has to be less than the energy going out. This is called calorific deficit. The most efficient way to do this is to eat less food.

IMPORTANT- A calorie deficit is most easily achieved by your reducing food intake. You can work out as much as you want but what matters the most is your diet.

So how do know what you calorie intake for weight loss is??

There many different formulas and calculations you can use but to save you the hassle just check the following website and type in your age, weight, height, and activity level.

Website to count calories- https://www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp

You maintenance calorie is the weight you need to maintain your current weight. To lose weight you’ll have to eat less than this. Usually eating 200-300 fewer calories than your maintenance will be a good place to start to lose weight.

You maintenance calorie is the weight you need to maintain your current weight. To lose weight you’ll have to eat less than this. Usually eating 200-300 fewer calories than your maintenance will be a good place to start to lose weight. can also use the link below to calculate how much calorie you need to lose weight: 

https://www.calculators.tech/weight-loss-calculator

Myfitnesspal (see below) is another cool website and phone app that you can download and use to track calories. It’s super easy!

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Also get yourself a weighing scale to measure food. This might seem like too much effort but in the long run you will be saving yourself a lot of time and energy. It’s easier than you think!

Once you have your calorie intake sorted, the next step is to work out your macronutrients (aka Macros). 

Definition of macronutrients- Essentially this is what makes up food. All food can be broadly categorised into a protein, a carbohydrate, or a fat-based food.

Macronutrients are required by the body in large amounts and each macronutrient contains certain amount of calories per gram.

Image above taken from Eric Helms book- The Muscle and Strength Nutrition Pyramid

I’m not going to go too much into Macros here as I don’t want to overwhelm you with information BUT it’s important to try and hit your protein macros per day as you being to lose weight. The Myfitnesspal app isreally handy as it works out the macronutrients for you and you can monitor them on there.

THE MAIN THING TO REMEMBER IS TO LOSE BODY FAT YOU NEED TO BE IN A CALORIC DEFICIT.

Tracking calories was something I ignored so many times. The idea of intuitively eating and not counting calories always sounded good. It made me feel better and sounded more natural to me.

The truth is when I finally started counting calories, I was shocked to see how I wrong I was. The biggest shock was finding out foods that I thought were low in calories was actually really high. I told myself one or two chocolate bars couldn’t hurt, but the calories all add up.

Now although you’ve heard many fitness enthusiasts talk about how they intuitively eat and you see them have cheat days with larges boxes of pizza and doughnuts. But the thing is you don’t know anything about what they eat or on other days and how they work out. Maybe they work out several times per week, or maybe they eat fewer calories on other days to make for their cheat day.

Unless you consistently count calories, you will end up easily consuming extra calories and unknowingly sabotage your fat loss. By counting calories, you can get a better objective look at what you’re eating and accurately measure what you need to eat.

It also gives you more power to control your diet and makes you feel not helpless. For example, I’ve met many people who eat extra calories one day (i.e. at a BBQ) and then feel guilty and starve themselves another day or go gym 2x per day because they think they are making up for the extra calories consumed. Ive been there!

So by counting calories, when you do eat more calories (and it will happen) then you can make up for it by eating fewer calories during other days of the week, without having to starve yourself.

Now, you’re probably thinking “what about the ketogenic diet or low fat diet or intermittent fasting or being vegan or drinking apple cider vinegar”??

Well here’s the thing when it comes to fat loss, it doesn’t matter as much as you think. You can pick whatever diet you want but the key thing to remember is that you enjoy the diet and you’re consistent with it. This has been shown by several different studies.

For example a study in 2014 compared popular diet such as low carbohydrate diets, Atkins diet, Weight watchers diet, low fat diets and found that regardless of the type of diet, all participants were able to lose significant fat and recommended that the diet chosen is one that the participant will adhere to2. So don’t feel pressured to start a certain diet just because you see people promoting it and marketing it as the next best thing. Find something you enjoy and like because that’s the only way you will be consistent. Feel free to experiment but remember when it comes to fat loss, it all about calorie deficit.

2) Healthy eating vs Quality of food

The concept healthy eating can be very subjective. For example many people consider meat as unhealthy whilst others consider it healthy. When you start dieting, don’t label/define food as healthy or not healthy because it can be overwhelming and confusing.

The main focus of any diet/new eating changes should focus on high quality foods (because they contain a lot of necessary nutrients you need). These are foods such vegetables and fruits, whole grains, healthy fats and healthy sources of protein.  

Whereas you want to minimise the consumption of low quality foods such as highly processed snack foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined (white) grains, refined sugar, fried foods, foods high in saturated and trans fats (such as butter and cheese).

Evidence by Mozaffarian et al. (2011)3 supports choosing high-quality foods (and decreasing consumption of lower-quality foods) because they are an important factor in helping individuals consume fewer calories. The study involving over 120,000 healthy women and men, found foods such as vegetables, whole grains, fruits and nuts are associated with weight loss. The study, also found, that weight change was most strongly associated with the intake of potato chips, potatoes, sugar-sweetened beverages, and both processed and unprocessed red meats.  Furthermore, the researchers concluded that consumption of processed foods higher in starches, refined grains, fats, and sugars can increase weight gain3.

Another study which compared various diets found there was a common pattern in the diets involving minimally processed foods close to nature, mainly plants. Eating these types of food was associated with health promotion and disease prevention in this study (see image below taken from the study4).

This doesn’t mean you have to cut out low quality foods out completely. That would NOT help you enjoy your new diet and the chances are you’ll stop a few weeks.

Instead during the beginning months it would be more advisable to make sure that 70-80% of your diet consists of high quality food and the remaining 20-30% can be whatever you want (This idea is based on the 80/20 rule).

Yes this includes chocolate or crisps BUT ensure you’re still monitoring your calories (so if after a day of eating high quality food and you have 200 calories left then eat a chocolate bar with that many calories).

Ultimately, remember to lose weight you need to be in a Caloric deficit, so even if you do eat a lot of low quality foods, just being in caloric deficit will mean you lose weight.

Want MORE proof?

Well in 2010, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University experimented on a diet where 2/3 of his food came from “junk food”. That’s right he ate one Twinkie every three hours, instead of meals. He also ate Doritos chips, sugary cereals and Oreo. The other 1/3 of his diet consisted of taking a multivitamin pill and a protein shake daily. And he also ate vegetables, typically a can of green beans or three to four celery stalks. He calculated his maintenance calories was 2,600 and hence he ate 1800 calories each day.

He lost 27 pounds in two months (that’s roughly 12kg!) and his body fat dropped from 33.4 to 24.9%.On top of that his “bad” cholesterol, or LDL, dropped 20% and his “good” cholesterol, or HDL, increased by 20%.

So remember to lose weight a caloric deficit is the key!

Personally, I make sure I include a lot of fruit and vegetables in my diet as they are high quality foods and contain a lot of essential micronutrients (which are vitamins and mineral the body needs) and I find I they provide me with a lot of energy.

ALSO if you are going to start a new diet/make lifestyle change, make sure it fits with any health condition and allergies you have. Plus if you do have any health conditions such as iron deficiency, make sure your diet caters for that and you seek medical advice too.

3) Exercise and Stress

Exercise

Exercise is important to facilitate weight loss but also key in disease prevention such as increased blood pressure. When considering exercise, there are a lots of different things you can choose and I would encourage you to pick something that you enjoy, something that gets you to work hard and that you can do 2-3 times a week.

However evidence shows one of the best ways to help lose weight is resistance training (such as barbells and dumbbells, weight machines). This is because this will help build muscle and burn calories (hence help with fat loss).

Whereas, aerobic training such as running, will help lose fat but not necessarily help build muscle. When looking at resistance training using the progressive overload principle is particularly important.

This principle states for muscle to grow and strength to be gained, you have to force the human body must be forced to adapt to a tension that is above and beyond what it has previously experienced. So the stress applied on your body increases.

So what does this mean?

It means if you are doing squats with a 20kg bar then you need to increase the set, reps and weight you use gradually, otherwise you will not force muscle growth.

By increasing the tension, you increase the demands and you increase the work your body had to do. So instead of doing the same 3 sets of 8 reps with 20kg, you do 3 sets of 8 with 25kg.

Even if it’s a small improvement it is exactly what you need to increase demands on your body to improve.

However if you are new to resistance training it’s important to focus on making sure you have good range of motion (ROM) and technique. This is because with better form and ROM you recruit more muscle fibres which is good progress. 

If you are new to resistance training and you really do not where to begin, I would highly recommend finding a trainer or coach. You might feel it is a waste of money but trust me even if it is for a month, it will help you learn a lot about how to train and help you build the right technique. This is one of my regrets from when I first started training, it would have sped my learning of how to train correctly.

Stress

Stress has a direct effect on your ability to lose weight. When we experience stress, whether it’s the external stressors (work) or our internal stressors (being unhappy with unwanted weight or eating behaviours) then our cortisol (stress hormone) levels go up5.

When cortisol levels are high on a daily basis it can cause storage metabolism to increase. This is a survival response by our body. Our body will struggle to lose weight when it’s in survival mode; it’s going to slow down our metabolism so that we have extra energy stores in case they are needed.

So if you do face a stressful life and you want to lose weight, then important shift the bodies stress response into a relaxation response. One of the best ways to reduce stress is through getting enough sleep (9-10 hours)5.

Other ways to help reduce stresses are:

  • Doing more things you find relaxing such as reading a book or listening to music.
  • Exercise- Low intensity exercises can help lower cortisol levels. Whilst high level intensity exercise can help your body manage the negative effects of stress in the long term6.

4) Stop waiting for the right moment: Take action now and build better habits

Another simple thing that is overlooked-

START TODAY.

We build up an image that we will wake up one day and feel ready to lose weight. This is not true. TRUST ME. I used to put of exercise and eating a more nutrient dense diet. I would say “next Monday”, then as Monday approached I would wake up and say I don’t feel up to it today and put it of another week.

Our brains are wired to go against any form of discomfort.  Even when you are certain you want to be healthier, you brain is wired up to avoid anything new. You brain sees sameness as safe and sound, so why would you want to change?

Furthermore, your brain forms connection in the brain based on what you do repeatedly, whether it’s good or bad.  When you want an urge to be satisfied, dopamine (a feel good chemical in the brain) is released. Dopamine helps in build a connection in the brain that reinforces a habit to make it stronger. Hence, the more you do something, the more dopamine is realised as a reward after. After this, dopamine gets released earlier and earlier until just thinking about something causes an anticipatory dopamine surge. This motivates you to do the behaviour in the future.

The best way to form new habits and change is to make friends with your mind and brain. To change you need to build alternative pathways in your brain. When you adopt a new behaviour you build new connections. Then as you repeat the behaviour you make the connections stronger. Although a lot of effort may be required at the start, over time it gets easier.

On average it can take 66 days to build new habit/behaviours (not 21 days as you may have heard!) based on research by Phillippa Lally7 (health psychology researcher at University College London) who did a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology7. Although the exact time does depend on a variety of factors and the overall key message is: Habits can take a long time to form.

So to change build a new habit start straight way. One small change today will be enough. Whether that’s going for a walk or choosing to eat a fruit instead of a doughnut. As you start implementing more and more small changes you will create better habits and connections in the brain. Then as you create momentum, you find it easier to lose fat. A couple of weeks after the first change is established make another modification for the better.

More ways to help from new behaviours are:

  • Adjust the environment you’re in to help you. If you know buying chocolate will end up in you bingeing, then stop buying chocolate.
  • Changing your behaviour requires willpower. The book “Willpower” by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney highlighted to methat willpower is a lot like a muscle and that it gets tired and depleted8. So Instead of suddenly cutting out certain food from your diet just cut out one thing. A couple of weeks after the first change is established make another modification for the better.
  • Create more awareness into how the new behaviour will change your life and vision how you will look in the future. More awareness can help your prefrontal cortex override default patterns9. The prefrontal cortex is a part of your brain that is important in forming new behaviours.
  • Celebrate small achievements and goals accomplishments. This will help stimulate dopamine and keep you motivated.
  • Surround yourself with people that have behaviours you want. This will help it easier for you to change and keep you motivated

If you find certain food might trigger you to eat more of it, don’t just cut it out completely, otherwise you will find yourself bingeing on them one day and you can fall in cycle of bingeing as I have done so countless times. Try and slowly exchange them for other food and that way you can create a positive habit. However, if this doesn’t work, then try and refrain from them for the time being.

Ultimately, too many people these days go on a 30 day challenge and find themselves back to square one after a couple of months, remember the goal is to create habits that motivate you and are sustainable for the rest of your life.

Thank you for reading this so far, Part 3 will be uploaded soon and will cover more tips to help reach your end goal faster and more efficiently.

5) References

  1. https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries
  2. Johnston BC, Kanters S, Bandayrel K, Wu P, Naji F, Siemieniuk RA, Ball GD, Busse JW, Thorlund K, Guyatt G, Jansen JP, Mills EJ. (2014). Comparison of weight loss among named diet programs in overweight and obese adults: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 3;312(9):923-33.
  3. Mozaffarian, D. Hao T, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB (2011). Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men. N Engl J Med, 364(25): p. 2392-404.
  4. Katz D.L. and Meller S (2014). Can We Say What Diet Is Best for Health? – Annual Reviews. Vol. 35:83-103.
  5. Leproult R, Copinschi G, Buxton O, Van Cauter E (1997). Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening. Sleep. 865-70.
  6. Hill EE, Zack E, Battaglini C, Viru M, Viru A, Hackney AC. (2008) Exercise and circulating cortisol levels: the intensity threshold effect. J Endocrinol Invest. 587-91.
  7. Lally P., van Jaarsveld C. H. M., Potts H. W. W., Wardle J (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology.998–1009.
  8. Baumeister, R. F., & Tierney, J. (2012). Willpower: rediscovering the greatest human strength. New York, Penguin Books.
  9. Lieberman MD, Eisenberger NI, Crockett MJ, Tom SM, Pfeifer JH, Way BM. Putting feelings into words: affect labelling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli (2007). Psychol Sci.18 (5):421-8.