Stop Doing This If You Want Lasting Weight Loss

One of the biggest mistakes that I see women make when it comes to weight loss is eating too few calories…somewhere we got this idea into our heads that we need to be eating 1200 calories or less to be able to lose weight.  And quite frankly that's bullshit!

1200 calories/day on a regular basis is just too low for most adults (see chart here)

Yes, you can lose weight that way…temporarily…

But if you’re not giving your body what it needs to be able to function properly (energy, nutrients, building blocks etc) it's going to start pressing back on you.  Soon your metabolic rate starts to slow as your body tries to conserve its energy for those important processes…you know like breathing and keeping your heart beating.

Then you find yourself stalled and you have to keep cutting your calories more and more to keep the scale moving…how long can you realistically keep that up?

Another problem with this scenario is what it does to your head.   It's very likely if you’ve tried this and couldn’t stick to it that you blamed yourself…”If only I was stronger”.  “I just don’t have more willpower”.  “I should have tried harder”.

When in actuality you were just given some really bad advice.  

Any “diet” that requires that you push through hunger all day, every day is just setting you up for failure.

This means you are essentially fighting your physiology.  Your body is trying to tell you it needs something - that's what hunger is - and you’re trying to ignore it.  Not a good idea!  Your physiology will always win.

If lasting weight loss is your goal - and I think that's what most of us are really after - I mean we really don’t want to lose the weight to just gain it back again and have to start all over - right?

We need to quit looking to the quick fixes - because very rarely are those really “quick” in the long run - they actually end up being more work.

It's really important to find a way of eating that feels doable for you so that you can stick to it.  And that includes giving yourself enough protein, good healthy fats (ditch those funky “vegetable” oils) AND enough CALORIES/ENERGY.

I obviously prefer a low carb/real food approach but if that doesn’t work for you - find what does.  You absolutely shouldn’t have to push through hunger(true hunger - head hunger is different), white-knuckle-it through cravings, or feel deprived for the rest of your life just to get to or maintain your weight loss goals.

If you are interested in a low carb lifestyle we’d love to have you join us in our brand new free Facebook community https://www.facebook.com/groups/thelowcarbsolution.  There you’ll find info, support, and encouragement to help you get started on your weight loss journey!