Q: “What’s incorrect about saying that eating fewer calories will lead to weight loss?”
I got asked this question tonight on the way home from work and the answer I gave was this: “Technically, nothing. If you reduce calories, you will likely lose weight. The issue has more to do with what kind of weight you’ll lose.”
Had I thought about it for another moment, I probably would’ve been a bit more clear and said something more like this:
“Technically living in calorie deficit will result in weight loss. Simply reducing calories won’t necessarily lead to weight loss. If you reduce your activity level in accordance with your calorie reduction, you may not lose any weight. Similarly, if you increase your activity level substantially while maintaining your current level of caloric intake, you’ll also move your body into calorie deficit.
That said, if your goal is improving health, your goal is not weight loss—it’s fat loss. Culturally, we’ve conflated the two in a way that has been fantastic for the gimmick fitness and diet industries but has been horrible for fat people.”
It turns out that losing fat while retaining lean body mass is a) feasible and b) much better for you. It’s not particularly complicated, either, but I find a lot of people are incredibly skeptical and resistant.
Speaking from personal experience, in the last 6 months I’ve watched three women lose at least 100 lbs of fat, combined. And each of them lost the bulk of that fat in the first three months. They did it by eating real food—primarily meat, veggies, nuts and some fruit. No gimmicks. No nasty shakes.
The past month I’ve seen plenty of posts on Facebook or around the blogosphere about the various faux-food solutions people are using to try to lose weight. And, honestly, my heart breaks for them. I’ve been there. I tried Weight Watchers. I tried Dr. Phil. I tried Body For Life. I’ve seen some short-term success with all of them, but the weight always comes back. Today I’m 50 lbs lighter than I was 2 years ago and over 90% of the weight I’ve lost was fat. It isn’t easy, but it is simple.
2 years ago • 3 notes
