“Help, I”m struggling to lose weight!”

With summer approaching I’ve been getting a lot of DMs from people struggling to lose weight. “I’m not losing weight even though i’m only eating X calories.” Some of these involve some incredibly extreme calories like 1000 or 1200 calories a day.
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In my experience, the reason most people don’t lose weight is because they aren’t actually in a calorie deficit! They’re quick to forget about the bites, tastes and licks they consume throughout the day. On Sunday night I tried to recall everything I ate. I was feeling a bit peckish around 10 pm, and I was trying to make sure I ate enough. I did a quick mental calculation and thought, “Oh wow I definitely didn’t eat enough, that can’t be right!” A minute later I remembered the two hazelnut wafers I popped in my mouth before we ran out the door, and the handful of walnuts I ate while waiting for our Uber. This added 400+ calories to my overall calorie intake.
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You don’t have to count macros or calories to lose weight but you do need to be in a calorie deficit. You need to remember that every bite, taste and lick you eat throughout the day counts and adds up! If you find you’re doing a lot of snacking throughout the day it might be beneficial to increase the size/calories of your meals.

People are always quick to jump to blaming their metabolism but in reality, they don’t realize they are simply eating more calories then they realize.

Some things to be aware of if you’re struggling to lose weight

1. Additional snack – bites, tastes and licks add up fast!
2. Pretending we’re only eating 1 serving when it’s really 1.25 or 2! The only person you’re fooling is yourself if you think it doesn’t add up
3. What you do every day adds up. If you are in a calorie deficit of 200-300 calories a day but you are going to see progress!!  After 7 days, you’ve reduced your calorie intake by 1400-2100 calories. This isn’t quite a pound but it is still amazing! Slow and steady is what will help you lose weight and keep it off. However, if each week you celebrate with a crazy cheat meal or worse, cheat day, chances are that deficit of 1400-2100 calories is going to be a lot less, if not simply gone. There is no need for crazy calorie deficits or cutting out all food groups. Enjoying foods you eat daily and reducing your intake by 10-30% will get you results. Healthy weight loss takes time! Don’t rush the process.

In the coming weeks I’ll be sharing more things that may be holding you back from actually losing weight or being in a calorie deficit.

More tips here: How to Lose Weight