HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY DIET FOR PERMANENT RESULTS
SHOULD YOU DIET RIGHT AWAY?
WHAT IS THE BEST PLACE TO START A DIET?
We don’t usually come across or even consider these questions when we get motivated to crush a weight loss goal. You might be thinking, “what do you mean? I have weight to lose, I’m ready to lose it. Of course I’m in a good place to diet!”
This blog will go in depth on why that could be the very thing holding you back from results.
“What in the world is she even talking about?”
First, I need you to understand some facts before we go any further. I am all about REALISTIC weight loss, and helping women steer clear of fad diets that do nothing but hurt their situation. Let me explain…
We all know by now that the answer to losing weight is a calorie deficit.
Sounds simple, but it’s actually not.
The weight regain statistics are STAGGERING. Within 1 year of weight loss 50-70% of people will have regained it all. Within 2 years the regain rate is around 85% and within 3 years 95% of people will have regained all the weight they lost.
That’s right. Diets have a 95% failure rate.
A lot of this failure to maintain results is due to an unsustainable approach to begin with. Cutting out entire food groups, eating 1,000 calories or less, basically crash dieting your body so hard that it has no choice but to fight back and eventually pack the weight back on.
Sustainable (aka permanent) Weight Loss
Sustainable (aka permanent) weight loss occurs at an average of .5-1.5lbs per week. That’s a bit slower than the “stuff that sells” - so of course you don’t hear about sustainable weight loss, it’s usually incredibly slow! However, if you have 100lbs+ to lose, you can expect the weekly rate of loss to be on the higher end of that scale.
The problem with these low calorie, unsustainable diets is that weight loss occurs so quick and extreme, that your metabolism takes a HUGE hit. Your metabolism regulates your ability to burn/conserve calories, and it responds to everything in your environment.
Now you’ve lost the weight, but you’ve down-regulated what your body is capable of eating on a normal basis. Your metabolism is now used to running off of little to no food, and it’s ready to store anything and everything you give it that goes over that normal amount. This is your evolutionary protection mechanism kicking in, and it’s how humans survived for so long. We had less food, so our bodies would adapt to those times and burn less calories, pack on extra fat, and make weight loss really hard. Your body is sensing a shortage of food and it’s reacting accordingly. Unfortunately, you can’t communicate with your body and say, “hey chill out! I just wanna lose fat!”. The sooner you accept that you can’t just eat 1,200 calories forever and call it a day, the better.
These extreme diets set you up for rapid re-gain when you come off said “diet” (this is the yo-yo dieting cycle). Additionally, when you go through an extreme and unsustainable weight loss journey, you lose fat but you also lose a lot of muscle tissue. You might think it’s not a big deal, but muscle tissue is PRECIOUS when it comes to overall health and metabolism.
So essentially, a calorie deficit is needed to lose weight. However, most people are living their lives in a chronically under-fed state and don’t have the metabolic or physiological capability to go through a successful fat loss phase AND maintain the weight loss.
What is NOT a good place to start a diet or fat loss phase?
If you’re…
skipping meals
restricting yourself from ANYTHING (ie: “no carbs, no sugar, playing the ‘can’t eat that’ game”)
not tracking anything whatsoever
not sure how much you’re eating on a regular basis or on average
currently “in a deficit” and have been trying to lose weight (successfully or not) for 1+ years
simultaneously trying to lose fat & “tone up” by working out 5-7x a week and doing a ton of reps/high volume/HIIT style workouts/bootcamp style classes
you have weeks where you eat little to nothing, and weekends where you eat ALL the things…
any combination of any of the above...
You’re likely not in a good position to jump into a calorie deficit right away.
What do I do if I’m not ready for a diet right now?
This isn’t uncommon.
I have to be honest and say, 95% of women who come to me for coaching are not in the place to start a diet phase. I have to put most women through AT LEAST a priming phase, if not a full reverse diet. The biggest thing here is PATIENCE (especially if you’re doing this alone).
PRIMING PHASE: spending anywhere from 2-4 months at maintenance calories to put you in a better starting position (not a calorie deficit or surplus, just right in the middle where your body can achieve some homeostasis). We do this so we “have something to pull from.” If you enter a diet phase and you’re already eating very low calorie & going hard AF on cardio, we have nowhere else to “dig” when going into a fat loss phase. Ideally, before you enter a calorie deficit your food intake should be at at least maintenance or a calorie surplus for a minimum of 3-4 months. If you’ve NEVER tried to not diet, you need more like 6-12 months at maintenance calories.
REVERSE DIET: Strategically reversing a successful diet phase (ALWAYS needed after a weight loss journey) or, more commonly- bringing an individual in for coaching and spending ample amount of time (6-12 months+) bringing up calories/macros and improving metabolism/health markers. This is necessary when you’ve dug a hole so deep that a shorter priming phase won’t do the job. I do not recommend trying to reverse diet on your own without experience.
Be realistic about your history and how long you’ve been under-fed and over-stressed. You’re better off over-estimating time needed away from a calorie deficit rather than underestimating. That could end up with you losing 3-6 months of momentum only to have to start over again because you thought 6 weeks of eating more food was enough.
What IS a good place to start a diet or fat loss phase?
If you’re…
actually monitoring intake (*do NOT just assume you’re eating enough if you’re serious about your goals)
eating at least at maintenance calories
NOT relying on cardio to maintain your current body
NOT doing more cardio volume > lifting volume
not obsessed with food & letting it control your life
not over training (sweet spot for women is 4-5 days a week)
well rested and recovering well from workouts
haven’t entered a calorie deficit in at least 6 months
...THEN I WOULD SAY YOU HAVE THE GREEN LIGHT!
What do I do in the gym if I’m not ready for a diet right now?
Things you don’t need to be doing:
obsessing about burning calories (focus on performance > exhaustion)
worrying about “toning” your body (no such thing! Lift heavy or waste your time)
taking fat burners / wasting money on supplements
“detoxing”
working out 6-7x a week
What you should do instead:
lift heavy/strength train 3-5x a week
do the minimal effective dose of cardio (keep it short and sweet, don’t exhaust yourself before you lift)
do MORE lifting than cardio (at least a 2:1 ratio, if you lift 4 hours per week, do not exceed 2 hours of cardio per week)
easily incorporate your “diet” approach into your lifestyle! Try tracking macros for ultimate food freedom!
If you’re not in the best position to start a diet right now, then following these protocols is necessary to let your system recover from chronic under-eating.
Don’t know how to track macros or figure out what your macros should be?! Sign up for my FREE Macros 101 Mini Course & learn everything you need to know!
Short term sacrifice for lasting results
I know all of this is hard to hear if you’re after a weight loss goal and you’re READY to get it done! I just want you to spend your time wisely and not waste your efforts!
I hope this helped you, find me on Instagram and in my Private Facebook Community for Women for more trainings & educational info around permanently changing your body and life.
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