Face Up To 40 Years of Weight Loss Excuses?
You can try to lose fat at over 40, but your efforts may not always hit the mark the way they used to. These most common complaints could be upsetting your eating plan.
THE BRIEF
Time to read: 3 minutes 20 seconds
Time to action: 30 seconds
Mantra: “Be honest with yourself, find the weak spots, work on them, get it done.” – Wladimir Klitschko
Main message: Consistent weight loss starts in the mind, then moves to the middle.
Stat: 90/10: the healthy-to-unhealthy food intake ratio to get to where you want to be
Excuses. Justifications. Validations. Frame it however you like. We are brilliant at lying to ourselves.
We asked an expert panel of GPs, psychologists, psychiatrists, nutritionists, and dietitians for the reasons they hear most about why weight loss simply “doesn't work”. The responses were surprisingly uniform. It seems that when it comes to excuses, we are much more forgiving in our minds than we are to our bodies. So, in no particular order, here are the UK's top five reasons why weight loss isn’t working for us. Do any of them sound familiar?
Mitigation #1: "I'm good at calorie counting"
We are experts at blocking out additional calories consumed – the creamy coffee, the extra butter and cheese in a sandwich – it all adds up in your daily calorie intake. Sadly, the cumulative count is all too often noticeable. Some coffees, for example, contain almost 500 calories when taken with all optional extras. 500 calories! The average human body only needs around 2,000-2,500 calories per day. So that's 4 or 5 coffees until you’re done with eating until tomorrow.
The lesson here is that if it's going in your mouth, be vigilant. Eating or drinking, it all adds up until eventually we’ve got to play the more-exercise-and-less-calories game of healthy living.
Vindication #2: "I always pick healthy options"
It is still possible to overconsume healthy food and sabotage even the best-laid fat loss plans. Some healthy foods – such as eggs, avocado, and olives – are all very healthy. It is easy to overindulge in them, especially given the high-calorie count they contain for reasonably small portions.
Healthy is good, but make sure you understand what healthy fat is. Then, work out how much can work within your calorie deficit plan. Just because it's not processed or rolled in duck fat doesn’t mean portion control can go the way of a stir-fried Dodo.
Rationalisation #3: "A little bit won't hurt"
On a fat-loss eating plan, you need something like a 5-15% calorie deficit. This means it is all too simple to tip back your energy balance into a surplus.
Healthy eating is much better than extreme dieting, so be mindful of your balancing act. Staying just on the right side means far less hardship compared to consistent micro allowances, setting your best-laid plans awry.
Exoneration #4: "I workout really hard"
It's too easy to overestimate how many calories we burn during a cardio workout. The idea is to teach your metabolism to work faster over time, not just fight that day's (or week’s) excesses.
The treadmill isn't a magic bullet – 20 minutes on one will not justify the 4 hours of getting on it in the pub after work. Sweat is good, but the chances of you ever working out that specific day's excess are slim.
Also, “the window” (a post-exercise period where your metabolism is fired up and moving more quickly) is real, but even then, cake and kebabs will close it down quicksmart.
Exculpation #5: "I overindulge on cheat days"
There is a widely-held belief that you can and should cheat (on your meals, we mean). And although there is evidence to suggest shocking your body into having to burn off new foods you haven't eaten in the week is a good thing, a better name might be “moderation day”. Better yet, “small window for indulgence day”, though we admit that’s not as catchy.
Cheat food can be a worthy reward, but can we view it as time instead of calories? Just 1 day of overeating can flatline the six days of managed eating you’d achieved previously. And 1-in-6 is terrible odds, so if you want to feel the healthy benefits of carrying less visceral body fat, help us sell the benefits of moderation day.
If it’s any incentive, you can have more than one moderation day in a week. And who wants to be a cheater anyway? We’ve got faith in you, so come on, you know you’re better than that.
