So last week, I talked about metabolic adaptations and how when you are in a deficit for a long period of time, that deficit becomes maintenance because your metabolism has slowed (adapted) to those calories. This is typically the point where people become very frustrated because they are ‘doing all the right things’ but can’t seem to continue losing weight. Click here if you missed it!

While this is the case for some people, especially those who have been chronically dieting on low calories, it’s not the case for everyone. After last week, I received a ton of messages from people who thought they may have these metabolic adaptations to low calories, which seemingly explains their lack of progress. But when I do more digging, I find the real reason is simply lack of consistency. 

The most common situation is this: Monday through Thursday are great, %100 on plan with both nutrition & exercise. Then the weekend comes, you have a ‘cheat meal’, you’re a little more lax with your nutrition, you may have a couple drinks with friends, skip your workout etc. Unfortunately, weekends count too, your body doesn’t know the difference between a Tuesday & a Saturday. And even those small indulgences can add up, putting you out of your deficit calories and into your maintenance calories.

This is also why I’m not a fan of cheat meals. They don’t teach you how to honor your body’s satiety cues, they construct a black & white vision of food, they put certain foods on pedestals, they create this feeling that you can ONLY have a certain food on a ‘cheat day’. They’re just overall unhealthy and self sabotaging.

I’m personally in the school of thought that you can indulge any time you want, just be mindful of how much food your BODY actually needs (not your mind). Having this freedom that you can eat anything at any time makes these indulgent foods less special/exclusive and less sought after because there are no rules about when you can and can’t have them. 

Back to the point of this newsletter! If you think you have slowed metabolism, check your consistency first. Are you doing the same thing on weekends you are during the week? Or are you a bit more loose on the weekends? Are you having a giant cheat meal or cheat day? 

Now, I’m not saying that the only way to get results is to be super rigid, I’m just pointing out a common trend I see when people try to lose weight. Restrict, restrict, restrict then over indulge, rinse & repeat. No wonder you’re not getting anywhere!

There actually is a much better way to approach weight loss that I like to teach my clients. It’s flexible, it doesn’t demonize any foods, it’s non restrictive, it helps you become in tune with your body’s needs, it’s focused on making you feel good (which will in turn make you look good). Sounds too good to be true right? You can eat things you enjoy, not restrict anything and still get results? Yes but there are habits you must develop in order to be successful with it. 

The big one is simply listening to your body’s satiety cues. This is the hardest thing for people who have been perpetually dieting. All they know is restrict & overindulge, aka still hungry or too full. Staying satisfied is key for long term success and it’s such a simple yet SO overlooked strategy…which wont leave you running in circles.

Maybe it’s time to stop seeing food as the enemy or something you need to manipulate and start learning to use it as a means to feel better, look better and have more energy. I just opened a few more spots in my online nutrition coaching. Before you apply, you have to understand this isn’t a meal plan or me telling you what to eat. It’s me helping you unlearn everything you think about dieting and teach you how to fuel your body properly to feel better, stop giving so much power to food AND reach your goals. This isn’t something that happens overnight either. It’s a commitment and it’s something that you need to be ready to work on and be held accountable for.

HERE is the link to apply. If I think we’d be a good fit, we’ll hop on the phone and chat more about the coaching process.

If you simply have questions about nutrition, your current habits, how to change the way you see food etc. Always here to chat! Don’t hesitate to click that reply button and start a conversation : )

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