Weight Loss Tips For When The Scales Aren't Budging

Losing weight is hard, it takes consistent time and effort to achieve the results you desire. Even if you think you’re doing all the right things like eating enough lean protein, avoiding refined sugars and eating healthy fats you may still find the scales aren’t moving. Weight loss comes down to the straightforward golden rule of calories in V calories out. It asserts that for an individual to lose weight, specifically body fat the amount of calories consumed has to be lower than the calories required to function and go about your daily activities. This is referred to as ‘maintenance’ calories and includes:

1. Basal metabolic rate - the amount of calories needed to keep your body functioning at rest.
2. NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) - the amount of calories needed to go about daily activities e.g. walking, climbing up stairs, working.
3. Activity Level - any exercise performed in a typical day
4. Thermic effect of food - the calories (energy) required to break down, digest and absorb food.

If the individual is anything but under the required maintenance calories, that person will not lose weight. Regardless of whether the individual is eating a healthy diet rich in lean proteins, complex carbs and healthy fats. This is a common issue in the fitness industry nowadays, especially with the rapid emergence of healthy eating spots serving up matcha lattes, avocado on toast and nut butter. These foods although healthy can still lead to weight gain if over consumed.

The Importance of Weighing Food Correctly

As you can see even a ‘handful’ of nuts can show large variances in calories, and a ‘teaspoon’, when loaded up to the brim, can have as much as three times the calories. Do this enough times throughout the day, and you could easily be 300-500kcal over what you initially thought you would be. That could be the difference in staying under or going over your required calories and therefore the difference between seeing and not seeing results. Even I’m super guilty of loading up my scoops of protein or ‘teaspoons’ of nut butter right up and assuming that I’ve consumed fewer calories than what I have. My advice is just to be more aware, understand what foods you can and can’t get away with it. Now I'm not saying you should weigh everything to the gram to understand how many calories you're consuming, just be mindful of what constitutes to a "handful" and a “teaspoon” when trying to estimate food portions. A tip I give to my clients is to weigh your foods for just one week; you’ll be surprised at how many calories are in your estimated portion sizes. You can quickly identify where you’re going wrong. If you need further help working out your precise maintenance calories, send me a message over on my website. I would love to help you out. Written by Alex Mateus www.mateusfitness.com

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