Dieting can be confusing.
I often hear people say things like, "That whole fitness life just isn't for me. I could never do that." I understand that dieting and fat loss can seem overwhelming. There's so much misinformation about dieting. There's more diets out there than there are minutes in a day. With all of this information (and misinformation), I get that it's easy to overthink things to the point that we don't do anything but dieting in its most basic form is very simple. What happens if you consume less Calories than you burn? Worded differently, what happens if you burn more Calories than you consume? I'm confident that 99% of you knew the answer to that question +/- 1%.
Start Simple.
We just established that in reality, everyone knows how to lose weight, so why is it so difficult to actually do it? Most people tend to think in black and white when it comes to health. Things are either good or they are bad. There's no middle ground, so when we start thinking about losing weight, we start thinking in extremes. People will start to think "If I go on a diet, I'll have to weigh my food every day. I don't know how to weigh my food. I'm going to have to start doing cardio for hours every day." People become overwhelmed very quickly when thinking this way. Don't overcomplicate it! Start small! Here are some quick tips:
- Cut out the soft drinks. The average American consumes approximately 3 soft drinks per day. At 40 carbs a pop (no pun intended), that's just under 500 Calories just in Soft drinks. Keep in mind, that's an average. Many drink more than that! Switch to diet sodas or flavored water. Some are hesitant do do this because "diet drinks cause cancer"; however, the health risks associated with diet drinks are greatly overstated. The health risks associated with being chronically overweight should be of much more concern.
- Don't buy foods that are easy to overeat on. Don't buy large bags of potato chips, candy, etc. Not only are these foods very easy to overeat on, they are also very Calorically dense and devoid of micronutrients. If you are going to consume these foods, only purchase individually packaged servings. This will ensure you do not eat a whole bag in one sitting.
- Add fibrous foods to your diet. Fibrous fruits and veggies such as, berries, broccoli, carrots, etc., tend to be high in micronutrients. Fibrous foods also provide the double benefit of being very satiating as well as (often being) low Calorie.
- Up your protein intake. Upping your protein also has a double benefit. Protein is also satiating and will help you to retain muscle mass while dieting.
It is important to note that I am not saying that "junk food" is bad in and of itself. I'm simply saying that these foods are excess Calories that can easily be removed or replaced without too much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Dieting should be easy. If you are losing weight and it seems too easy, that's a good thing! It should be easy, at least at first. As you become leaner and fat loss stalls (and it will eventually), we do have to become more meticulous. There will likely need to be food weighing and cardio sessions but we don't want to start at square 10 if we've never even made it past square 1 before.
Mental momentum is a very real thing. Think about your job. You didn't start where you are now. If someone were to tell you on day 1 what you would have to be doing now, you'd likely panic because you'd probably have had no clue how to do it. But you started at the bottom and worked your way up. Now you're confident at your job because you learned how to solve more difficult problems over time. Keep it simple. Don't add complexity when you don't have to.
Spots are filling up but there are still some available if you'd like an online trainer to walk you through the process step-by-step and help you get to you goals without becoming overwhelmed. If you're interested, you can contact me through ryan@treadawaytraining.com, the Hire Treadaway Tab, or through the Treadaway Training Facebook page! As always, thanks for reading. God bless you AND your family and I'll see you next time!
