“Trying” Is Not Enough

If you’re following a solid diet “most of the time” and not achieving your fat-loss goals, maybe it’s time to redefine what a solid diet is.

Are you eating 5-6 small meals a day?

Have you or a nutrition expert figured out your daily calorie needs so that you are eating fewer calories each day than your body requires?

Are you eating lean protein with each meal?

Are you minimizing starches, especially as the day wears on?

Are you taking in some healthy fats (nuts, nut butters, egg yolks, olive oil, fish oil, etc) each day?

Are you staying well hydrated?

If you’re doing all these things and still not losing, let’s focus in on that “most of the time” issue and see how that might be sabotaging your efforts.

A lot of people will follow their diet plan for three or four days and then give in to a binge, thinking that they’ve “earned” it. In fact, being on-point for several days with a well-designed diet brings you right to the brink of significant fat loss. If you then “blow” the diet by eating too much, you push yourself back to the starting line.

Why? Because 3-4 days of calorie restriction allows your body to use up your body’s carbohydrate stores. These are found in the muscle and liver, and it is after these stores are used that the body must turn to alternative sources for fuel — stored bodyfat. If you now continue the process — eating fewer calories than you need day after day and week after week — your body MUST burn its stored fat for energy. This — day-to-day consistency in following a well-designed diet plan — is the key to the fat loss you seek.