Eating to Lose Weight Pt. II

*I am not a trained nutritionist, dietitian, or physician of any sorts. Before you make a lifestyle change, you may want to speak with your doctor.*

Now that we’ve covered some diet myths, I’d like to talk about guidelines for eating well to lose weight.

If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight!

It’s pretty straightforward. As long as you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. In order to determine how much to eat, you’ll want to use a basal metabolic rate (BMR) calculator, such as this one here. Put in your height, weight, age and gender, and then press “Calculate BMR”. This number is the amount of calories your body needs to function if you were to spend the entire day laying in bed, doing nothing. From there you will click the link that says “Daily Calorie Needs,” which will determine your caloric needs based on activity level. Choose the level that corresponds with the amount of activity you get, and multiply your BMR by the number that follows it.

This number is a general estimate of how many calories your body needs to maintain its current weight given your level of activity. Now, in order to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your given number. A pound of fat is the equivalent of 3,500 calories. If you reduce your daily caloric intake by 500 calories, you should lose a pound of fat each week. A reduction of 1,000 calories would merit a two pound fat loss per week. You can also choose any number in between, but it is often advised that you never consume less than 1,200 calories per day.

Counting calories may not be for everyone, but it helps quantify the food you are eating. If anything, spend a couple weeks accurately tracking all the food and drink you consume. It will give you a good idea of how many calories you typically consume. Using calorie tracking apps such as MyFitnessPal, you will see not just the calories you consume, but the protein, carbohydrates, fats, sodium, and sugar as well.

Eat enough protein and fats

Protein and fat will help you feel full faster, and for a longer amount of time. You know how you can eat pasta for about an hour before you feel full, but after eating about 6 ounces of steak, you’re eating slower? That’s because proteins and fats are more satiating than carbohydrates. Not only that, but protein is essential in building muscle, and good fats will help with overall health. Personally, I have nowhere near enough energy on days where I’m lacking in protein or fat.

Minimize how much processed food you eat

Oof. That’s scary.

I’m not going to try to push a “whole food only” diet on you, because you can ultimately meet your calorie goals eating anything that fits into your allotment. But in general, unprocessed and minimally processed foods tend to be best for you in the long-term – they are more nutrient dense, and have little to no preservatives. Foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, meats, fish, and oils. This means eating less pasta, rice, bread, crackers, cookies, snack foods, chips, noodles, soda and candy.

I’m not trying to say that you should cut out all processed foods from your diet, or never treat yourself. If you’re counting calories, you’ve got x number of calories per day, and you can accommodate those into your day. If you’re not counting calories, like I said, just try to minimize these foods. Have them be an occasional treat, rather than a daily occurence.

You can also change the types of processed food you eat. White bread and plain pasta do little for you, but if you get multi grain bread or whole wheat pasta, you’re able to get more nutrients such as fiber and minerals in there. Try rye crackers, brown rice, and other options.

80/20

I think this is a good way to eat well, but give yourself room to indulge. You eat clean for about 80% of the time, and have more leeway 20% of the time, allowing yourself foods that are not quite so good for you, but just can’t give up. The ratio doesn’t have to be 80/20 – you can change it in either direction – but it gives you a good guideline for eating good foods and giving yourself some wiggle room for less healthy foods.

Cook more meals at home

This kind of ties into the whole processed foods thing. When you make your own food, you know exactly what’s going into it, and how much is in there. You don’t have to do this for every single meal, but increasing the number of homemade meals you eat will help you immensely. I’ve heard the “I don’t have enough time” excuse and the “It costs too much,” which to be honest I don’t understand since eating out can be so expensive. Anyways, there will be future posts that address both quick healthy meal solutions and eating well on a budget.

Eat tons of vegetables

Don’t they look delicious?

It doesn’t have to be a crazy amount, but you should be getting 5-8 or so servings of vegetables each day, which is more veggies than most people eat. They give you tons of nutrients, and most of them are low in calories. Try to eat a wide variety too, and experiment with vegetables you haven’t tried yet. Maybe my life is too dull, but it’s pretty exciting for me when I become obsessed with a new vegetable or start liking one I’d previously hated.

Your approach

Some people are able to make a huge diet and lifestyle overhaul immediately and stick with it. If that is you, then great! Start by determining how many calories you need each day (use the instructions above), and subtract around 500-1000 depending on how quickly you want to lose weight. And start! It can take some getting used to,

However, some people are going to need a slower, longer transition. If you think you need to take this change slowly, try either of these approaches:

• Eat as you normally would, and track the calories for the foods you eat for a week or two. It will help you get an understanding of how much food you are eating compared to how much you actually need, and you can get the hang of tracking calories before you need to make a change. After the initial week or two, begin eating for weight loss.
• If you’re not counting calories, or even if you are and just want to improve your eating habits, try a slow elimination of unhealthy foods. For two weeks, don’t drink any soda, juice, or other sweetened drinks. Stick to tea, coffee, and water. If you go out for drinks, get a vodka soda with a lime wedge, or red wine. The following two weeks, cut out candy and cookies in addition to the sugary drinks. After that, cut out chips and crackers. You see where I’m going with this? If you’re going to need to go slowly, take it a week or two at a time, working on cutting out one or two things. I’ve seen tons of people saying that after a few weeks of not eating sweets or snack foods, they don’t crave them anymore. The same goes for me – if I’m at home and feel like eating dessert, I want an apple or a tangerine, not cookies or candy.

Ultimately, everyone is different. I highly suggest counting calories for a few weeks to get a visual understanding of how much food you’re eating, but from there you can go in many directions. Some people have great success continuing to count calories, others have a fantastic time eating less than 20 grams net carbs on the ketogenic diet, others love eating primarily whole foods with the paleo diet. It’s okay if there’s a trial and error period finding the best fit for you – it’s a lifestyle change, you should take the time to find what is the most effective for you and you enjoy the most!