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It’s a pretty common complaint: You’re doing everything “right”.
You’re eating a healthy diet, you exercise regularly, but the weight just doesn’t seem to be coming off.
Plus, you still don’t have a lot of energy and your doctor still wants to put you on a statin.
So can you eat “healthy” and not lose, or even gain weight?
Let me first say that weight on its own isn’t a great measurement for metabolic health, but it is the one we are most familiar with.
I tend to not make weight loss a primary goal for my clients, as it is a happy thing that happens when you get your blood sugar and metabolism in balance.
But, to keep things simple:
Let’s talk about calories first.
Yes, you do need to be in a slight calorie deficit in order to burn fat.
This can be accomplished in a couple of ways, either by tracking your calories, or by intermittent fasting.
It is also much easier to moderate how much you eat when you eat mostly whole, nutrient dense foods like meat, fish, eggs, dairy, roots and veggies.
A diet of mostly refined grains and ultra processed foodstuff tends to be very high calorie and very easy to overeat.
But - here’s the question:
Can you still gain weight while eating whole, nutrient-dense foods?
First off, whole nutrient-dense foods give you so much more than just calories. We get necessary protein and fats, plus minerals and vitamins necessary for making enzymes and hormones and everything else.
They also tend to be much more satiating (you get full faster) than highly processed foods.
That said, many whole foods, especially meat and dairy, can be pretty high in calories.
2 large eggs are 160 calories, and a ¼ lb beef patty (90/10) is about 172 calories. 1 Tbsp of butter is 100 calories.
So it’s not out of the question to say that if you are trying to reduce the number of calories you are eating, it’s possible to go too high if you aren’t keeping track, even eating whole foods.
Especially if you tend to eat quickly or are used to eating more food.
The really good news is that if you are moving from a more Standard American Diet to a diet of whole, nutrient-dense foods, you are most likely going to be eating fewer calories, just based on whole foods being more satiating.
Plus, you’ll be giving your body all that amazing nutrition it needs to keep you thriving, and dealing with fewer cravings for carbs.
While I’m not a huge fan of tracking calories long term, it can be a pretty useful tool if you are just getting started or have maybe stalled out on your weight loss progress.
What do you consider “healthy” food?
Not everything we think of as “healthy” is really serving your health.
I’m going to pick on grains here for a minute, because it’s a classic example.
We’ve been told for decades to eat lots of whole grains. They’re supposed to be healthy for your heart and low calorie.
So we dutifully ate whole wheat bread and cereals and oatmeal and pastas, and even ancient grains like quinoa and farrow.
How we eat grains and how much of them we eat tend to make them big sugar bombs (think a bowl of oatmeal or a submarine sandwich) that spike your blood sugar.
But here’s the thing: Modern grains aren’t actually packed with much in the way of nutrients, and what they do have are very difficult for us to digest and absorb.
That’s not to say that grains are all bad and you should never eat them; they still have some fiber and some nutrients, just compared to foods like eggs or sweet potatoes or legumes, they aren’t very nutrient dense.
Another example is when we make a snack food out of a “healthier” ingredient, like chips made out of veggies or a nut flour.
We do this a LOT (think keto cookies).
At the end of the day, they are still chips, or cookies, or crackers, gluten free or keto or whatever.
If you eat a whole bag of Siete chips, it’s not like those calories don’t count just because they are grain-free.
So while swapping highly processed snack foods for the same snack foods with slightly less bad ingredients is a good step, it doesn’t mean they’re suddenly packed with protein and minerals.
What else are you eating?
Somehow folks tend to forget or not count the caramel macchiato in the morning or the snack they eat at the office or the diet coke they have at lunch as calories.
So when you’re trying to adjust how much you eat, you’re probably cutting calories across your three big meals, like swapping a burger for a salad, instead of the sugar bombs you are eating (or drinking) in between.
Those calories (and the sugar) can really add up, and will get in the way of your weight loss goals.
And oh, by the way, they are still throwing your blood sugar and insulin out of whack, so that’s why you’re still tired and getting brain fog and getting hangry before lunch.
Here’s a few tips for picking the right foods to help you get to your goals:
Track calories for a week to set a baseline, then reduce calories by about 10%.
Prioritize protein, then fiber, then fat.
Don’t drink your calories.
Read labels and note how much protein, carbs, sugar and fat a food has per serving.
Snack foods are still snack foods, even with “healthy” ingredients.
Eat slowly and chew each bite 20-30 times to help you get full faster.
Stop eating at least 2-3 hours before bed.
Your personalized 6-month coaching program will spend a lot of time on what nutrient-dense foods work best for you and your goals. We’ll also tackle ways to curb cravings and improve your relationship with food.
Best of all, you get to stop stressing about your diet and just enjoy your life. You get your energy and focus back, you get time back with your family.
Ready? Let’s go!
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