YOU AREN’T SEEING THE SCALE BUDGE!
Ladies,
If you’re still struggling with the extra weight and can’t seem to shake it off despite your efforts, read on…
As I have been saying a lot lately, there is only one way to gain weight – by eating! So naturally, to shed the unwanted fat, you have to reduce your calorie intake! It’s simple, but not so easily done, unfortunately.
If you’ve been trying to follow your meal plan or on a good eating regimen and are still frustrated, here’s what it likely happening:
1. You’ve filled your diet with only healthy foods… but you’re not counting calories.
Trading junk food for healthy food is a fantastic start, but you know the old saying… “too much of a good thing?”, well that applies in this case. Calorie counting matters because every calorie counts. Every calorie you ingest counts as energy. A breakfast of granola with organic milk, a banana, and cage-free eggs is certainly healthy, but you’re looking at around 750 calories… Pretty steep for breakfast if you’re aiming for weight loss. Eating too much – even if it’s healthy, will still contribute to weight gain or at least weight maintenance if you’re not creating a calorie deficit. (That goes for fruit too!)
2. You’re burning calories with exercise… but still consuming more calories than you’re burning.
Again, if you’re not counting calories, you won’t know how much energy you need to spend! Plus, it is much harder to exercise your way out of a “bad” diet. You may be eating 600-900 extra calories per day and only burning 300 in a workout. So how do you figure out the number of calories you’re truly burning? A good place to start is a BMR (basal metabolic rate) calculator to estimate your general everyday calorie burn and calorie intake. Personal tracking websites like MyFitnessPal and LoseIt are good for tracking your calorie intake as compared to your calorie burn each day.
3. You make smart choices at restaurants… but you’re eating out too often.
Unless you are cooking the food yourself, you don’t really know exactly what you’re eating! Dining out occasionally is fine, but if you find that the number on the scale won’t budge, you might to try cutting back on your restaurant visits.
4. You’ve got no-calorie and low-calorie staples…. that are too good to be true.
According to the FDA, if a product has less than 5 calories per serving, the label can claim it has 0 calories. Factor in multiple servings of multiple products (nonstick spray, sweetener packets, spray butter, etc.), and the stats can add up. Additionally, the numbers on nutritional panels are allowed to be inaccurate by up to 20 percent. And while supporting small business is great, the stats on products from bigger food brands are often more accurate. If the nutritional stats seem too good to be true, they probably are.
5. You count the calories in what you’re eating… but forget about the ones you drink.
You may stay away from regular soda and crazy blended coffee drinks, but there are other, more subtle sources of sippable calories. A wholesome cup of OJ at breakfast has around 110 calories, and 2 tablespoons of cream add 40-60 calories to each cup of coffee you drink. Even those healthy “green juices” often have a significant number of calories (and more sugar than you’d think). Instead of juice, stick with whole fruit… It’s more filling. (Plus, chewing is more satisfying than sipping when you’re hungry!) And your main drink of choice should always be WATER!!!
