Why Losing weight is MUCH easier than you think

Many people envision weight loss (or should I say “fat loss” more specifically) as some super complicated endeavor. They imagine not being able to eat their favorite foods, missing out on social gatherings with friends, and overall just having a bad time.

Well it’s really not that complicated! Whether you need to lose 5 pounds or 50 pounds, it’s all possible. And fortunately, you can still enjoy your life in the process, rather than having it take control over your life.

Why Do People Think It’s So Difficult?

The primary reason as to why people think it’s so difficult to lose fat is because of the fact that people choose to make it that way.

But how could this be? That doesn’t seem to make any sense. And you’d be right. It really doesn’t make any sense. People do this to themselves unintentionally.

Well how does that happen? Well, the rise in social media has a lot to do with it. But this has been going on long before social media exploded. People want to believe that there is some magic solution to fat loss.

Dieting Fads/Scams

Every single day, some new diet trend is going around. One day someone’s doing keto. Another day someone’s a vegan. There are so many diets out there. It’s completely understandable why it can feel so overwhelming to find the right diet.

Now, before we proceed, it must be emphasized that these particular diets that are out there are inherently “good” or “bad”. But what is being stated is that you have to be cognizant of the source that you’re getting your information from.

Some not so credible sources (won’t be mentioning any names) like to promise you a solution that only they can solve, and you have to buy their product in order for your problem to be solved. Sounds a little fishy, doesn’t it?

Let’s take perhaps the most popular method of fasting out there for fat loss; intermittent fasting. For those who don’t know, this is simply when you fast for a majority of the day (most choose around 16 hours) and you have the rest of the day to use as your “feeding window”.

Now, again, there is nothing wrong with intermittent fasting. In fact, this type of diet has been shown to improve particular metabolic markers such as glucose, insulin, and cholesterol.

However, those who promote intermittent fasting and sell their products/programs based off of it will attempt to get consumers to believe that it is the absolute best method to lose body fat. As if there is something magical that happens to the fat loss process when you change your meal frequency.

Well, it doesn’t. There is no evidence out there that illustrates any sort of enhanced rate of fat loss using intermittent fasting compared to a standard diet when calories and protein were matched between research groups.

Now, keep in mind, this does not take into account studies that did not match calories and protein in both of the research groups. Those that didn’t showed greater fat loss in the intermittent fasting groups simply because they were able to stick to the diet better than the people in the normal diet group could. People in the fasting group found that it controlled their hunger better, leading to them eating less calories throughout the day. And that leads me to my next point…

Adherence

In the exercise and nutrition science literature, the ability to stick to a diet is termed “adherence”. This aspect of fat loss is often considered the most important variable that determines success when on a diet.

Try thinking of the various diets that are out there simply as “tools” in your arsenal. They’re all variables that you have at your disposal to “play around” with in order to see what exactly gives you the most and best results possible.  

The fact of the matter is this; everybody is different. Nobody responds to a diet the same way as the next person does. One person may feel very hungry when following a ketogenic diet, and the next person may be completely satisfied and thus, less “food-focused” on their fat-loss journey.

So what’s the solution? Well, quite simply, you must try things out!

Now of course, you must do your due diligence research whatever diet you’d like to try. This way, you’re more likely to pick a diet that’s the best fit for you. But unfortunately, sometimes that’s not enough and you must try it out for yourself. While you may take first hand accounts from others you know who have tried the diet, don’t let it affect your choice until after you have tried it out for yourself.

What All Diets Have In Common

No matter which diet that you follow. There’s one thing that they all have in common; they all require you to be in a calorie deficit. 

A calorie deficit in when you’re eating below your maintenance calories, which is the amount of calories it takes you to maintain your current body weight. Without getting into the nitty gritty of it all, most diets require you to be in a calorie deficit of at least 500 calories, due to the fact that there are approximately 3500 calories in one pound of fat. Therefore, if you’re in a calorie deficit of 500 calories for 7 days, than you will lose approximately one pound of fat per week. Pretty simple, right?

It doesn’t matter if you’re intermittent fasting, doing a keto diet, or a die-hard vegan. The fact of the matter is that you will lose fat following any of those diets as long as you are in a calorie deficit.

Final Words

Fat loss is really much simpler than it seems. There is no magic diet that will allow you to lose weight. As long as it follows the simple principle of calories in vs. calories out, which states that if your output is greater than your input, than you will lose fat, and vice versa.