There is so much more that goes into creating a clean eating meal plan for fat loss than a calorie deficit.
There seems to be an ongoing internet battle these days.. some people are in the camp is fat loss happens through a caloric deficit. And they are correct. Scientifically speaking, if you eat less than you burn, you should lose fat.
Then there is a camp that believes there is more to it because once we look at digestion, hormones, type of activities, type of foods, etc fat loss isn’t as easy as calories in vs calories out. These people are also correct.
I have utilized both strategies with clients and had them work. I am currently working with one gal who lost about 20 pounds from last October to March, and now we are working on body recomp which is a fancy way of saying, helping her keep losing fat but also focusing on building muscle. We did that through a light calorie reduction and addition of a workout routine.
I am working with another gal who has Hashimoto’s so her thyroid is compromised and despite doing daily workouts, following her clean eating meal plan to a T, her weight will not budge until she and her doctor get her on the right protocol for medication.
But if you are working toward fat loss from a calorie deficit perspective or from a “there’s more to it” perspective, there’s one unifying theme: the first step for long term success is creating a healthy relationship with food and your body.
If you join a weight loss challenge through a clinic or your gym.. if you start fasting.. if you do keto with your friend.. they might all help you, but what happens when you don’t lose a pound one week? What happens if you don’t hit your macros for a few days straight because life gets hard? What happens if you go on vacation and don’t remain in ketosis?
Do you call yourself a failure, determine it to be too challenging or feel it’s a waste?
Or do you start to look at food as black and white like something is BAD BAD BAD and create a worsened relationship with food, then when you eat it, you become bad and fill your mind with regret and self hate?
This is something I try to help each one of my clients with when we work together in #Commit2Fit
To be honest, I don’t have new clients start off calorie counting, macro counting or following a particular “this food at this time” plan. We start off where the individual client is. We first establish a balanced diet and healthy relationship with food.
What does that look like?
We begin with big rocks. If someone starts their day with sugary oatmeal, a syrupy coffee, rarely eats a vegetable and binges in the evenings, we look at what she can eat at breakfast that isn’t sugary oatmeal and a syrupy drink. Maybe that is a piece of fruit and a protein shake with some oat milk in her coffee. We look at why she’s binging when she comes home and we mitigate that. Could it be because she’s eaten nothing but sugar all day and crashes? Could it be because she doesn’t get enough sleep? Could it be as simple as having a small snack before coming home from work so she can make a healthy decision?
From there, once we have someone eating enough to fuel their bodies properly, consuming plenty of protein and veggies from whole food sources and not starving all day then binging at night, for example, then we can talk about a more typical diet protocol.
Actually I have a gal now that was having wine just about every night. Before we started tracking her food to figure out what to cut and what to add more of for improved fat loss, we had to look at why she was drinking each night and decreasing that. Big rocks first.
So not only are we looking at current habits and changing those, I also provide the education of why we should make these changes so every client has a better understanding and likely improved motivation to do so.
So if you are ready for a coach that actually listens, someone who will create a plan that is truly for you and where you are at in your life NOW, join #Commit2Fit.
Let me help you achieve your dream body, and feel and look your best with a personalized plan just for you.
Learn more and join at commit2fitcoaching.com
Your Coach,
Kyra