There are times on your weight loss journey when progress can come to a halt. Days or weeks can go by without you seeing movement on the scale, and it can get downright frustrating! As a Coach and having worked with hundreds of clients, I have noticed a few patterns that lead to the weight loss halt or roadblock.
Perhaps you are eating more than you think you are?
For the average person, how large is an actual serving? Most of us underestimate the volume of food we eat -and underestimate the number of calories we consume in a day. Even though a lot of us may not be calorie counters, give it a go!
Try to wrap your head around what a “serving size” or “portion” of food looks like, that way you can better estimate, evaluate and calculate the amount of food you eat at each meal. Keep in mind, when it comes to weight loss, you need to take in less calories than you burn each day.
TWO GOOD RULES OF THUMB:
A portion of meat (3 oz.) is the size of a deck of cards.
A portion of carbs (1 cup) is the size of a tennis ball.
1. Remember to try and fill up on non-starchy vegetables – they are full of nutrients, have very little impact on blood sugar, and contain little calories.
2. Not eating frequently enough! (YES! Not enough especially if your active!)
It is a social custom to eat “three square meals” a day. While this may do for social purposes, for weight loss, you will want to aim for eating more frequently – as I usually suggest- 5 small meals each day. By doing so, your body gets the signal that food is abundant, and there is no need to conserve energy!
Additionally, eating frequently maximizes your metabolism, as your body is constantly busy, burning calories by digesting your meals. By not letting too much time pass between meals, you stabilize blood sugar levels since they never really get the chance to drop. By keeping your blood sugar stable, your hunger levels are minimized, decreasing the chances that you will be tempted to overeat at your next meal.
3. Choosing to drink your calories instead of eating them- EEK!
This is a very common problem among those attempting weight loss, due to the abundance of “healthy” diet smoothies, protein concoctions, and weight loss shakes. There are 2 factors to keep in mind when relying on these liquid meal replacements.
First, many of the liquid diet shakes on the market and all fruit smoothies have an abundance of sugar in them. This causes an immediate surge in energy followed by a huge crash due to the release of insulin to control the blood sugar rise. This dramatic shift in blood hormone levels (particularly insulin levels) is something you want to avoid, both for health reasons and for weight loss.
Secondly, most weight loss shakes don’t contain fiber. Fiber is one of your most precious allies when you are dieting. It helps you feel full and blunts the rise in insulin levels when all that sugar hits your bloodstream. While fruit smoothies do contain some of the fiber from the pulp of the fruit, a better strategy would be to eat the actual fruits contained in the smoothie. In addition, the number of calories that can be concentrated into a shake or smoothie is far greater than the equivalent volume of actual food. A 16 oz fruit smoothie may contain as many as 600 calories and will not fill you up all that much! On the other hand, eating 600 calories of fruit will prove to be much more than the typical person can manage in a single sitting (at least, I personally don’t know anyone that can eat more than 2 pounds of bananas at a single sitting-ha-ha).
Think about it- when making major dietary changes, you want to get the most out of your calories. Wouldn’t you rather fill up, rather than drink something and be hungry again soon after?
We all know there are many options out there in the marketplace and it can be a bit overwhelming but you need to choose what is going to work for you and your body type especially if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies. As we move into the last couple months of the year, take a hard look at your goals and consider working with me, as your Coach! Let’s set you up for success!
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