Struggling to lose weight? No, it’s not about the…
A large portion of the people who start with us want to lose weight. At BOOST, we don’t use prescribed diet plans to lose weight but rather develop a joint plan in our coaching sessions. Because we do this together, your input as a client is crucial; after all, you know your situation best. One of the first questions we ask is: “What do you think it’s caused by?” This helps us to get straight to the point.
Often, we find that people believe overweight is caused by a certain product, a specific substance, or food group. Which isn’t so surprising – it’s what we read in magazines and online. In the past, it was blamed on fat, then it was carbohydrates. To lose weight, you should especially not eat after 6 pm, and nowadays, you’re supposed to practice intermittent fasting between 8 pm and 12 pm. But wasn’t breakfast the most important meal of the day, to kick-start your metabolism?
In a new series of 4 blogs, we’ll scrutinize some of the above ideas. But first, let’s explain what overweight is really caused by.
Calories in, calories out Your weight, and the change thereof, is determined by your energy intake and expenditure. We measure energy in kilocalories (kcal); it’s the fuel for all your daily physical activities (PAL) and necessary for primary life processes like your heart beating, breathing in and out, and the growth of your hair, bones, and skin (BMR). Additionally, you also expend some energy digesting food (TEF). Together, these form your energy expenditure. Your energy intake is the amount of kcal you consume in the form of food and fluids. The ratio between these two is called the energy balance.
If we compare the energy balance to a bank account, you could say your energy intake is your income and your energy expenditure your expenses. If you have more income than expenses, you save that money. If you want to empty that savings account, you’ll need to ensure more expenses than income. The way your body stores fat works the same way – although most people are less pleased with that than with the metaphor. To lose weight, you’ll need to move more (expend) and/or eat/drink fewer kcal.
That simple? Yes, that simple. But simple is definitely not the same as easy. One of the reasons it’s so difficult to control your intake is that eating is largely an unconscious process. Plus, most people are particularly bad at estimating how much (kcal) they eat. In this study, people reported their kcal intake as 47% too low. Additionally, they overestimated their physical activity by 51%! Even health professionals seem to be not very good at estimating their intake.
Because we’re not good at this, you may feel like you’re eating very little and still not losing weight. Very frustrating. It often leads people to doubt the energy balance. And that’s exactly what gives the diet industry the opportunity to offer all sorts of alternative causes with (well-selling) alternative solutions. “It’s the carbohydrates, so buy now, carbohydrate-free bread!” “You can’t eat around this time, buy my book on intermittent fasting!” Not at all surprising if you can’t see the forest for the trees. It’s not that these methods can’t work for fat loss. They can. However, the cause of the result is not the specific method but the underlying principle… You guessed it: the energy balance. If you cut out your carbohydrates, you’re basically cutting out a whole food group and thus eating less. If you fast, you skip meals and therefore eat less. At BOOST, we don’t adhere to one specific method. We’ll work with you to find a way to create an energy deficit that fits your lifestyle.
