Lately I’ve been drawn to the live action sci-fi and fantasy classic shows like Grimm or Supernatural. After bingeing more episodes of both does than i’d care to admit, I began to think about how sometimes, we view health and fitness as riddled with hidden monsters and mysteries. The thought is that these metaphorical monsters can only be bested by the chosen few who know how to handle them. Social media often fuels this, making us believe we need secret foods or special diets. This creates analysis paralysis. Overthinking and lacking clarity on what truly works.
Every few years, the fitness and health industries cycle through scape goats: fats, sugar, protein, or some supplement. Blaming them for weight gain or some other health issue. But the reality is much simpler. I promise mysterious secret or sinister food villain is lurking in the shadows or preventing you from seeing results. Excessive weight gain boils down to one core factor: overconsumption of food. Snacks and foods that are deemed junk or processed are EXTREMELY calorically dense and provide little to no satiety. Without signals to tell you that you’re full, its a high likelihood that you’ll over eat.
What happens when we eat more calories than we burn? We store them as fat. The process of your body burning calories is referred to as your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and includes these components: Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT), Non-Exercise Physical Activity (NEPA), and Exercise/Activity (EA) itself. These are the ways your body uses energy. What’s important to take note of here, only two of these components that you can influence with your choices are how much you eat and how much you move.
If you’ve read this far then I hope its clear that weight loss isn’t complicated, an instead is about straightforward math. If you want to lose weight you need to eat less and move more. To be specific, you need to eat less than your body needs to burn fat and lose weight. A balanced workout routine combined with eating in a caloric deficit is the most reliable way to shed pounds. If you’re lifting weights and eating enough protein, you’ll preserve your muscle even as you lose fat.
The truth is simple: focus on calories in versus calories out. Keep it balanced, eat your fruits and veggies in order to be a healthy adult, and dial in your macros to enhance your results. Lastly, ignore the fear mongering that social media will try to bring to your attention. Unfortunately, there is no monster underneath your bed preventing you from losing weight. Overconsumption of food and a lack of a calorie deficit are the real culprits.
