You put on some weight during lockdown and now you’re struggling to get back to your old self. It happened to all of us, so you aren’t alone. You’re scouring the internet for weight loss products and methods and getting bombarded with ads and conflicting information. What is correct and what isn’t? The truth about weight loss is that there’s no magic to it. It’s simple yet incredibly difficult to do.
We know that part of feeling good is maintaining a healthy body. Most of us also want to look good – and that’s all good! Weight loss has lots of benefits for our mental and physical well-being.
Before we unveil the big secret to losing weight and maintaining it, let’s discuss the problem.
Easy Solutions
There is no such thing as an easy solution to losing weight (maybe surgery, but that doesn’t seem “easy” to me.) There are tons of pills and supplements being marketed that claim to help you lose weight. But that is all they do – help – maybe. These products can’t take the weight off for you. You still need to do the work yourself.
As I explained in a previous post, I lost over 90 lbs. in 10 months. This journey informed me. Over my fat years, I tried some of these weight loss pills and supplements. They didn’t do anything.
Exercise
The benefits of exercise should not be understated. No doubt exercise helps to lose weight and reshape your body. But how much exercise? What kind of exercise? Even this information is not clear and leads to confusion. I get bombarded with ads for exercise videos where people are telling me to stop doing cardio if I want to lose belly fat – and others saying running is the key. It annoys me to see this misinformation being thrown around.
The fundamental of using exercise to lose weight comes down to having a plan. What are you going to do and what day are you going to do it? You need a calendar to plan what your exercise is going to be and stick to it. I have seen too many people go to the gym without a plan and not accomplish much.
Create a Plan
When I was at my fattest point, I couldn’t run or ride my bike. It was impossible. I started doing what I could do, walk. That became my plan. I laid it out on a calendar so I could get to a point of walking 6 miles a day including my dog walks. I started out at 3 miles a day and added ½ mile per week. The calendar kept me on top of it. It was scheduled into my day, so I had time for it. Rain or shine, I had to hit the goal. It took me 6 months of walking before I could try to run or cycle. From there, I built a plan around that and moved from walking to running and cycling. Again, starting out small and moving up.
Born to Gain – Not to Lose
Focusing on exercise alone might do more harm than good. I can burn between 90 and 115 calories per mile walking. So, a 6 mile walk will take me over an hour and burn around 600 calories. A Napa Chicken Salad sandwich at Panera bread is about 620 calories and will take me 10 minutes to eat.
When people begin to exercise, they feel like they can reward themselves with food. And many times, they are eating more calories than they just burned. I know because I have done it many times.
You cannot exercise your way out of a bad diet. Our bodies are very efficient at holding on to extra weight. It’s one of our superpowers.
The Secret
So here is the secret to the whole problem that the industry does not want you to know. Because if you know it, you will stop buying their pills and false hope in a jar.
Mathematics.
That’s right. Simple addition and subtraction.
Here is the equation.
If I burn 2,000 calories per day, and replace it with 1,500 calories through food intake then it will take me 5 days to lose 1 lb. Because to lose a lb. you must burn a total of 3,500 calories.
The only way to lose weight is to have a caloric deficit every day. That is the key to success.
Of course, you need a tool to help you calculate your calorie burn such as an Apple watch, Fitbit, or any number of devices.
The next step to understanding this is that not all calories are created equal. Many people track their macros along with their calories. There are a lot of formulas and thoughts out there that can help you reach your goals and support what comes natural to you.
Increase the amount of nutrition packed into each calorie to keep yourself energized, focused, and satiated. That’s where we come in. We create products that provide sustenance and pleasure. Replace your empty calories with sources that provide vitamins, minerals, and plant-based proteins.
An appropriate and functional diet can help you reach your goals. Understanding the simple math behind your weight loss will clear some of the confusion so you can get on the path to looking and feeling good.
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