Calories and Fat Loss

How to Eat for Fat Loss
Help! I am only eating 1500 calories a day…I’m not losing weight!

When I get a request for help like this one, it is always best to break it down to see exactly what is going on…..for it is NEVER just one thing. You have to go through what I like to call a "Fat Loss Checklist" helping to pinpoint why you seem to have hit a wall.

1st determine if your calorie intake is appropriate by checking one of many online resources, such as http://www.fitday.com/. For this mom, her calories are right on track.

I then went through a check list of questions and quickly found out that this Mom was on average, only eating 2 meals a day, out of those 2 meals, one was not breakfast.

According to the Law of Thermodynamics (energy balance) if she is taking in less calories than she is burning….she will lose weight.

While this can initially occur with the intake of only 2 meals, weight loss will quickly come to a screeching halt.

Why? Well I do teach the importance of eating supportive meals every 3 to 4 hours for a reason. Sure this can be a challenging habit for many busy moms to adapt, but a necessary one for when it comes to true and lasting fat loss....there are NO shortcuts!

Let’s see why.

By only eating 2 meals a day…..

At 1500 calories, each meal is about 750 calories a pop if divided evenly. This is a tremendous amount of calories to take in all at once. Not only will your energy levels be affected (in a negative way) but your metabolism just cannot burn through all of these at once and will have no choice but to store excess calories….increasing fat storage and encouraging a lack of energy to ever burn these calories off.

Skipping meals or waiting too long between meals only slows your metabolism down (and causes your body to shed lean muscle…this initially can be interpreted as successful weight loss on a scale….but NOT fat loss). So when you do eat a 700+ calorie meal….you do so with a lowered metabolism = fat storage.

Only eating 2 meals a day also means that you are missing out on any extra calories you would burn through the thermic effect of digesting food every 3 to 4 hours….so less calories burned = more calories stored as fat.

Only eating 2 meals a day means your body goes through a periods of hunger and cravings. Sure you may be able to fight this off...

~ staying too busy to think about food
~ taking appetite suppressants

but for how long? ANY TIME you deprive your body, you WILL make up for it. It is inevitable that you will binge and overeat….causing your body to take in excess calories and thus …..store more fat.

TWO MEALS a DAY will only cause you to GAIN FAT in the end.

Bite the bullet, plan out your meals and eat SOMETHING every 3 to 4 hours. Give it a chance.

The most significant result is a tremendous increase in energy and a loss of excess fat!
Your choice.