“I Don’t Eat a Lot, But I Still Gain Weight”

It’s one of the most common statements I hear as to why people struggle to lose body fat and therefore weight, but is it true?

Quite often the person concerned is trying to eat a really healthy and balanced diet, following guides in magazines or celebrity diets.

Despite this, the weight on the scales are not moving and their clothes are not getting any looser.

Quite understandably, they are annoyed and frustrated.

Many people eat healthier in order to lose weight.

They swap their snacks for nuts, add nutritious avocados to their salads, add coconut oil to their cooking.

If you’re following some commercial diets you may even be adding unlimited pasta and potatoes as they are free foods.

But no food is really free.

And healthy foods can be very calorie dense.

Ironically a handful of haribos can contain less calories than a handful of nuts, so while the nuts may provide better nutrition, they aren’t helping your restriction of calories, which is essential for fat loss.

Although you may have the best intentions, your new actions can be an impedance to your overall goal which is to lose body fat.

Of course I’m not saying that you should eat haribos instead of nuts but you should always be mindful of the calories in the foods you eat

Foods that are ‘healthy’ are immediately given a sense of being ‘good’ for you.  In fact they are good for your health as they contain vitamins, micronutrients, fibre and good fats (sometimes).

But gaining weight is not good for your health in most circumstances.  Carrying more weight, especially from body fat has been shown to be a good indicator for development of diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cardio Vascular Disease and other issues.

It’s very possible that the healthy foods could lead to gaining weight and so actually go against your general health.

Ironically it has been shown numerous times that diets which consist of ice cream, twinkies, McDonalds and other ‘junk food’ can actually improve health markers – IF they are in a calorie controlled diet that promotes body fat loss.

Moderation is key, and eating 10-30% under your maintenance calories, depending on how aggressive you want to be with your diet.

If you would like me to send you your own weight loss calories, drop me a DM, i am happy to help.