As a personal trainer, fitness and nutrition coach, I have worked with hundreds of clients over the years. It seems almost every client I have worked with comes in with some form of misinformation or believes they "know" what they need to do to lose weight and keep it off. Unfortunately, many of these individuals believe that there is only one way to lose weight and that is by “eating less food and exercising more.” This statement is true to some degree; you do have to create a calorie deficit each day and week to lose weight on the scale. I would also agree that exercise is a very important factor in losing weight. However, just by eating less food and exercising more, you are not guaranteed to lose weight. Not to mention if you are losing weight there is no guarantee you will keep this weight off without following the correct plan.

So in this 3 part series I give you 10 reasons why most are not losing weight.

1.    Not Eating Enough

My clients always think I’m crazy after sitting down with them and then telling them they are not eating enough to lose weight. I can not blame them for being doubtful after our society has been telling them on a daily basis that to lose weight you must eat less, not more. However, what most fail to realize is that eating less food can actually slow down your metabolism and put your body into starvation mode. Metabolism, in simple terms, is the speed at which your body burns through food. So eating more can increase it, and eating less will almost always slow it down. Think of your metabolism as a campfire; the more you feed it the more it will burn, and the less you feed it the more it can slow and die out. So eating more than your BMR, (basal metabolic rate) which is the amount of calories your body needs to function is key to losing weight and keeping off.

2.    Eating The Wrong Foods

When trying to lose weight, most of us focus on trying to create a calorie deficit each day and not on looking at what foods you are eating. This is a mistake in my opinion. The foods you choose are just as important as the amount of calories you eat. Not all calories are created equal. If I had a plate of donuts that equaled 1000 calories and a plate of chicken, rice and vegetables that equaled 1000 calories you think the body would recognize them the same? These meals, when compared outside the body, are the same amount of calories but as soon as they are eaten they will be digested differently. The donuts are loaded with saturated fats and simple sugars and your body will spend little or no time digesting them and they will have a very good chance of being stored as fat. Now compare this to the chicken, rice and vegetables, which are more natural and thermic (produces more heat during digestion).  Your body will recognize the natural chicken meal as fuel and use it for energy and not for storage.

The foods you choose will be more important long term than just the amount of calories you eat.  Instead of simply eating less, choose low fat meats and dairy, high fiber non processed grains, and plenty of fruits and vegetables; these will aid you in losing weight and keeping it off.

Part 2.