Why counting calories may not be working

(Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes)

If you've ever tried to lose weight, you've probably counted calories. And if you're a woman, you've probably fixated yourself on consuming 1,200 calories per day.

(Weird fact: the majority of women I've spoken to about how many calories she thinks she should eat per day says 1,200 for no apparent reason). It seems like women have just "heard" over the years this is the goal number, but I digress....

Calories can guide us but they are not the magic way to lose weight.

So, here's my straight to the point list on why just calorie counting doesn't work and you need to look at nutrition more holistically:

1. You probably don't know your RMR (resting metabolic rate). This is what your body needs to function and stay alive. Without this baseline, everything is just guessing.

2. Food labels aren’t always a 100% accurate

3. Your gym equipment or watch can be off when telling you how many calories you burned

4. We all process and absorb food differently.  Some foods we actually absorb more calories from.

5. 3,500 calories isn't 1 pound of fat. Not all calories are equal. This thought process sets you up for failure.

As you can imagine, it can feel like you're doing "everything right" and still not losing the weight. How discouraging this can be! This frustration is what often makes us think our metabolisms are broken, or we decide to resort to some crash diet, a million supplements, or even HCG injections.

Here's what you need to know:

1. The more you crash diet or lose and gain weight, the less calories you need to survive, so essentially your RMR goes down. Your body is adaptive like that. So no more crash dieting, ok? :)

2. Focus on eating protein, whole food carbs like fruits and veggies, good fats, and some high-quality starchy carbs. Not only will you naturally decrease the number of calories you're consuming while staying more full, but you'll simultaneously increase the number of calories your body actually needs to digest the food!

3. Unless you're training for a competition, you don't need carb or calorie cycling, special diets, or beat down workouts 5 days per week to lose weight. You need the right consistent efforts over time and a little patience.

4. Don't compare yourself to others. The body is a crazy unique thing, so what your friend is doing likely won't have the exact same effect on you...expect it and focus on YOU.

5. Weight loss truly occurs through a balance of good nutrition, strength, and cardio training (I'll show you how to do them together in minimal time!), proper sleep, stress management, hormonal balance, and hydration. So unsexy but so true.

It's heartbreaking for me to watch so many people struggle because of the wrong approach.

Self-compassion also plays a HUGE role in fat loss, so be sure to speak kindly to yourself always.

One of the best things you can do for your health and weight loss journey is to eat clean. If you aren’t sure where to start, then check out my free guide and learn 5 hacks to get started with clean eating. (And no you don’t have to be perfect with clean eating)

To Your Success,

Coach Michele