“I cut calories, gave up carbs, cut out fat, even starved myself but still can't seem to shake off that excess weight. It's so frustrating! I constantly feel like I'm working harder than most people and still not seeing results."
Does that sound familiar?
A good 80-90% of people who come to me say they eat less and really try hard to eat healthy and I don't doubt them for a second. After all, this was my personal experience for the longest time.
After years of struggling with weight-loss personally, educating myself about the science behind nutrition and exercise and working with a wide variety of clients, I’ve realized that most people are truly NOT eating crap all the time. We are all aware (for the most part) of what’s good for us and what’s not good for us.
This leads me to believe that the issue is not the food, but the inability to navigate the confusing maze of misinformation that the diet and fitness industry puts out. No matter how convincing they seem with their latest diet trends or the latest gadgets that will help you lose weight, they are all just trends. And trends are not here to stay, they come to empty your wallet and go towards funding the McMansions of these industry bosses . Each time a new trend is born, we as consumers fall for another yo-yo roller coaster ride until we crash and find ourselves waiting for the next one.
My Experience:
I struggled to lose weight most of my life and I thought I had to eat less to lose weight. I thought I had to cut out certain food groups completely like carbs or fats. So I cut calories, cut carbs, cut fats, and sometimes I lost weight fast, but I always gained it back with interest.
And when I was finally successful in losing the weight, I did it by eating a lot more food than I ever before and I did it without sacrificing any food group.
The Science:
None of the weight loss or nutrition books I studied for my certifications said I need to eat less to lose weight. Their focus was on eating more nutrient dense foods, and less processed, grease laden foods. I learned that our bodies' need all the food groups: we need carbs, proteins and fats, in fact these macro nutrients are essential for our body functioning at its best. Then why were these popular diets telling us to cut calories or give up carbs or fats?
The Mindset:
I noticed that when I learned about the reasoning and science behind how food affects our body, I was more inclined to eat healthier. When I broke barriers in my workouts, I no longer cared about keeping up with someone else in my class, I became focused on my personal progress. I knew I needed to stay in a positive, empowered state of mind to continue succeeding.
For ex., if you told me Coke is bad for you, I wouldn't be convinced to give it up because I loved the taste. But if you told me, Coca cola as a company is out to make financial gains with a product that is known to cause my body harm, and by purchasing their products, I'm creating health issues for myself and funding their mcMansions, chances are I will be more empowered to give it up.
So what should you do to lose weight and keep it off?
Not only do you need to stop counting calories, you need to focus on the quality of food more than the quantity of it. You also need to look at food as fuel for your body and understand the importance of building consistency in your routine.
When I work with someone in my MPowered Weight Loss coaching is to help debunk myths around food (and there are MANY) and teach my clients how to master the one crucial component to making clean eating consistently possible, and that is MEAL-PREP. I know that the one time even the most organized people fail in eating healthy is when they don't have healthy meals ready. Being armed and ready will prevent you from going off plan big time!
So if you’re someone who is trying to eat healthy but still struggling to see results, sign up here for a complimentary “Discovery session” and let’s figure out what’s holding you back. It could be a few simple tweaks, or a complete overhaul. Either way you will leave the call with a clear understanding of what is missing in your efforts to get to your dream body in a way that works for you and your lifestyle.
Blogger bio: Chitra Rochlani is a NASM certified weight loss and body transformation coach. Chitra empowers her clients to break free of the diet mentality and develop a super speedy metabolism using fitness, nutrition and mindset tools. She believes that her personal weight loss transformation and work with hundreds of clients gives her a unique perspective in an industry focused on quick fixes and gimmicks. She uses her "Fit Warrior" method to combine nutrition, fitness and mindset to help her clients look, feel and perform at their best.
Comments