ALM Fitness

Eat more, lose weight?

Iwas having a conversation with one of our members the other day, who has achieved such incredible results with us since she joined 18 months ago (6 stone lost, fitter, stronger and healthier than she’s ever been) but she’s been struggling to stay focused since Christmas and wanted my help.

What with injury, illness and the typical Christmas overindulgence and weight gain, she’s found it hard to get back into full swing as she was prior to Christmas. Maybe you can relate? You’ve not quite found that ‘oomph’ to get you going and it’s all been all stop-start with very little progress made.

When talking to this member, we chatted about her goals, her current lifestyle and what is preventing her from getting to where she wants to be. The typical demands such as work, family life and social

commitments meant she wasn’t able to train as often as she had previously ,and due to these demands it meant the eating habits she had previously followed to help her achieve such incredible results, had shifted.

She started to skip meals because she was so busy and also got it into a mindset that if she eats LESS then she will reach her goal quicker.

When it comes to energy balance and losing weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit in order to lose weight, so she had the right mindset (kind of).

Let me explain …

Being in a calorie deficit is the ONLY way to lose weight. Every diet that is designed, whether it’s Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Keto, juice diet, soup diet … all have been designed to create a calorie deficit. There’s no magic behind them, however the issue with most of those is that they’re either too confusing or too restrictive and difficult to adhere to long-term. So when our member said she was skipping meals and consciously chose not to eat a snack or certain food to reduce calorie intake, she was creating a calorie deficit, which in simple terms, meant she would lose weight. But she wasn’t, she was actually gaining weight – and, it’s not that simple! What was actually happening was that she was creating a calorie deficit on some days by skipping meals and not

consuming as many calories, but on other days she would overindulge and binge. Due to her being so busy, lack of planning and feeling so hungry because she wasn’t fuelling herself properly, she would come home and just grab whatever was quick and easy to eat/cook – which wasn’t always the best of choices, causing the weight gain and continuing this cycle. So what did I suggest to help?

Her daily work/life demands aren’t going to change so we needed to create solutions to work around that. How she can fuel herself properly throughout the day to ensure she’s recovering well and giving herself the right amount of nutrients and energy for success. We actually needed to encourage her to EAT MORE!

• Eat MORE protein to keep her feeling fuller for longer and maintaining her muscle mass, which would mean she would be less likely to binge and overindulge.

• Eat MORE nutritious, low calorie high volume foods such as fruit and vegetables to ensure she’s getting plenty of vitamins and minerals within her diet to help with her health and immune system. • Track her calorie intake

(according to her personal goal). So on days that she might consume your typical high calorie, ruined any progress just because she ate a chocolate bar. These are just a few small tweaks and changes that if she implements, she will begin to see results over the next few weeks. Remember, it’s small, positive changes on a daily basis that lead to sustainable, long-term results.

We’re not about the quick-fix, severely restrictive FAD diets that don’t last. We focus on helping our members achieve results that last a lifetime. Health and fitness is a journey and everyone is following a different path on their journey.

We understand that it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ and support each member on their own journey to suit their personal goals and lifestyle.

processed foods, as long as she’s within her calorie target, it’s okay, rather than going into a self-sabotage mindset and thinking she’s If you would like to join us because you are not seeing the results you desire, even though you have tried various methods, go to www.almtransformation.com fill out the application form, and we can arrange to have a call to discuss your goals.