The Key to Successful Weight Loss

There are plenty of ways to start losing weight, like starting a workout plan or eating healthy and within those two there are hundreds of options. We could sit here all day and talk about all the different options that you have for diet and workout plans but with some many options why do so many people not succeed in their weight loss goals? And what exactly is the key to successful weight loss?

There could be many reasons for why people don’t succeed in their weight loss goals but one of the most common reasons is because they aren’t truly eating in a calorie deficit. Eating in a calorie deficit is the key to successful weight loss. It is the single most important factor determining success with your weight loss goal. Every diet you have ever tried was trying to put you in a calorie deficit:

• Atkins/Keto: cut out carbs to create calorie deficit
• Vegan/Vegetarian: cut out animal products/meat to create calorie deficit
• Paleo: cut out processed foods, grain, and dairy to create a calorie deficit

All of these can create a calorie deficit. These diets however go to the extreme by cutting out complete whole groups of foods that in some smaller quantities aren’t bad.

The biggest thing most people miss when they are on a weight loss diet is they don’t know if they are truly in a calorie deficit. Just because you are on a “diet” does not mean that you are actually in a calorie deficit. Studies have shown that we tend to vastly underestimate how many calories we eat, even professionals like registered dietitians!

The best way to make sure that you are eating in a calorie deficit is to track your calories. Tracking your calories daily has a whole host of benefits:

More conscious of your food choices

I don’t know about you but I can barely remember what I had to eat yesterday or the day before. It is so easy to become blind to the food choices you make because without tracking them it is next to impossible to recall what you have eaten over the last week.

Tracking your calories and food helps you become more conscious of the choices that you are making everyday. Seeing what you are eating each day laid out in front of you in your calorie tracker helps you visually see exactly how much you are eating. 

Like I stated earlier, we all underestimate the amount of foods that we are eating. By tracking your calories you learn how many calories are in the foods you eat and what portion sizes fit your lifestyle. To me this is the single greatest thing you can learn from tracking your calories. Tracking for an extended period of time will help you make better choices not just during your weight loss diet but afterwards as well.

Lets you monitor your progress

How do you know if your weight loss diet is working? You track your weight, body circumference, and/or progress photos. Now what if you aren’t making the progress that you want, how do you know what is and isn’t working?

Tracking your calories is another way to monitor your weight loss progress. By tracking your calories, you are providing yourself with more data to know what is and isn’t working. At each checkpoint in your journey you can assess your calories and macronutrients and make adjustments based on the progress you are making. 

Losing weight- keep the calories where you are at

Not losing weight- lower your calories 100-150

Protein looking low- add more protein

Energy a bit low- try adding more carbohydrates or fats

Without tracking your calories you won’t be able to make any of these adjustments based on anything but with guesswork. Tracking your calories lets you make more informed decisions about your nutrition that otherwise would be very difficult to make 

Keeps you honest

Numbers do not lie. If you aren’t in a calorie deficit you are going to make little to no progress in your weight loss goal. Calorie tracking makes you be honest with yourself. By weighing your food out and tracking your calories you cannot lie to yourself. Calorie counting is not a perfect science but it will get you in the area that you need to be in to get results.

If you are not getting the results you want in your weight loss goal, looking at your calories is the first place to examine. They give you the best glimpse into how you are eating and if you are really in a calorie deficit. If you are tracking to the best of your abilities, you will know if your diet is or isn’t working for you.

What to do now:

Now that you know what the key to successful weight loss is, it is time to take some action! If you aren’t currently tracking your calories it is time to start doing so today. Go download a tracking app like MyFitnessPal or Mike’s Macros and start tracking your meals today. If you want a more detailed look how to set up your calories and macronutrients, check out this in depth article. 

If you are tracking your calories, it is time to start tightening it up. Make sure you are tracking everything that you are eating. This includes drinks, condiments, nibbles, bites, and tastes. Everything that has a calorie, track it to the best of your abilities. The more exact you can be the better picture you get on how you are eating. 

The best tip to calorie counting is to remember that it is a skill. Just like squatting or cycling, calorie counting takes time to get better at. Don’t be discouraged if it is difficult at first. The more you do it, the more second nature it will become. Eventually it will only take you a couple of minutes each day to track how many calories you are eating.

Want to learn more about how to count calories and macros?

I have detailed the whole process from figuring out how many calories you need to how to split up your macronutrients. Check it all out in this awesome article: How to Count Macros for Beginners