While many view weight loss as the impossible, that could not be more false. There are 6 factors that strongly influence weight loss and success. Here’s insight on those factors and How to Lose Weight by Counting Macros.
1. Calculate your macro gram goals per meal
First things first, if you are curious about how to lose weight by counting macros, know this: 80% of weight loss is due to nutrition and 20% is due to fitness. This is why learning about proper nutrition is a necessary first step and vital to your success. Counting macros is the most effective and realistic way approach to weight loss. This approach ensures that you are consuming a balanced diet, that you actually feel full after consuming a meal and that you are not overly consuming any of the macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins).
This is important to understand because your body can only utilize a certain amount of each macronutrient PER meal time. Anything more than what your body can utilize is stored on the body as fat. Carbs and fats get a bad reputation because many assume that over consumption of those macros are the only way to gain weight, but fun fact: over consumption of protein can also make you gain weight. This is why counting macros is the smarter route to weight loss because you cannot understand macronutrient content by simply counting calories.
2. Eat 4-5 meals per day, every 3-4 hours
For most individuals, consuming 4 meals per day with 4 hour intervals in between meal times is the most effective way to achieve weight loss. It takes your body about 2-3 hours to digest a meal and during that time your body is utilizing that food as it’s energy source. Once digestion is complete your body will utilize your stored body fat as it’s energy source equating to weight loss. Pretty cool, huh? Depending on the amount of weight loss desired and the physical activity or muscle composition of the individual, consuming 5 meals per day every 3 hours may be necessary. Consult with a Registered Dietitian to establish if this is necessary.
3. Keep a food journal
This is ESSENTIAL to weight loss. Keeping a food journal just provides an accountability factor that works wonders! It’s definitely an educational component that teaches you the nutrition content of all food items you’re consuming and clues you in on when you are consuming too much or too little food. This is key to reaching your goals. I always recommend that my patients use the MyFitness Pal app, but any food journal will work as long as you are tracking the macros of your food.
4. Workout regularly
There are two ways to create a calorie deficit, through your nutrition and physical activity. Once you’ve got your nutrition down, incorporating some physical activity is a great idea! Cardio is an awesome way to burn a large amount of calories in a short period of time. Need some tips on what you should do for cardio and how long you should do it for? Check out my blog post on 8 Ways to Add Cardio in Your Life.
Strength training while leaning out is the most effective way to replace fat with muscle. So if you’re hoping to achieve more definition and less loose skin while losing weight, strength training 3-5 days per week is essential. Check out The Ultimate Leg Day Workout, The Best Full Body Workout and A Killer Upper Body Workout to get some ideas on different strength training workouts that you can do.
5. Drink 64 to 100 ounces of water per day (unless you have kidney or heart complications)
Water is fabulous and we all need drink a little bit more! The Institute of Medicine recommends to drink 64 ounces of water per day, but I recommend a bit more to account for caffeine consumption (dehydrator), salt/processed food consumption (causes water retention), and loss of sweat throughout your day (need to replenish).
Fun fact: when the body is dehydrated, we retain water. So the more you drink, the less you retain! Also, water gives us that fake feeling of fullness that is SO NECESSARY during weight loss. If you’re feeling hungry, but it’s not a meal time, chug that water. Not to mention, it just makes you look and feel better. Have you ever noticed when you’re on top of your water consumption your skin just looks better? Exactly, drink up.
6. No alcohol
When it comes to weight loss, this is a necessary evil! I know, I know, it’s no fun, but I promise you’ll thank me later. When we consume alcohol there’s two things you need to know. First, alcohol contains carbohydrates and you need to account for those carbs when counting macronutrients. So like I stated earlier, any amount of carbs that is more than what the body can utilize is stored on the body as fat. This includes drink 2, 3, andddd 4 and/or any food containing carbs, it’s all broken down into the same thing in the body, so keep that in mind.
Second, it dehydrates you and can cause water retention, which equates to an increase on the scale. Make sure to drink a glass of water in between drinks if you’re unable to resist alcohol while losing weight. At the end of the day, it’s extra and unfulfilling calories that will derail you from your goal. I’ve never seen a patient that sneaks drinks in every now and then meet their weight loss goals the way that they want to. Just ask yourself if it’s worth it, most of the time it’s not. Remember, that it’s not for forever, just while you are trying to achieve your weight loss goals!
QUESTIONS?
I hope you learned a thing or two on how to lose weight by counting macros! If you need further support to reach your goals check out my Macros Nutrition Program. Or if you have any further questions feel free to comment below or email me at therealisticdietitian@yahoo.com
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