Setting Your Calorie Goals
“I can’t eat 1,800 calories, I’ve only been eating 1,200 calories at the moment and I am not losing weight”
I have lost count of the amount of times I have heard this from new clients over the years….
The first thing I will ask in response to that statement is: “How consistently were you sticking to that 1,200 calorie target?”
More often than not the answer was rarely or 1-2 days a week, so in reality that 1,200 calorie target was too restrictive and you couldn’t stick to it. So in fact you we actually eating more than you think!
It might seem less productive to set a higher calorie target, surely you won’t get results? Fat-loss is a science that cannot be cheated, if you are in a deficit you will lose body fat, it is as simple as that! The size of the deficit will determine how quickly you potentially lose body fat.
There’s no gold star for setting yourself a lower target (especially if it’s one that you can’t adhere to), you will likely be hungrier, lower energy levels and feel a bit sluggish, your sessions in the gym suffer and you and feel crap! You will have likely reduced food variety to be able to reduce calories low and feel like you are missing out on the foods you enjoy. Then when you do ‘give in’ you are starving and likely to overeat because you have felt so restricted.
It’s the classic one step forward and two steps back. You will constantly feel like you are dieting and not getting anywhere in terms of results.
What if we came at this from the other angle. What if you ate the 1,800 calories per day that put you in a moderate deficit. You still had plenty of food variety in your diet, you had higher energy levels and felt better, you didn’t feel overly restricted and you know that if you chose not to diet for a meal out or even a day or two that you aren’t going to suddenly undo all of your progress so far (it just doesn’t work that way!) you are steadily making progress and you feel great!! You are making great progress in the gym and you are feeling strong as f**k!!
I know which scenario I would pick!!
When you decide that you want to enter a fat-loss phase, it isn’t about making yourself as hungry and miserable as possible. It is about finding that sweet spot where you have flexibility with your food choices, yes you are in a deficit so it is likely that you will feel hungry at times. But it shouldn’t be constant and unbearable. You have unconditional permission to eat, you need to eat to fuel your body to live and enjoy life. No one like’s to feel like a failure and no one likes to be miserable. Set yourself up to win!!!
