"I'm working out but can't lose any more weight"
Alright, so you've been working out a while. You come to the gym often now, maybe even got yourself a personal trainer. Maybe you started running a lot and lost a lot of weight or started the Keto diet and lost a bunch....but now you're in this spot where you can't seem to lose any more weight... It doesn't make any sense though considering you workout and make healthier choices, so what could it be?
Here's your answer. NUTRITION. That is the foundation of everything fitness related. That is what 99% of the people in the gym miss. Fad diets were created to help you lose weight fast, but not forever. Once you realize you're different than everyone else in the world, and fad diets don't work for a long period of time; you'll start seeing things from a perspective of "fueling" your body, not "depriving".
Let me ask you something... Do you know what you ate yesterday? No, I mean do you know how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats you had? If not, you need to. At first, it's tedious and time consuming, but if you're overweight, you might be eating more than you think. MyFitnessPal is a great app that's totally free, check it out, and log everything you eat or drink.... you could be shocked at the results. Don't forget the olive oil you use to cook, the butter on your bagel, the condiments you use at night, the drinks you consume that have lots of calories, etc. Also, if you don't know what "protein, carbs, and fats" are, then read this post now! Later on down the road, when you're more aware of calories and macros, you don't have to track as much, but if you're at a plateau, you need to!
Over time, you'll start looking for a more whole food approach (since you can get more food for your calories that way), and limiting the big calories you consume because you don't want to go over. Also, before I forget, make sure to stay away from the restaurants who don't have nutrition posted, you don't want to go in thinking something has only 400 calories because it says "low calorie" but it ends up having over 800 because of what its cooked in, or the "low calorie" is actually half the meal....One day you'll realize these 8 bites of this burger could've been traded in for 3 meals of Whole Foods... I always like to ask myself before I go out and eat bad, "will this help me with my goals?".
Now, I'm not saying you should never "treat" yourself again, if you read the blog above you know I'm all about the daily "treats".... but I'm also about feeding the body what it needs. Which brings me to my next point. FEED YOUR BODY. DO NOT STARVE YOUR BODY. If you are only consuming 1,200 calories a day because some diet told you not to, then stop, right now. 1,200 calories is the recommended amount for a 3 year old. {1} Shift your mindset from limitation, to feeding. If you're not feeding your body enough, it won't build muscle, and your metabolism will slow down and get used to you eating less than 1,000 calories a day, which means it won't lose any more weight... So, you can keep limiting your calories down to 300-400 calories a day and starve yourself, lose a bunch of muscle, stay at your same weight, not feed your body enough to where it wants to shut down every time you eat bad...... or you can eat plenty of whole food, build the muscle for long term success, speed up your metabolism, be healthier longer, and not be affected if you eat badly one day out of the week.
Here's your goal for the rest of the month. LEARN. Read my blogs, read others blogs, figure out how many calories you burn every day, and subtract 500 from it (if you burn 2,400 calories a day, eat 1,900). NEVER EAT UNDER 1,500! Here's my advice, eat at least 0.8 - 1.2x your body weight in protein, and fill the rest of your calories in with carbs and fats, because that stuff will fall in place either way. (Example: someone weighs 200 lbs, they should eat at least 160g or more of protein) YOU FIGURE IT OUT. Go do your own research. Eat plenty of fruits, veggies, eat plenty of protein, and lift heavy weights....that's it. Either your under eating, or over eating. Track your food to find out which one it is! If you need any help, you know where to find me!