WILLPOWER
This is something that I believed for a long time. I constantly beat myself up because I believed my willpower was failing my fat loss efforts. I thought this meant that I was not determined, dedicated, or didn’t want it enough.
Most of my sophomore and junior year of college I yo-yo dieted. Most weeks, Monday to Friday, I would crush it and stick to my low calorie goal. Only allowing myself to force down plain salads in the dining hall and order grilled chicken sandwiches...with no bun.
I would feel so proud as I continued to make these healthy (more like overly restrictive) choices each day, until suddenly, the weekend would approach. My friends would say “Let’s go out for nachos and margaritas” or “let’s go try that new (insert local restaurant) place.” I would join along, with the best intentions of being “good” but suddenly find myself uncontrollably eating whatever was in front of me. At that point, I would just lose all control and binge whatever was in my path, until I did a hard ‘reset’ on Monday morning and attempted another week of dieting…
I remember reading blog posts on how to improve willpower and motivation. “Remember your why” or “set SMART goals” they would instruct me.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t set SMART goals or formulate a solid why behind your goals and actions. What I am saying, is that willpower is an overrated buzzword in my opinion. It becomes an issue when
You use it as a crutch or an excuse for why slip ups occured
You believe you inherently have poor willpower and therefore don’t give it your best effort
So, as you can imagine, it didn’t really matter what the motivational blogs told me to do.
Nothing changed until…
I became educated!
I started to become a fitness guru my freshmen year, so training was not my issue. Getting to the gym was an essential part of my daily routine and the muscle gains came along with consistently following proper training programs.
However, I had little knowledge about nutrition. Ultimately, this lack in knowledge which was my issue - NOT my willpower!
REASONS MY FAT LOSS STALLED (Notice how none of these include my willpower)
NOT PROPERLY CREATING A DEFICIT
By far my biggest mistake was being far too aggressive with subtracting calories. Rather than using the minimal effective dose, I would slash hundreds of calories at once and then proceed to wonder why I was ravenous by 4PM each day. Some individuals can get away with cutting 300+ calories at once, but this is all situational. The aggressiveness of your cut depends on multiple factors, such as your timeline and your maintenance or starting caloric intake. Cutting 300 calories for someone who is overweight and eating 2,500 calories a day is severely different than cutting 300 calories for someone who is fairly lean and eating 1,700 calories per day.
I also had no proper knowledge about when to make adjustments or drop calories again. I didn’t strictly track my weight or biofeedback (sleep, energy levels, training performance) so I honestly would just wing it...and then wonder why I wasn’t making progress.
TIP: Shameless plug - download my Complete Guide to Macros. I include charts and methods for determining your maintenance calories as well as creating a deficit or surplus. Secondly, speak with someone who understands the process and can explain it to you in depth. I am always happy to chat - just hit me up!
NEVER IMPLEMENTING DIET BREAKS OR REFEEDS
Dieting results in hunger, that’s just apart of the process. With that being said, there are strategic methods to implement to help control different variables, such as metabolic function and hunger levels. I was unaware of refeeds and diet breaks.
I didn’t understand the difference of refeeds and cheat meals, therefore I was not utilizing the best strategies to help me obtain long term sustainable results.
TIP: Keep an eye out for my upcoming blog explaining refeeds and diet breaks. (Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified each week when new blogs are posted). These are important strategies that you need to be aware of and understand if you are going to successfully lose body fat and keep the weight off long term.
INACCURACY: IGNORING THE LITTLE THINGS
My second biggest mistake was the accuracy of my macro tracking was not up to par. So I finally calculated (what I thought was the proper macro ratios) and then I started tracking...however I overestimated the accuracy of my inputs. For years, I wouldn’t factor in toppings, such as sauces and condiments, or additives such as creamers and sweeteners. Additionally, I would just estimate portion sizes with things like cheeses and granola (most likely underestimating every time). I wasn’t aware that tons of these tiny add-ins equated to a big difference in what my app reflected I had eaten and what I had actually ingested.
TIP: If you are new to tracking, keep your meals as simple as possible. Not only will this help your taste buds adjust to eating whole, less processed foods, but you will have less room for error when inputting your meals. Secondly, invest in a food scale. This is a requirement when my clients first sign on with me. A food scale is not something you are wedded to forever, but it is a learning tool and it will teach you accurate portion sizes. Eventually, you will be able to eyeball portions because the scale will educate you on exactly what 4 ounces of ground turkey or 28 grams of shredded cheese truly is.
NOT TRACKING RESULTS BEYOND THE SCALE
My expectations with the entire fat loss process were WAY off. For example, I had no idea what healthy weight loss looked like. I didn’t know average fat loss per week. On top of that, I expected weight loss to be linear, so when I discovered it wasn’t, I panicked. I didn’t understand why protein is so important (not only for building and maintaining muscle, but also for hunger levels and satiety) therefore I didn’t adhere to it. I wasn’t aware that carbohydrates increase water retention, therefore when I stepped on the scale I should evaluate my previous eating patterns to see if the number rising could be due to water weight, not actual fat gain.
TIP: Measure progress in multiple ways! I will list 10 to help you get started...plus there are many more!
Scale, progress photos, waist/hip/limb measurements, clothes fitting, energy levels, training performance, PRs, sleep, hunger levels, mood.
I LIVED IN A TEMPTING ENVIRONMENT
I would go to the grocery store and stock up on junk food...and then I would be shocked when I ate crappy snacks everyday. Fill your kitchen with healthy foods and you will eat healthy foods. It can really be that simple!
TIP: I realize not everyone can have complete control over their surroundings. The first thing I want you to consider is are you actually doing everything you can to be in control of your environment. It can be easy to make the excuse “well my spouse does all of the grocery shopping, so the junk food in the house is inevitable.” If you are creating lies or making up blatant excuses, try to be aware of that so you can change it. Secondly, have crucial conversations if you need to. Explain to your family, spouse, or roommates why you are changing your habits or what your goals are. Hopefully, if they care about you they will understand and take necessary steps to help.
No more “willpower this” or “willpower that”. Start understanding the process and the science behind fat loss and watch your adherence increase.