In the world of weight loss, calories are king. Study after study has shown that calories and weight are correlated (1,2).
The number of calories you eat on a daily basis is the biggest determinant of seeing any drop in weight. But if you don’t count calories, it can be hard to know how many you consume in the first place. And if you don’t have this info, you obviously will have a difficult time eating less.
Counting calories can be time consuming. It turns food, something you should enjoy, into a mathematical equation. And some simply don’t want to eat like this.
So this begs the question, how can you decrease your calories without counting calories?
Well, I want to share a little strategy I picked up from a book I read recently. All the credit for this goes to Georgie Fear and her book Lean Habits For Lifelong Weight Loss: Mastering 4 Core Eating Behaviors to Stay Slim Forever. As you may have guessed from the title, the book is all about developing nutrition habits you can use to stay lean for the rest of your life.
I’ve talked a lot about the importance of building habits on this site. They are without a doubt, the most efficient method to achieve sustainable results. The reason being, we live life based on our habits. If we have good nutrition habits in place, it will be much easier to eat well more often.
The habit that I found particularly interesting deals with eating treats. In the book, Georgie defines treats as:
- Alcohol or caloric drinks
- Desserts, sweets, and candy
- Fried foods
- Added sugar packets
- Processed foods like cereal and granola bars
She challenges her readers to keep track of their treats for two weeks and make it their goal to have less than 25 total treats in that time frame. Anytime they have one of these items, they put a check mark by the category. At the end of two weeks, the treats are tallied up.
The reason this is so effective is two fold.
1. It allows the individual to decrease their calories without putting in much effort.
For example, let’s say you track your treat total and you have 35 treats in two weeks. And for numbers sake let’s say that totaled 4,000 calories.
The following two weeks, you track again and are at 21 treats and 2,500 calories. You would have experienced a decrease of 1,500 calories just from limiting your treat consumption.
2. It allows the individual to still enjoy their favorite foods.
This is why so many people fail at dieting. Most diets will have you cut out your favorite foods. This makes any diet difficult, and you usually end up right back where you started.
By limiting these foods, you still get to enjoy them without overeating them. It keeps you sane while decreasing your caloric intake. This is much more manageable in the long run.
While Georgie gives a goal of less than 25, don’t feel you have to start here. I have had a lot of success with clients, just by getting them to drop a little at a time.
If you track your treats and have 60 in two weeks, try dropping down to 50 for a while. Then try 40, then 30, and so on. Though it may seem insignificant, dropping slightly like this will add up over time.
Your caloric intake will always be the biggest determinant of how your clothes fit and the number you see on the scale. A lot of people experience success with counting calories. And there’s nothing wrong with that strategy.
Some will struggle with this though. That’s what makes counting treats a no brainer. It’s a simple strategy to decrease your calories without counting calories.
So here’s how you can put this habit into action:
- Record your scale weight and how your clothes fit.
- Track your treats for 2 weeks. Anytime you have 1 of something on the list above, place a check mark by the category.
- Pick a number you want to decrease your treats by.
- Track again for 2 weeks.
- Re-check your scale weight and how your clothes fit.
This habit is extremely simple to do. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes!
And if you want to discover how to achieve lifelong weight loss, be sure to check out Georgie’s book. You won’t be disappointed.
References:
1. Tappy L. Metabolic consequences of overfeeding in humans. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2004;7(6):623–628.
2. Diaz EO, Prentice AM, Goldberg GR, Murgatroyd PR, Coward WA. Metabolic response to experimental overfeeding in lean and overweight healthy volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992;56(4):641–655.
3. Fear, Georgie. Lean Habits for Lifelong Weight Loss: Mastering 4 Core Eating Behaviors to Stay Slim Forever. Page Street, Print.
Photo Credit:
1. http://www.hercampus.com/health/physical-health/5-myths-about-weight-loss-debunked
