Is it possible…?

Can you actually eat more and still lose weight?

The answer is yes…and no…which sounds super confusing and that’s because it can be when folks talk about their weight loss strategies without really understanding and/or clarifying what they’re actually saying when they mention things like…

‘I clearly wasn’t eating enough because I started eating more and then I lost weight.’

or…

‘My body was in starvation mode and holding onto fat because once I started eating more, the weight started coming off.’

So, I’m going to piece this apart and explain it in a super simple and understandable way and the first thing that we need to do is define what we mean by more…and there are actually two definitions and that’s why this can be such a murky concept!

The two definitions are as follows…

The first one is ‘more’ in regards to calories.

The second one is ‘more’ in terms of physical food or food volume.

These are two VERY different things, for example…

An average donut has around 400 calories.

If you compare a 400 calorie donut to an equivalent amount of calories from something like sweet potatoes, they appear very physically different to the eye in terms of portions.

A 400 calorie Krispy Kreme donut is super light and fluffy and it doesn’t take up much physical space at all, however on the other hand, 400 calories worth of sweet potatoes is heavy, dense and takes up a lot of physical space on your plate!

So, when folks say that they started eating more and then lost weight, what they’re actually referring to is that they adjusted their food choices and started eating more physical food volume and lost weight because things like single ingredient whole foods (sweet potatoes) are far more voluminous than highly processed foods (donuts).

The reason why folks think that they’re eating more calories and still losing weight is because of this food volume dealio, being that they drastically underestimate how many calories highly processed foods contain, while they simultaneously overestimate how many calories single ingredient whole foods have.

So let’s make this beyond clear…

If you’re maintaining your weight on ‘x,’ amount of calories, let’s say it’s 2000, you cannot increase your calorie consumption from there and lose weight because that’s like breaking perfectly even with your budget and then spending more and claiming that you’re saving,  you’re not saving…that’s just not the way that numbers work.

However, if you’re maintaining your weight on 2000 calories, you can increase your food volume, while simultaneously reducing your calorie intake via eating fewer highly processed foods and shifting towards more single ingredient whole foods because like I just mentioned, single ingredient whole foods contain far fewer calories…so, you’re eating more food volume, but fewer calories in total.

This is exactly how I support my clients with their fat loss goals and get such great results.

We favour single ingredient whole foods that tend to be higher in volume and lower in calories.

It turns out that these foods are incredibly healthy, they’re packed with vitamins and minerals and they’re also super satiating meaning, they make you feel way more full and satisfied even though you’re eating fewer total calories, which as you know you have to do in order to lose fat.

The reason that eating a bunch of heavily processed foods doesn’t work for weight loss is because they’re super calorie dense and they’re not filling in the slightest…and so you just end up eating way more total calories than you should or need to in order to achieve fat loss.

For example…

There are 1100 calories in a big mac meal from McDonalds and if you put that on a table next to 1100 calories of single ingredient whole foods like lean meat, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, veggies, whole fruit, potatoes, rice, oats etc…

The food volume is going to be drastically different, you’re going to be able to eat pounds and pounds of food via 1100 calories of single ingredient whole foods, but a big mac meal is very low in food volume…it’s not very much physical food because it’s so calorically dense!

Meaning, if someone looked at the table not knowing that the calories were equivalent, 9/10 people are probably going to assume that the single ingredient whole foods contain more calories than the big mac meal simply because they look so visually different. Again, this comes back to underestimating the calorie content of processed foods and overestimating the calories in single ingredient whole foods.

This is the very reason why folks in the fitness industry are endlessly arguing about whether food quantity matters more or food quality matters more and it’s not a one or the other situation, it’s not black or white, they both matter!

Food quantity matters because if you happen to over eat high quality food you can still gain weight.

Food quality matters because it’s just so easy to overconsume calories when you eat too many processed foods and so, the answer is that they’re both important parts of the fat loss puzzle!

We need to keep calories in check and we also need to favour single ingredient whole foods simply because practically speaking in the real world, hunger isn’t sustainable and the only reliable way to keep hunger at bay is by eating predominantly single ingredient whole foods because…

How long is that big mac going to keep you full…? The answer is not long and you’ve already blown through 1100 calories whereas, how long is 1100 calories of single ingredient whole foods going to keep you satiated? A good while!!

So, can you eat more and lose weight…

If we’re talking about more food volume yes, as long as you’re choosing single ingredient whole food options.

Can you eat more calories and still lose weight, no, absolutely not.

So, if you want to lose fat and get healthier in the most sustainable way possible…

Favour food quality via single ingredient whole foods that you digest well and keep your calories in check and you will get the results that you’re after, it’s only a matter of time and consistency.