Do you find yourself putting on weight but you’re only eating “small amounts” and don’t have time to cook “healthy meals”, get a good night’s sleep and exercise? Now there are many factors that can go into this issue, do any of these look familiar?

· Too many highly processed foods multiple times per week

· You have a sedentary life

· You’ve engaged in yo-yo dieting

Above are some of the most common examples of which may be causing this unintentional weight gain BUT this isn’t us now telling you to stop eating all of these, get 10hrs of sleep a night because for one chocolate and pizza are GREAT and it is simply just not realistic hence a potential repetitive cycle.

But by figuring out your daily intake, making slight changes in food choices and increasing your activity levels you will notice changes very quickly and will find it a lot easier to carry on doing instead of going balls to the wall.

MAINTENANCE, DEFICIT, SURPLUS, WHICH ONE SHOULD I DO?

Maintenance

Maintenance calories is the number of calories you will have to consume to maintain your bodyweight.

Deficit

To be in a calorie deficit, you need to eat and drink less calories than you burn. This could be anywhere from 50 calories to 500 calories less then your maintenance. But it’s important to remember, the bigger the deficit the more demanding it’ll be on the body.

Surplus

To be in a calorie surplus you need to eat and drink more calories than you burn. This could be anywhere from 50 calories to 500 calories more than your maintenance. But it’s important to remember that the bigger the surplus, the more body fat you will gain.

To put it simply…

If you want to lose weight, put yourself into a deficit.

If you want to gain weight/muscle, put yourself in a surplus.

If you want to maintain current body composition, stay at maintenance.

“GOOD FOODS VS BAD FOODS”

Now there is no such thing as “good” and “bad” foods. There are foods that are richer in nutrients than others, but it still doesn’t mean they are “good” and “bad”.

Yes, if we want to achieve certain goals, for example: losing weight, we will have to reduce amounts of things you are eating but it doesn’t mean ‘because I am now trying to lose weight, I am not eating chocolate anymore’ because it will never last and it’s not enjoyable.

And the beauty of all this, you can still have takeaways on a weekend and lose weight and a little tip if you go over your calories for the day, the day after you can just carry on as normal. If you go all or nothing It could potentially lead to further issues.

For example, if you go 500 calories over on a Saturday, don’t then go 500 on Sunday, you’ll be starving and it could lead to you just sacking it off and it’d end up being counterproductive in the long run, whereas if you just carry on as normal it’ll be much easier to stay consistent and achieve your goals.

SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE?

If you work a sedentary job or have a sedentary lifestyle, it is known to have an impact on weight gain and potential chronic diseases.

A study with 464 people with excess weight found that their average daily sitting time was 6.2 hours per day and 6 hours on non-working days.

However, work related tasks were the main factor followed by TV etc. But much like the previous paragraph with a few small changes, it is very easy to start making changes straight away that are sustainable.

Such as walking, which as we know prevents various conditions such as, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure and increases energy levels. An easy way to fit time for a short 20–30-minute walk in is have a quick look at your screentime and see how much pointless scrolling you’ve done on TikTok for example and take that 20-30 minutes for a nice walk and instantly feel better for it.

There are many ways to increase your activity levels without a gym, it’s just finding one to fit your day.

IS YOUR DIET CONSISTENCY UP AND DOWN?

Yo-yo dieting is commonly linked with intentional weight loss but followed by unintentional weight gain. But 9x out of 10 it’s usually down to seeing and believing wrongful myths that gets spread around the fitness world that leads to issues like this.

However, much like the issues raised in previous paragraphs, these old habits can be adapted with small changes and consistency. The best way to overcome yo-yo dieting and prevent it from happening again is to avoid being extremely restrictive with your food choices, so here’s some ways to still enjoy the foods you love without feeling guilty.

If you LOVE bagels (like me), switch to bagel thins, full fat cheese to low fat cheese (or half and half), chocolate milkshake to chocolate protein shake, add more veg to meals, increase water intake, cooking oils to fry light.

What all these examples have in common is they’re all easily adaptable changes that don’t feel like you’re being restrictive.

TASK

So, now we’ve got a better understanding about the issues linked with energy balance and unintentional weight gain we have a task for you to go away and complete.

Below I have linked a calorie calculator, I’d like you to go away and work out your maintenance calories based on the info you’ll need to provide through the calculator.

https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html 

Once you’ve worked out your maintenance calories get in touch with us via email (info@rikfitdc.com) or message us on Instagram (@rikfitdc) and we’ll have a chat about setting calorie targets in line with your goals.

If you feel you may need some further help with how to do this, then click on the button below to book a call with us!

https://form.jotform.com/200051535649047  

We are here to BREAK THE CYCLE!

Hope you have a great day,

Ethan Allen
RikFit Coach
RikFit Dynamic Coaching
07964069628