Why Your Weight Is Irrelevant & The Ultimate Guide To Sustainable Weight Loss?!
If we all ate the same & exercised the same, we'd still look different
Every single body is different and we all have different metabolisms, different shapes and therefore a different number on the scale. If everyone in the world ate the exact same calories, the exact same food and did the exact same amount of exercise, we would still look different. So why are we obsessing over the amount we weigh and comparing ourselves to others on our weight loss journey?
"Fad dieting, along with the frequent and compulsive weighing that accompanies it, can lead to eating disorders”
Fixating on your weight can make food feel like an enemy that needs to be avoided. It's not- food is the fuel that powers your body! Your weight is not an indicator of whether or not your body is healthy. Success is not measured in pounds, and the scale hurts more than it helps. For example, if you’re gymming regularly and making ‘gains’ then you’ll replace fat with muscle. However, the number on the scales is going to go up but you will probably look more toned and healthier. Surely if weight loss is the end goal, you care more about how you look and feel rather than a number?
Check out this image below for a really eye opening perspective on weight. These 6 women all weigh the EXACT same:
A quick and ‘magical’ weight loss is neither healthy nor sustainable and affects your body really negatively including:
- Losing muscle not fat
- Feeling tired all the time
- Experiencing digestive problems
And last but not least, the progress won’t be sustainable! You probably have heard this so many times, and also experienced it so many times but this is the fad diet cycle that traps you and convinces you that this time it’s really going to work. Get out the trap. They don't work. In the short term, you might be able to restrict your caloric intake a lot and see progress, but when you restrict your calories too much and lose weight, your basal metabolic rate (BMR) also decreases which means your metabolism will slow down, your body will l need fewer calories, and this cycle will continue until you could be eating a tiny amount of calories and still not seeing much progress!
At PRESS, we care about you and want you to feel your healthiest, happiest self so if this is losing a few pounds that you aren’t feeling comfortable with then we want to help you succeed in the healthiest way possible. We believe that a healthy body helps to reach a healthy and happy mind.
Artwork by Handsome Girl Designs
We know that an excess of body fat can be harmful to your health and cause many health conditions so although it is important to feel positive and content towards your body image, it it equally important to have your health at an optimal level and your body in the green zone. What the fruit is the green zone? Find out more in this blog.
If losing weight and keeping it off is your goal, it makes more sense to try to lose small amounts of weight over a longer period of time. A sustainable and healthy amount of weight loss per week is 0.5-1kg.
Sure, but how the f**k do we do this?
Don’t worry we got you covered, with our diet plans designed by nutritionists, we selected the best possible fuel for your body, fresh, plant based and delivered straight to your door.
We fuel your body with nourishing, wholesome foods. Focus on the nutrients and goodness that you’re putting into your body, instead of obsessing over the calories. Although a calorie deficit is really important, calories are processed differently and we absorb fewer calories when we consume whole foods. For example, 100 calories of a processed high-sugar, high-fat chocolate bar will be processed in your body as 100 calories. When you consume 100 calories of almonds however, your body does not actually absorb 100% of these calories due to the cell walls of almonds not being fully broken down which means they are not absorbed during digestion. If you were to grind these to a flour or made into almond butter, the calorie value that you absorb would be more accurate.
Stress less! Did you know that stress actually has a negative effect on the body. Cortisol is the body’s stress hormone and when cortisol levels increase, the cells in our body can become resistant to insulin. In turn, this may lead to an increase in blood sugar, weight gain and potentially Type 2 Diabetes.
Sleep is a commonly overlooked variable that has a significant effect on cortisol levels and potential weight gain. Over time, this can have a negative effect on your metabolism and cause an increase in certain hormones related to hunger and appetite, potentially leading to weight gain.
And remember, what you do with your body is your choice and your choice only, you are beautiful, no matter your size and shape!
