Are you struggling to lose weight despite constant attempts of dieting? Tracking your food but the scale isn’t budging? Numerous studies have looked at the discrepancy between self-reported calorie intake and actual calorie intake of individuals who fail to lose weight. The results have shown that on average individuals under report their daily calories by 47%. Could this be you?
There are several reasons you may not be in a true calorie deficit, despite tracking your intake:
- Picking or snacking throughout the day.
- Not weighing your food.
- Not accounting for oils, sauces or spreads.
- Underestimating calories in meals out.
- Picking off the kids plates.
- Not tracking coffees, juice, soft drink, etc.
To start seeing results, tightening up your tracking is the way to go. This means tracking and weighing everything that goes into your mouth. Here are our top tips when it comes to snacking:
- Organisation: Pre-plan your day and allocate yourself a filling meal during your danger times to avoid ending up at the bottom of a bag of chips.
- Snack Box: If you are a serial snacker make yourself a snack box the night before where everything is pre-tracked and weighed. That way you know you can pick throughout the day while remaining in a deficit.
- Check In With Yourself: Are you actually hungry or is this just a habit? What are your goals and are they still important to you?
- Distractions: Go for a walk, have a bath, read a book, do something to take your mind off it.
It is important to remember a calorie deficit is only temporary, this is not a lifestyle. Yes, there will be times when you are hungry and it is important to be aware of that. Fat loss is simple but that doesn’t mean it is easy. If you are finding you have been in a deficit for an extended period of time and aren’t getting anywhere it may be time to take a step back and reassess when the time is right and you are able to commit.
Check out our top tips to stay in a calorie deficit without stress and pressure.
