As much as I love seeing clients dial in their focus, make sweeping changes to their lives and drop a lot of pounds quickly, I know that fast fat loss is not for everyone.
Yes, it absolutely can be more motivating and if a client is more motivated, they’re more likely to stay adherent to the plan but life has this frustrating tendency to get in the way and when the first curveball comes, it can be difficult for people to not let the distractions win.
Instead, I find myself advocating for and encouraging slower fat loss these days.
Consider this: If you’re a woman trying to lose fat and you don’t want to spend hours toiling away in the gym, you’re trying to find the right balance between expending enough and pulling calories back just enough to see results.
Let’s say your maintenance calories are somewhere around 1700-1900 calories per day. If you follow the “conventional” wisdom that 1 pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories, then a 500 calorie deficit means you’ll lose approximately 1 pound per week. Note: the math isn’t perfect. We’re working with estimates.
That means, you’re working with 1200-1400 calories per day not including what you expend during exercise.
What you may find is that you can do this for a period of days but attempting to do it week after week may be more draining that you anticipated. Many women are sensitive to aggressive deficits and that means, the more you push for faster fat loss, the more your body may give you the signs that it’s not having it.
A slightly different approach is to make the deficit smaller while still keeping exercise as frequent as you can. So, that might look like intake of 1400-1600 (for instance) and keeping your step count up, lifting weights at least 2x/week and making sure you’re getting decent sleep.
You’ve likely heard the adage that: you didn’t gain the weight overnight, you can’t expect to lose it overnight either. The sentiment applies.
So, yes, it may make the journey slower but remember that you’re in this self-improvement trek for the long haul. Losing what you want is part of the process, keeping it off is the other part.
I try to remind many of my clients (especially the ladies) that it took my wife nearly two years to lose 35 pounds. While she would have loved to lose the weight faster, the slower pace allowed her to focus on more sustainable eating habits that could still serve her when she was at maintenance.
I’ve also found, observationally, that the clients I have who take a slower approach tend to be more understanding when life interferes. They know that patience, consistency and some mental flexibility win in the end.
So, nothing against dropping the pounds faster, however, if that path has only led to frustration and weight regain, try a slower approach.
It may be what you needed all along.
(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Burk)
