When you are serious about losing weight and changing your body then it’s important to understand the one and only weight loss rule. It’s truly about burning more calories than you eat, though many will have you believing differently. The truth is that to lose the weight and keep it off you need to work at creating a sort of calorie deficit. We are so intrigued by the many diets out there that promise results quickly without effort. Far too many fads and trends tell you that you don’t need to work out, but rather just eat this or that to lose the weight. If you go back to the golden rule within weight loss then you will keep the weight off for good, but that’s about thinking of it each and every day.
So the weight loss rule boils down to calories eaten minus calories burned. It sounds simple enough, but it’s about being mindful of this at all times. Though you may be tempted to fuel your workouts and eat more after a workout, eating too much can hurt the effort that you did at the gym. There is a certain math to this and it really depends on your starting weight and your ideal weight. You want to eat enough to sustain yourself, but you also want to be in a calorie deficit—which means that you are burning more calories than you eat. You shouldn’t be eating too many calories, but you also want to be sure not to eat too few calories either.
Being Aware of What You Eat and How Much You Eat and Burn Too
So that’s an important thing to note with the weight loss rule and to remember moving forward. Just because you are trying to lose weight and therefore working out, does not mean that you should eat too little. This can actually backfire as your body needs fuel in the form of the appropriate amount of calories to sustain you each and every day. If you cut yourself short on this then you will not be balanced, and this leads to failure in the long term. So think of what your ideal body weight is to be and then work to balance out the calories eaten vs. the calories burned—that balance will help you to lose weight and keep it off moving forward!
Eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day is one way of ensuring that the weight loss rule is in full effect. You are giving yourself that energy through the right foods, but you are never overeating. Ensuring that you eat before and after a workout in the way of a small snack can help. It’s never about deprivation or overeating, but rather finding that balance. You need to be mindful of how much you burn in each workout, and therefore eat the right foods in the right amounts to get that balance. When you can achieve this and maintain it then you can enjoy long term weight loss moving on into your future—and that’s why this rule is so very important!