By fitlifemonthly 
If you want to lose weight, you might think counting calories and eating less is the way to go, right? Well, not necessarily, says Terry Fairclough, a top personal trainer and co-founder of Your Body Programme.
As a personal trainer, I’ve heard so many different opinions and questions about the best diet for weight loss. Should we count calories? How many should we eat? Should we follow a low-fat, low-carb, or high-protein diet? What about fasting or eating small, regular meals throughout the day?
It’s true that a large calorie deficit can lead to weight loss, but it’s not always fat loss, which is what people usually aim for. While there are various tactics to consider based on body type, goals, and activity levels, the one thing you shouldn’t do is under-eat.
We all know someone who starts drastically cutting calories to get that beach body. Initially, the weight might drop off, but this approach often leads to losing water and stored carbohydrates (not fat), and can ultimately backfire. The Western diet is generally larger than necessary, so a slight calorie deficit might help some who overeat; however, severely cutting calories isn’t the answer.
When you eat, your body turns carbohydrates into glucose, its main energy source. If not used immediately, glucose is stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, accompanied by water. When you cut calories drastically, you deplete these glycogen stores and water but retain fat because the body goes into survival mode. It holds onto fat and breaks down protein for energy instead.
Protein is essential because it’s active in the body and helps burn fat for fuel. Therefore, it’s crucial to consume enough calories that include all three macronutrients: fats, carbs, and protein. Fat, in particular, is vital because it provides more than twice the energy of carbs or protein and is easily accessed during exercise.
Eliminating fats can lead to insufficient energy to exercise properly and can make you more prone to nutrient deficiencies, affecting the immune, liver, and digestive systems, and causing fatigue, malnutrition, and other health issues. Extreme calorie deficits can also increase cortisol levels, the stress hormone, which leads the body to hold onto fat and break down protein.
This protein breakdown slows your metabolism and increases fat storage, especially around the belly, causing potential thyroid and digestive problems. Under-eating can negatively affect nutrient absorption, training results, and even sleep since low blood sugar can disrupt rest.
For bodybuilders, calorie restriction is sometimes used to get lean quickly, but it must be done carefully to avoid illness. Continuous calorie cutting can lead the body into “famine mode,” making it tough to lose weight because the body stores more fat whenever you eat.
In conclusion, you need to eat the right amount of calories, carbs, fat, and protein tailored to your body type, goals, activity level, height, weight, and age. The Your Body Programme helps people determine their specific calorie needs. Essentially, it’s about maintaining a healthy balance to keep your metabolism active, not restricting calories excessively.
Eating plenty of lean proteins (like chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, and tempeh), healthy carbs (like fruits, vegetables, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and brown rice), and fats (such as avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil) can help you achieve your weight loss goals efficiently and healthily.