By fitlifemonthly 
If you’re aiming to lose weight, you might think that counting calories and eating less is the solution. However, Terry Fairclough, a personal trainer and co-founder of Your Body Programme, suggests that’s not necessarily the best approach.
There’s a lot of confusion about diets and weight loss, from counting calories to deciding whether to go low-fat, low-carb, or high-protein. What about fasting or eating small meals frequently? While these methods have their own benefits based on your body type and activity level, drastically cutting calories is not advisable.
Many people think that significantly reducing their calorie intake will help them lose weight quickly. While a calorie deficit can lead to weight loss, it doesn’t automatically mean you’ll lose fat. Often, you’re losing stored carbohydrates and water, not fat. Over time, an extreme calorie deficit can actually make your body cling to fat and start breaking down protein instead.
The body uses carbohydrates and converts them into glucose, which is the primary fuel for our cells. If not burnt through activity, glucose gets stored as glycogen in muscles and the liver, attaching with water molecules. Cutting calories mainly reduces these stores, not fat.
Protein is vital because it helps maintain muscle mass, and the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn even at rest. So, it’s crucial to consume a diet that includes fats, carbohydrates, and protein. Contrary to popular belief, fat is an essential energy source, offering more energy per gram than carbs or protein. It supports exercise and is an almost limitless energy reserve.
However, cutting calories too much can strip the body of needed nutrients, potentially leading to health issues like fatigue, malnutrition, and hormonal imbalances, among others. Chronic dieting stress might raise cortisol levels, complicating weight loss and causing the body to slow its metabolism, store belly fat, and affect thyroid function, further complicating your efforts.
Severe calorie restriction can impact digestion and nutrient absorption, harming your health and exercise results. Lack of calories can also disrupt sleep, leading to more issues affecting your health and productivity.
Even bodybuilding competitors, who often limit their calories to get lean, can face problems. The danger of constant, severe calorie cutting is that it can push your metabolism into “famine mode,” storing every extra calorie as fat.
Ultimately, it’s important to eat the right balance of calories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins tailored to your body type, goals, and lifestyle. The Your Body Programme helps people identify their calorie needs for optimal health without severe restriction. A well-rounded diet with lean proteins, healthy carbs, and fats is crucial.
Healthy eating is essential for maintaining your body’s function and metabolism. Increasing your caloric intake in a balanced way can actually promote fat loss. Make sure to include foods like lean beef, chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, and a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats.
Terry Fairclough emphasizes the importance of a balanced and nutritious diet for overall health and effective weight management.