The Truth About Weight Loss: What Mums Don’t Know but Need To

It *should* be easy. Surely. Eat a balanced diet and move your body more. Ta-dah! Watch those kilos fall away...

Except of course, if it isn't easy. Not at all. If it were dieting companies that have touted their wares for generations wouldn't exist.

This is what I know about weight loss as a registered nutritional therapist:

• Calories in, calories out is an oversimplified concept.

• Eating less isn’t the answer.

• Weight loss is much harder in your 40s.

Let’s tackle those. Firstly, the basic premise of weight loss is that if you expend more calories than you consume, you’ll lose weight. This is true but it’s not a very nuanced approach and the key thing is that it’s not a sustainable approach for most people. If you’re a Kardashian with a personal chef and a PT working with you 1:1 each day, then it’s more feasible. But there’s a handful of them and a gazillion of us so we need a Plan B.

Food is not just fuel. It is information for our bodies. If you ate the equivalent amount of calories in broccoli as a KitKat – do you imagine for one moment that the impact on your body would be the same? Of course not. One is made up of sugar, wheat and vegetable fats, the other is a source of (amongst other nutrients) vitamin C, iron, calcium, carotene and potassium. That’s why counting sins or points or similar dumbs down nutrition. Food is more complex than that and our relationship with food certainly is.

Skipping meals in order to lose weight is another way clients will tell me they’ve approached weight loss in the past. You shouldn’t eat less. You should eat more. Being hungry is a sure-fire way to feel fed up and miserable - and want to reach for a food you've decided you shouldn't have. It's a cycle that's hard to break. Instead, add a big bowl of greens with an olive oil dressing to your lunch and dinner. Get some inspiration from your favourite chef or nutritionist online. Eat more, not less. Crowding out the processed foods or sugary foods is a gentler approach.

Weight loss in our 40s? Trickier. I’m nearly 46. In my 20s, weight fell off me if I cut out the takeaways or gelato from our favourite local on a Friday night. Not anymore! Noticed this? You’re not imagining it. Especially the weight that sits around our middle. It can be tackled if you want to, but I promise you, a diet isn’t the answer. As our hormones fluctuate in our 40s, our metabolism also slows. We probably move less AND we don’t eat as well PLUS we may be experiencing more stress. These things in combination need to be addressed to make a lasting difference.

Perhaps the most important element of weight loss is mindset. Starting from a place of self-compassion. Listen, don't roll your eyes. This is important. Don't deny yourself foods you love. Focus on eating in a way that nourishes you and makes you feel strong, confident and energised. No food is “good”. No food is “bad”. Some serve your health better than others. We need to eat more of those.

What I see time and time again in my clinic is mums who rely on ‘treats’ to get through the day – a coffee with sugar, biscuits, a bag of crisps – any or all of these. When we start to strip back how she feels about food and she comes to meals from a place of wanting to nourish her body, there’s a shift. She starts to feel better. Then even better. And the connection is made. Nourishment equals feeling great. There’s room for all foods in our lives but when you enjoy the things you thought of as “naughty” or “treats” in the context of a healthy diet, they lose their power to make you feel guilty. And THAT’S so important when you’re tackling weight loss. It’s not a quick fix. Generally, the slower weight comes off the more likely it is to stay off and if you cut foods you love out of your life you’ll be resentful and lie in bed at 2am fantasising about them. No need.

There may be a number of reasons that weight loss is a struggle for you. Undiagnosed hypothyroidism, food intolerances or allergies, or just a disordered approach to eating based on decades of yo-yo dieting – these can all be part of the picture for women I see in my clinic. Nutritional therapy can help you explore what your challenges may be.

And before I go, can we just agree and embrace the fact that we are not all designed to be the same size, especially one that meets the unrealistic images we are bombarded with on social media? Thinner doesn’t mean healthier. Healthier is about happiness, nourishment and amazing energy not a dress size down. And if you follow someone who makes you feel like shit, use the power of Unfollow. Feels good.

If you’d like to talk about positive weight loss with me, you can book a FREE discovery call here. Tell me about your health goals and I’ll explain how we’ll get you there.