Today we’re talking about how to not feel overwhelmed from all the weight loss information that is out there. There is frankly speaking so much information not just related to fitness, but in every single industry out there.
When you are exposed to a constant inflow of information in this internet age, it becomes very hard to differentiate the things worth paying attention to.
And this is not a problem that only people who are just trying to get into fitness face. It’s something that I deal with as well when I’m trying to learn something new.
I don’t know what to look at and what to ignore.
I feel that’s a skill that you have to develop; you have to learn what to ignore over time so that you can filter the good information. There are so many different people putting out contradictory information.
It’s very easy to get confused.
I’ll try to address that a little bit so that you can have better clarity going forward. So you don’t have feel confused all the time.
One fundamental principle that I want to start with is knowing that:
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
If someone says that you will get results doing almost nothing; doing something which is very easy. Something that’s a hack. It probably is not going to work.
Think about it this way. You are probably good at something, right? You have a skill that you are really good at. Maybe it’s some kind of a creative skill, maybe you can play an instrument really well.
How did you come to become good at it? Think.
It’s because you did the basics consistently over a long period of time. That is how you got good at it.
It was not because you found some hack that you used to become an expert overnight.
So if someone came to you and asked:
“I want to learn this, I want to be as good as you. How do I go about it?”
What you’d say is: practice the fundamentals; the basics consistently for a long period of time. That is what you would say.
This principle applies to your fitness goals as well. It applies to your weight loss goals as well.
So the principle that will get you results is:
Doing the basics. Doing the simple things consistently for a long period of time.
That’s what’ll get you results. It is not the hacks.
When it comes to weight loss, the basic principle is really very simple and straightforward.
It is energy balance.
Are you eating less energy than you are burning through your activities?
It is just that. Why people assume it has to be complicated is because people look at something very simple. And they think there has to be something more to this.
It’s like when people think about making money and increasing their wealth. It’s as simple as saving more, spending less and investing in assets rather than in liabilities. It’s that straightforward.
But still they go hunting for shortcuts to build wealth.
Similarly when it comes to weight loss, people look at the basic fundamentals i.e., energy in versus energy out. And they think this is too simple. There has to be some kind of hack.
But it’s only when you go looking for hacks that you don’t see results.
When you stick to the fundamentals. And you understand that’s what will get you results. Provided you’re consistent with it over a long period of time. Only then you’d get results.
You may also like: Coping With Sabotage From Family and Friends While Trying to Lose Weight
That applies to everything.
It’s a first principle. It applies to any kind of skill that you’re trying to learn.
For any kind of results that you’re trying to achieve. You have to do the basics consistently over a long period of time.
It’s just that.
Now how you go about achieving this energy deficit i.e., you burning more calories and eating less calories. It can be achieved using any diet.
You could be doing keto. You could be fasting. You could be doing some liquid diet.
As long as it achieves energy deficit, you will lose weight. So you can use any method to go about it.
But restrictive diets are something that you cannot sustain long-term. That’s the problem.
If you go keto; say you eliminate all carbs. You cannot sustain this over a long period of time. Because whenever you go out, the foods that you eat on a regular basis will have carbs.
If you eat only meat and become a carnivore. It’s unrealistic.
Think about it that way. The only way you can make this work for your lifestyle is figuring out the energy composition of different foods. And achieving the energy deficit by understanding what kind of foods have what kind of energy, in terms of calories.
Then just apply the principle over a long period of time. You will see results.
It’s that straightforward.
You may also like: The Problem With Cheat Meals and the Associated Mindset
The other thing you need to keep in mind is not to focus on the minors.
The majority of your results will just come from doing the fundamentals right.
And if you’re always trying to tweak the small details, you’re wasting a lot of your time; a lot of your resources.
These things aren’t moving the needle towards your goal.
The basics, when it comes to your nutrition, your exercise for weight loss are:
#1. Are you tracking your daily calorie intake?
This may piss a few people off. A lot of people are of the view that you don’t need to track your calories. And if you ate according to your hunger signals, you’ll be able to achieve your weight loss goals; if you stopped eating when you stopped feeling hungry.
That’s true in an ideal world where you’re only eating whole foods.
These people will also tell you that you should just eat whole foods. That’s unrealistic for most people who I work with; people who are in my target audience.
I know you don’t want to just eat whole foods.
You want to go to parties. You want to eat that cake. You want to go out occasionally and have a good time.
The realistic approach for you is to track your calories. To understand that some foods will have a lot of calories, but they will not fill you up.
If you’re only eating whole foods, listening to your hunger signals makes sense.
But when you’re outside eating highly engineered processed foods, which are very tasty. You cannot rely on your hunger signals to tell you when you’re full; to tell you that you have eaten sufficient calories.
Because these foods you can’t resist. You can’t help yourself. You’ll just keep eating.
So track your calories. That is the number one thing.
You may also like: Weekend Weight Gain— Will a Weekend of Bad Eating Ruin Your Diet?
Secondly, track your protein intake.
We tend to be attracted towards foods which are high in carbs and fat, but we completely neglect protein most meals.
That’s how the environment around us is. That’s how most foods are.
So you have to go that extra mile to ensure that you’re eating enough protein.
Track your calories. Track your protein.
Make sure you’re eating enough fruits and veggies.
Make sure you’re drinking enough water.
Take care of your stress and sleep.
Get enough movement throughout the day.
This is really it. There’s nothing else that you need to focus on.
If you’re focusing on the fundamentals; these few points. Everything else is a minor factor that won’t make a huge difference.
So instead of majoring in the minors. Major in the majors.
And you will make great progress; provided you do this consistently over a long period of time.
You may also like: Coping With Stress and Fatigue During a Weight Loss Phase
There is no hack. If you follow a hack, and you do get results.
They won’t last long. Keep that in mind.
Now regarding the information sources that you refer to.
Firstly follow limited sources.
If you’re following tens of thousands of different influencers, different researchers, different people who are providing information on a day-to-day basis, you will get confused.
This is what I personally practice whenever I’m trying to learn something new. I don’t follow a ton of people.
I follow at most three people who I filter out over a period of few days or a few weeks. And I remove everyone else from my feed.
When I got on Instagram, I was trying to learn how social media works. Now I follow only 2 Instagram related accounts who teach how to do well on social media.
I unfollowed everyone else.
So if you’re trying to learn about weight loss or fitness. Figure out which skill you want to learn.
Then narrow down your focus to one, two sources. Maybe three at most. And unfollow everyone else.
Because the more information you have, the more confusing it would be.
You don’t need more information. You need applied information; things that you can apply right away to resolve your challenges.
There’s no point consuming more and more information, which does nothing for you. Because you’re not trying to become a researcher or an expert.
You’re trying to solve your problems. So what challenges are you facing?
Why you not able to lose weight? Are you not able to lose weight because you’re overeating due to stress? Because you’re not able to meal prep? Then find accounts which are providing you solutions for those things.
If you need to learn recipes to cook, maybe follow a recipe account.
Find something that provides a solution to your problems and then go execute the solution instead of just following tons of people; overloading your brain with information. And confusing yourself.
It’s going to happen if you let your sources be in finite. Try to avoid that.
Narrow down your sources of information. That will make a huge difference.
At least it does in my case.
Right now I’m trying to learn about business. I’m trying to learn about social media. And I’m learning about marketing.
If I follow everyone out there, I’ll just get very confused. Because everyone has a different philosophy; a different way of approaching things.
And you’re not just trying to learn about weight loss. I’m assuming you have other interests that you’re pursuing.
Imagine you follow 10 people for every single interest you have. You open up your feed everyday; you’re bombarded with thousands of new pieces of information.
You won’t be able to figure what’s correct and what’s not.
Just stick to a few things. And remember the key principle: if something sounds too good to be true; something sounds like a hack. That probably won’t get you results.
So look for people who preach consistency and following the fundamentals. Follow 2-3 of them for each of your interests.
That will keep your brain clutter-free.
You don’t need more info. You just need applied information. Remember that.
Knowing, but not applying is the same as not knowing.
You could become an expert on weight loss. And you’ll go and preach your knowledge in every family gathering.
You might have noticed this. Your relatives who are really out of shape give out a lot of knowledge on how to lose weight. But ironically they themselves are yet to lose weight in the first place.
You don’t want to become that.
You should get the information, be able to apply it, get the results and be done with it.
You don’t have to become an expert because that’s not the goal.
The goal is to lose the excess weight and have a great life. Period.
If you have been trying to reach your weight loss goals for a while now, but are struggling a bit in the process.
It’s probably because of a lack of consistency, a lack of guidance or a lack of support.
If you’d like a 24×7 support system to hold your hand and guide you through the process till you get to your goals, you should consider 1-on-1 coaching with Workday Physique.
