Many of us are in a mental tug-of-war.
We really want things to change, but we can't determine why it's not easier or sustainable.
We don't understand why programs that worked in the past aren't working now.
It doesn't seem like we eat too much food or too many fun foods, yet we've gained weight.
This may lead us to try the latest trend because maybe that's finally the answer that we've been looking for. Glucose Goddess, anyone?
This may also lead us to give up because it seems out of our control or because we are (rightfully) not willing to severely restrict our diets or kill ourselves at the gym.
Diet culture has led us to believe that we must follow the latest trend and that if we are unsuccessful, it's because we are just not motivated enough. This is a lie.
Here's the truth.
As we age, we lose muscle mass, even if we are exercising like we always have.
This does not mean we need to exercise more; instead, we need to tweak our structured movement to regain that muscle mass.
Also, as we age, we become less active throughout the day. It may not seem like it, but many of us do.
These two things contribute to burning fewer calories naturally outside of structured exercise.
Therefore, to get into a calorie deficit, we must eat less than we used to.
So, finding ways to increase muscle mass and moving more throughout the day is key.
Once that is in place, getting into a slight calorie deficit is easier.
And SLIGHT is the crucial word here.
If you drop weight too fast, you will lose fat, but you will also lose muscle mass, and we've already discussed why we don't want to do that.
The other advantage to working in a slight calorie deficit is that you have to make fewer changes to your current life to get there, so it's not nearly as difficult and its easier to sustain your new habits.
You move out of the state of mind of being "on" or "off," "good," or "bad."
Instead, you are making small changes without trying or needing to be perfect to sustain them and slowly losing weight.
So, if you want to lose, here are your action items:
increase muscle mass
move more throughout the day
make small changes to what and how you eat to find a slight calorie deficit
if you don't slowly lose weight, try a different change
Keep experimenting until you find the right combination of habit changes that are relatively easy to sustain and allow you to lose weight slowly.
As you work to figure those out, it can be challenging to avoid getting discouraged.
Sometimes, it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what small changes will work for you as an individual.
In that case, I am here and ready to help you.
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