As we dive into How to Eat for Fat Loss it is important to remember that successful “losses” are about burning more calories than what you take in – or eat.
Forget Diets!
The strategies I outline for you are designed to teach you how to boost your metabolism and increase your energy levels so you can burn more fat and calories 24-7.
You tell me you ARE eating healthy, yet you are getting so frustrated that no inches or pounds will budge. Maybe makes you feel like why even put forth the effort?
Do Not Give Up!
What I am about to share is a list of Unsuspecting Saboteurs ~ eating habits that may very well be the reason why you are not making progress on your fat loss goals.
Here is a quick troubleshooter list you can print and use to find some answers to your eating for fat loss dilemma.
NOTE: Exercise is not a part of this list for simply you either ARE or ARE NOT consistently following a full body, progressively challenging. resistance training plan.
If you are not, then this could be ONE of the possible culprits – one you will add to your list to work on in order to break out if this “stalled state”. If you are unsure of the quality of your workout plan, be sure to see Workouts that Burn MORE Fat in Less Time
~ Mindless Eating
Busy Moms are vulnerable to this habit. Calories quickly add up when you eat without paying attention. This happens as you eat with a distraction, eat foods out of containers, going back for seconds, taste testing while cooking, cleaning your child’s plate to avoid waste, etc.
Doesn’t matter what the food is – more of anything adds extra calories. High calorie healthy foods as well as not so healthy foods add your calories add up MUCH faster.
~ Drinking Calories
How many times a day are you drinking beverages that contain calories? Do you count these calories? Do you realize how many servings of these caloric beverages you are drinking?
It is super easy to assume ” a glass” of something is one serving, when in fact many drink’s servings size is just 8 oz or 1 cup. How many cups are in that glass you down? Add up the calories and it can be quite shocking.
The calories you drink not only quickly add up, they also take the place of lower calorie, higher quality, whole food meals that actually help you burn more calories through digestion.
So how often and how much are you…
~ Drinking “coffee shop” coffees
~ Milk
~ Juice
~ Vitamin Waters (these are loaded with sugar BTW – take a look at the food label!)
~ Alcohol – Beer: 105 – 190 Wine: 100 – 130 Shot of Liquor: 90 – 130 An 8 oz. Margarita – 430 (the small ones)
~ Condiments
Condiments are not FREE Foods and they DO count toward your calorie intake.
The unsupportive condiments we tend to use are SUPER high in calories as we use WAY more than the suggested portion size.
EX – Salad Dressing.
This condiment is the biggest downfall for busy women who are truly making better choices as they prepare a very healthy salad.
Consider that 2 Tablespoons of Light Ranch dressing is 70 calories. Have you ever measured out 2 Tablespoons? Think you are doing well by using a vinaigrette? Look at the label and the portion size!
You see the label says “Light” so you pour it on using about 1/2 to 3/4 cup and are suddenly eating 150-200 calories of condiments.
Time to recalculate those Condiment Calories!
~ Lack of planning meals ahead of time
It is highly unlikely that you will be able to stay on track and eat the right balance of foods at the right time if no effort goes into planning your meals.
Planning ahead is a MUST for successful results. I understand it can seem tedious and take time and effort, but aren’t your results worth it?
Knowing what you will eat and having it ready to grab and go makes your life easier and your results come much faster for you are not turning to convenience foods that do nothing to help you burn more fat.
~ Not Eating Enough
Okay….As women we are notorious for NOT eating. I know this strategy all too well and it got me nowhere fast.
SURE ….it is a quick way to lose weight – initially.
I hope that as a follower of me and Fit Yummy Mummy you are aware and have read several posts as to why Not eating enough calories can hinder your results, cause platueas, zap your energy and dramatically slow your metabolism.
If you truly are in a caloric deficit – eating MUCH less calories than you burn – you will see a dramatic drop in weight.
The “too good to be true” results pour in…..but a few weeks later they stop – and you find it harder and harder to lose and eventually begin to gain it back.
Sure not eating enough can negatively impact your metabolism…however, you will see weight loss. The problem arises when you KEEP eating less calories – yes, your body can begin to store some of those calories away as fat for you go into starvation mode -
What happens next is that you will begin to Hate having no energy and you will begin to experience extreme cravings and hunger.
This will lead you to Eat….
And eat more than what you had been accustomed to eating, binging to make up for a lack of food. This leads to a dramatic increase in calories – which you know leads to stalled results or weight gain.
It is a cycle that can be broken. You break it by embracing for fuel to fire up your metabolism, for fuel to increase your energy levels and how about for the simple fact that you must feed your body for health.
Make an effort to consistently take in the “right” types and amount of Food….giving your body a chance to get off the roller coaster and your metabolism a chance to adjust to a healthier way of eating.
Do any of the above habits describe you? Leave a comment below!
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Great article, Holly! I am guilty of a few of these, especially drinking my calories. I have decided to cut soda and alcohol from my diet. Yesterday I had a craving for a Coke, instead I brewed myself some green tea. By the time, I had finished the tea, I had forgotten all about that Coke!
I am guilty of the roller coaster ride and I have trouble losing weight now and I gain it back sooooo fast. So here’s to eating healthy and enough food to keep me from ever being lethargic and lacking energy to get in a good workout : )
Guilty here!!!I m eating enough and my weight loss has stalled
Not eating enough actually!!!
I have battled with my weight since I was in my early 20′s when I developed anorexia/bulimia it wasn’t until I met my husband at 29 this issue became better but even today I battle that inner demon whilst I haven’t not eaten or thrownup in 10 years it’s always abattle.
I am always to flat out like a lizard to eat properly & am always guilty of eating empty calories until I discovered Holly & FYM I really was in denial now I know a better way to achieve my goals and know from practasing what Holly teaches it’s fact not fiction!
Thanks for the article Holly.
I was having a difficult time getting off of diet coke. A gal at the grocery store told me about Diet Lipton Green Tea With Citrus. It is quite yummy. Sugar free and Low Sodium. Hopefully, I have made a good choice. Has anyone heard anything bad about this product?
I need to get better at planning my meals ahead and preparing ahead. I don’t drink lattes as often and when I do, it’s either sugar free or I have half the syrup put in. I don’t use a lot of dressing because I have always liked just having a little. Overall, I believe I keep an eye on my caloric intake and eat pretty healthy. I drink diet pop sometimes and will have a small regular pop sometimes. I just want to burn more calories than I eat and I want to tone up too.
Thanks for the article Holly! I’ve started slipping back into mindless eating (finishing kids’ leftovers, taste testing, reading while eating!) and have vowed to stop doing it! I’m still seeing results but don’t want those old bad habits to come back! Thanks for the reminder to pay attention to what I’m doing – being mindful is one of my goals this Challenge
Thanx Holly,
I had forgotten that my (treat) of extra suger in my tea could be one reason why im not losing as fast as i should be. Having no time with an 8yo and 3month old, my tea is my treat (when i get a hot one), little did i realise i can treat myself to a glass of water and know that i just avoided extra calories. Thanx for your insightfulness into our minds.
My problem is I have an absolute block to counting calories.
Excellent article Holly… my worst thing is mindless eating…
Thanks for pointing it out, I now have the amunition to get on top of it!
Holly, I have to say the hardest part for me is the eating, even when I am motivated. If it isn’t prepared and easy for me to eat I go straight to junk food because it is really “mindless eating” Oh Holly, you had to mention the vinaigrette salad dressing….and yes I thought it was better!!! Lack of planning meals I have to say is definately a huge one for us. It is almost as if I feel like I need a personal chef to eat right and healthy and a personal trainer to kick my butt when it comes to exercising!
Great list Holly. One other thing that I have done that has been very useful to me is to substitute the ‘best’ option while still having the same meal. What I mean by that is looking for a lower calorie and fat type of meat or a lower calorie and carb type of vegetable. For example, using Nutrition Data, if you compare 100 grams (3.5 oz) of similar foods you can find
1. Beef tenderloin at 247 calories and 18 grams fat versus sirloin at 142 calories and 6 grams fat
2. Chicken leg with skin at 187 calories and 12 grams fat with chicken fillet no skin with 110 calories and 1 gram fat
3. Lamb chop at 235 calories and 10 grams of fat versus lamb fillets at 120 calories and 3.5 grams fat
4. Potato at 86 calories and 20 grams of carb versus pumpkin at 26 calories and 6 grams carbs
5. Peas at 68 calories and 10 grams carb versus French beans at 25 calories and 3 grams carbs
Quite startling really and can easily add up to many hundreds of calories per day.
I needed this.
but i’m really good with my RT workouts. I need more interval ideas.
I’m guilty of eating my kids’ leftovers. I knew it’s adding up. I need to find a way to not throw food and not over eat!.
I also eat less unintentionally, on the days that I don’t sleep well because of my baby, I tend to have very low appetite when I wake up. Still don’t know what to do about it.
I haven’t been good with intervals
But to be optimistic, I did drop a few inches despite all that, may be because I’m breastfeeding.
Thanks Holly, your giving us a full nutrition/wo course in a very simple and gradual way!
serene,
Great article Holly, I definitely have been guilty with finishing my daughters plate! However I have been trying to eat every 3 to 4 hours now and being careful to eat the right foods also as you recommended. I find this really helps and together with following your workouts I am definitely starting to see the results.
Thanks for the list. I get into lazy/busy habits without even considering that they are back.