losing weight is all trial and error

Losing weight is a journey of constant adjustments.

It’s a bunch of trial and error.

I think the common mistake most of us make is thinking that we have to stick to the exact rules of a diet from start to finish.

That’s totally not true at all.

To lose weight you gotta be in a consistent calorie deficit, and that merely means you gotta be eating less than your body expends. Diets that have rules with timing or types of food you eat are merely strategies to help you achieve a calorie deficit.

They’re not some commandment that you must uphold for results.

An example would be intermittent fasting (IF). The common IF time most follow is 16/8. Do you have to follow 16/8 to get results? Not at all. You could do 14/10, you could do 18/6 or 20/4. You could do 16/8 on some days and 12/12 on others. There’s no rule that guarantee results. What guarantees results is that no matter what timing you choose you’re aware of the total amount (calories) that you’re consuming on a regular basis (and eating below your TDEE).

Same with say keto. Mainstream keto follows 50g carbs or below rule. You could up that to 100g or 150g if 50g is too hard for you to keep up with consistently. Carbs aren’t what makes you gain weight. It’s the total amount of calories you’re consuming that makes you gain or lose weight, not merely carbs. So if you enjoy keto but just wish you could have a little more carbs to make it easier to maintain, totally make that adjustment and do it. Keto isn’t some magic method that guarentees you lose weight when you eat super low carbs.

You could gain weight on keto too.

All diet methods out there are mere templates.

They are template strategies that you could choose to follow if you want some extra help in getting your journey started. Once you start though, do understand that it’s a journey of constantly making adjustments. If something from the template doesn’t feel good, adjust it. Carbs too low? Eat a bit more carbs and maybe less protein/fats to even it out. Too hungry to fast for 16hrs? Why not try 14-15hrs and see how you feel there. Love vegan but need some eggs and fish? Include eggs and fish, pure vegan isn’t some magic spell for weight loss either.

None of the rules from diets guarantee you weight loss. The only guarantee for weight loss is if you consistently eat less than your body expends, and that’s possible on every diet out there including your normal day to day diet. All it comes down to is portion control.

I wanted to paint this picture for you today to hopefully give you a glimpse on what the journey really looks like, and encourage you to make adjustments instead of giving up all together. It’s totally fine that something isn’t working for you, identify what it is, and make the change and try it out for a couple days/weeks. Keep on going, and keep on tweaking till you find something that you don’t hate and can keep up to consistently.

It doesn’t matter if it’s going slow, it’s suppose to go slow. The slower you go, the more adjustments you’ll make over time, which the more comfortable the journey will be, which you’ll be able to stick to longer, which ultimately leads to more results.