How to not get chronically fatigued while losing weight

Loosing weight the healthy way.

Losing weight is one of the most difficult things a person can go through. Sure in theory it’s very easy. You have to consume less calories than you actually need in order for your body to dip into the fat reserves we want to lose so badly.

It sounds very easy to just eat salads all day everyday and keep your caloric intake below 800 calories a day. And sure this works really well. The ones that tried this will also know that there is a certain level of will and mental toughness necessary for this method to work. In short this is not sustainable and will get overtraind or chronically fatigued fast.

I have quite a bit of experience cutting weight for tournaments and cutting weight just to get back in shape again. It’s important to know these are two completely different things. For a competition you only care about making weight on the scale. If it goes up after because you can finally eat and drink again, that’s perfectly fine. Cutting weight to be in shape and become healthier is something else. This will need a more sustainable long term approach to be successful. We will be looking at the long term more sustainable way today.

What not to do.

When I was younger I always took the tough road. Just eat protein and veggies and you’ll keep your muscle and burn your fat was the advice I got. This works really well. Or at least it will give you the desired results aesthetically.

What they don’t tell you is that you will get tired very fast. For me it usually takes about a week and half to notice that I’m getting a bit sluggish. A week later and I’m dead tired and cranky all the time. Another downside for the guys out there training there ass off every day. You will be more prone to injury. At a certain point your body will just be too tired to keep up with your regular training schedule and you will start overcompensating with bad form or just become weaker.

Just sleeping more won’t help you either. Turns out you need energy to get a good night's rest as well. And you can guess it, that energy comes from all the stuff you’re not consuming at the moment.

A healthier way.

So what is the answer here. What should you be doing in order to lose weight in a healthy way. Or more important, in a sustainable way.

In order to lose weight to get back in shape, whether that is just because you want to look good or you’re training for a competition, you will have to start counting calories. There’s just no way around it. I know it’s annoying but it is just really important that you know how much energy comes in and how much you spend. At least in the beginning this is really important. Later you will know better what and how much you consume and you will get a better feeling for overeating foods you probably shouldn’t be eating in the first place. The good thing about counting calories is, there are really good apps these days that will make this very easy for you.

The reason it is so important you keep track of how many calories you get in is mainly to see you still get enough. Of course you don’t want to overeat, but you definitely don’t want to eat too little. Just check based on weight, height and activity level how much calories you need and go 200kcal under that. Do this for a couple of weeks and see how that feels first.

If you start to notice that your progress goes slower than when you first started don’t be too scared to have a cheat day. With a cheat day I don’t mean run to Mcdonalds and order five menus. But you can overeat this day. This will give your metabolism some incentive to ramp up the burning of calories again. In the long run this will get you to your goal faster. Another plus is that this so-called ‘refeed’ day will boost your happiness as well.

Make better food choices.

Let’s take a look at what foods would be a good choice. Let’s not get into specifics here. If you want to know what to eat exactly please check out our recipe section. But what I think is good to know how much protein, carbs and fats you want to get in.

If you’re trying to lose weight it would be good to cut back on the carbohydrates and increase the protein and fat consumption. What works best for me is about 40% of my total amount of calories will come from protein, 30% from carbs and 30% will be fat.

You’re food choices matter.

Now it’s all about choosing food that will feed your body best and will influence your hormonal balance in a positive way. It’s not ok to get 30% of your calories from sugar! Even though this is a carbohydrate. You do need slow burning good quality carbohydrates that come from oats, sweet potato or any type of vegetable for example. Of course there’s plenty of other healthy options out there. Try to get your protein from lean sources. Lean meats are a good choice. If you’re vegan you might want to think about a protein supplement because it will be really difficult to get enough protein otherwise. For fats look at nuts, fatty fish and don’t shy away from eggs, you need the cholesterol as well.

Conclusion

Following these guidelines should give you a more pleasant and effective experience while cutting weight. Just make sure you’re not under-eating, it slows the metabolism down and makes you feel horrible in the long run. Chances are you will gain most weight back fast as well. Coming off a low calorie diet will make you fall back to old habits fast. The way to go here is making some lifestyle changes. Make better food choices and you will feel more energized through the day.

Hope this influences you in a positive way! If you have any questions please fel free to contact us at contact@essentialrecovery.info.

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