"Eating Healthy" vs Eating for Fat Loss
“I’m eating healthy! Why am I not losing weight??”
Many people are surprised to find that you can “eat healthy” and still struggle to burn fat. A huge part of my job as a personal trainer is educating people on what exactly it means to “eat healthy” versus eating in a way that supports fat loss.
“Eating Healthy”
What exactly does it mean to “eat healthy”?
This phrase is pretty ambiguous and can mean different things to different people. In my coaching, I teach my clients that “eating healthy” means eating foods that are nutrient-dense. Nutrient-dense foods are foods that have a minimum of 10% daily value (DV) of at least one essential nutrient.
Essential nutrients are things that our bodies need to stay healthy and function. They include macronutrients like protein, carbohydrates, & fats as well as micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, water, and dietary fiber. We can’t generate essential nutrients on our own, so we need to get them through food.
Examples of nutrient-dense foods include unprocessed, whole foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fresh meats.
For “healthy eating,” you’ll want your diet to be mostly made up of nutrient-dense foods, as opposed to foods that have very little nutritional value (less than 10% DV of any essential nutrient). Most highly processed and packaged foods (like chips, cookies, candy, and packaged baked goods) tend to have a low DV of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They also tend to be high in sugars, saturated and trans fats, and sodium. If your diet is made up of too much of these kinds of foods, you risk the development of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, weight gain, and increased risk of type II diabetes and heart disease.
Eating to Lose Weight
Now even if your diet is made up of healthy, nutrient-dense foods, you can still find yourself struggling to burn body fat. One reason for this is that you’re not paying attention to your calorie intake. And when it comes to fat loss–it’s all about the calories.
In order to lose weight, our bodies need to be in a calorie deficit over an extended period of time. This means that our bodies burn more calories than what we’re taking in through the foods that we eat. They then use our stored body fat as fuel to make up for the energy missing from our diets.
Some of your favorite nutrient-dense foods may also be high in calories, and if you eat too much you may not be in a calorie deficit. For example, fruits like bananas. mangos, and oranges are great sources of Vitamin C. However they also have a high sugar content–making them more calorie dense than other good sources of Vitamin C like broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower:
Nuts and seeds are another great example of foods that are both nutrient dense and high calorie. 1 cup of almonds is a great source of potassium and unsaturated fats, but it’s also 160 calories. ½ cup of peanuts is another great source of potassium and protein, but with 340 calories it’s something to be eaten sparingly when you’re trying to burn fat.[1]
If you’re serious about wanting to lose weight–you need to figure out what your body’s daily calorie intake should be and choose foods every day that fit within your calorie budget.
The best way to make sure that the healthy foods you’re eating fit within your daily calorie budget is to track what you eat in a calorie counting app like MyFitnessPal. This will help you to stay aware of both the nutrient density and the calorie content of your food.
If you don’t like tracking in MyFitnessPal every day, consider planning out your meals according to your daily calorie goals (check out my Trainer’s Guide to Meal Prep book). You can also follow a pre-made meal plan that fits your daily calorie and macronutrient goals (you can find these on the Meal Plans page on this website).
Another thing to keep in mind is that your body is going to reflect what you eat most of the time. It’s not enough to sometimes eat fruits and vegetables. A healthy, well-balanced diet is something you have to consistently practice if you truly want to make progress. If the majority of your diet is still highly processed junk food, eating a vegetable here and there isn’t going to save you from the effects of a bad diet.
Learn how to set your daily calories and macronutrient goals for your meal planning on my Patreon page. Click the button below to subscribe and learn more:
Make sure to also check out my Youtube channel for more training and nutrition tips, and feel free to stop by my live Fit Q&A streams on Twitch Tuesdays, Thursdays at 11:30am EST and Fridays at 2pm EST.
[1] Nutritional Info from myfitnesspal.com food library.
JAYD HARRISON (JAYDIGAINS)
Jayd Harrison (Jaydigains) is a personal trainer and affiliate streamer on Twitch. She has been an active trainer since 2014 and now specializes in comprehensive weight loss coaching. Check out some of Jayd’s coaching videos on Youtube, or join Jayd live on Twitch on Tuesdays & Thursdays 11am EST for a Fit Q&A session.
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