This is a big one for me. It took me a very long time to come to terms with the idea that it’s not (just) the foods you eat that matters when it comes to weight loss. I used to get frustrated when I was making healthy food choices, never consuming junk food, exercising regularly and couldn’t lose weight, yet I see others eating junk and remaining skinny – Why?

While I do believe that our focus should always be on health rather than numbers on a scale, the size on an article of clothing or the number on an inch tape wrapped around a part of your body, being overweight is harmful to one’s health.

However, it is a known fact that being overweight harms one’s health.

So, what if you eat healthily, use ‘super foods’, exercise, take care of yourself but still can’t lose any excess kgs?

The truth is, you don’t have to eat healthy foods to lose weight. You don’t need to eat six meals a day and time them perfectly. You don’t even need to exercise.

That’s right, you can eat junk foods and sit on the sofa watching TV and still lose weight, not that I would EVER recommend that, but it’s a fact.

The only thing you need to do to lose weight, is burn more calories than you consume. That’s it!

Now, I’m sure most people know that we burn a certain amount of calories simply by being alive; our bodies use energy in the form of calories to be able to simply exist and sustain life by making our hearts beat, our lungs expand and contract, our liver function etc. The amount of energy in calories used up to essentially keep us alive is what is known as our BMR (base metabolic rate).

Therefore, if your BMR is say, 1200kcal per day, consuming 1000 calories a day, without moving a muscle, will result in weight loss, at least for a while. Moreover, these 1000 calories can come from literally ANYTHING. If you decide to starve yourself and then consume a slice of cake that is 1000kcal, you will lose weight. It really is that simple. In doing so, you will be harming your health IMMENSELY.  I cannot stress this enough THIS IS NOT A HEALTHY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT but, it will work anyway, however, doing so for a long period of time will undoubtedly make you ill.

Eating this way will not help you achieve long lasting results and a healthy body, far from it – I’m just trying to share the idea that despite not wanting to instill the idea of obsessive calorie counting (as I believe that it’s also incredible unhealthy to be so obsessive about the issue), calories do matter. Just because something is a ‘clean treat’, it still contains calories, it may contain less that it’s unhealthy counterpart but still.

If you are trying to start a healthier lifestyle and shed some weight, try out new recipes, make clean treats, but be mindful of calories as you may feel like you’re making a lot of effort to improve and you might not get the results you wanted which may be disheartening. Believe me I know!

Remember, a healthy happy life is all about balance, so don’t over stress about calories, just try to make better choices with your food. Try some new recipes that are better for you – I’ll be sharing some of my favorites very soon 🙂 Also, move your body; whether it’s going to the gym, yoga, going for a walk, finding a trainer or dancing at home in your pjs, keep in mind that our bodies were not meant to be seated for 10 hours a day. You’ll feel so much better, promise 😉

Finally, if you are making the change toward a healthier life, don’t beat yourself up about not being perfect or about not losing a set amount of weight in a set amount of time. You are beautiful as you are; we’re just making improvements 🙂 Don’t do this because you hate your body, take care of yourself, exercise and eat right because you love your body. Trust that it will work and learn as much as you can along the way and I promise it will work. Weather it’s weight loss, improved skin, more energy or overall health benefits, your food and your relationship with your body is the place to start ❤

I hope you enjoyed reading this piece – let me know if it was clear and if there’s any other topic related to food and wellness you’d like to read about in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!

Until my next post, thanks for being here x X x