The surprising reason why you need to eat more to lose weight
why eating a lot of the right foods might just hold the key to your goals
By Belinda Maude and Andrea Klas
Before we get into the nitty gritty of why eating more will help you to lose weight, it’s important that we understand exactly what weight is. When we stand on the scales the number that shows up is a combination of water, muscle, fat, our organs and skeleton, and the rest. All of these components are essential in the right proportions!
When we say we want to ‘lose weight’ or ‘tone up’ what we really mean is we want to lower our body fat and increase our muscle mass to body fat percentage. This is the percentage of our bodies that consists of fat in proportion to our muscle. Everybody has a different fat distribution and actually some stored fat is necessary as it provides energy, protects our organs and acts as an insulator. However, too much fat in proportion to too little muscle can be detrimental to our health.
The number on the scales doesn’t tell the whole story!
Research has proven that the basic formula for losing weight is eating less and moving more. The science of losing weight revolves around understanding our BMR or basal metabolic rate is the base number of calories a day we need to stay alive. We burn calories just by moving about during our regular day but we can burn even more by moving our bodies. So if we’re following the weight loss formula, we need to eat less calories than the amount we’re burning, putting us in a calorie deficit. Seems simple right?
Not so fast! The challenge when we restrict food to keep under this caloric level is holding onto our all important muscle mass. When you eat less calories, chances are you’re also eating less protein. So how do we maintain our muscle mass while lowering our body fat?
The key is consuming a specific proportion of proteins, carbohydrates and fats that adds up to the base number of calories you burn a day. With additional exercise you’ll still be in a calorie deficit but you’ll be feeding your muscles what it needs to survive.
The most important food group to track is protein
The most important of these groups for muscle maintenance is protein. A diet rich in protein, around 45% of your daily caloric intake, will maximize your muscle building potential. It’s also important to fuel yourself with complex carbohydrates - approximately a fistfull at breakfast and lunch - as these will give you the energy necessary to train and will fuel the healthy bacteria in your gut. Fats are important too, especially at night to help with sleep, but they are high in calories so paying more attention to the quantity is important.
Most vegetables are essentially free foods and can be consumed in large quantities. You’ll get a whole host of benefits by including more colorful vegetables into your diet, including improved skin health, a boosted immune system and anti-inflammatory effects.
In the supermarket look for foods that only have one ingredient. For example salmon, kale, egg or avocado. Grass fed meats, sustainably caught fish and tofu are healthier than high-sugar protein bars or pre-packed meals. Complex carbs are found in brown rice, chickpeas or whole grain pasta and healthy fats come from olive oils, avocados and peanut butter. If we’re loading up on these low-sugar foods, chances are we’ll find ourselves eating more than we’re used to.
Look for wholegrains or pulses when choosing complex carbs!
The bottomline? To keep hold of your muscle mass you need to eat more protein, accounting for about 45% of all the calories you consume a day. To train harder you need to eat more complex carbs, accounting for approximately 30%, which leaves around 25% for fats. And for overall health you need to eat more vegetables.
Turns out lots of protein and low calorie accompanyments the real recipe for success!