Do-nut mess with a girl & her donuts.
This piece originally appeared on Lotus Health Co’s blog last month in two parts. We were so inspired by Elin’s results, we edited to share with you! With Elin’s permission, of course. Check out her site, you'll also see her sporting BFG gear!
The Challenge
Donuts are delicious and wanting to lose a few kilos is not a good enough reason to cut them out completely (unless of course you don’t like donuts, in which case you can stop reading now). I’m so sick of hearing people say “I’m not eating carbs at the moment because I’m trying to lose weight” or “I can’t lose any weight because I could never stick to a diet”.
Well, here are the good news folks: You CAN still have donuts AND be in a calorie deficit. As I’ve said before, carbs don’t make your fat, fat doesn’t make you fat, donuts don’t make you fat. Eating more than you burn make you fat.
So, by still being in a calorie deficit, I will eat one donut a day every day this week just to prove to you that for weight loss, you can eat whatever you want, as long as you’re in a calorie deficit. I will still track my macros and make sure I’m within 5 grams +/- of my macro targets to make sure I still eat enough protein to keep/gain my muscles, enough fat for a healthy hormone function and enough carbs to help me fuel my body and recover after my workouts.
Even though I believe that you should fuel your body with as many nutritious foods as possible to optimise performance, recovery, mood, skin, sleep etc, replacing some of my carbs and fats with a donut will not be the end of the world. I will still lose weight, as long as I’m still within my calorie “budget”.
I don’t like to look at my “diet” as a “diet”. It’s a lifestyle, it’s something that’s sustainable and that allows me to eat whatever i want, when I want as long as I hit my calories/macros. This means no cravings, no binges and no feeling like you’re missing out on life.
See original post here.
One week, 7 donuts.
Now the big question is, did I lose any weight or was I lying when I said a calorie deficit is all that matters….? ;)
Here are my results:
Waist: -0.5cm
Hip: -0.5cm
Bum: -2cm
Thigh: 0.5cm
Weight: -0.5kg
Chest and bicep measurements stayed the same.
I’ve been back really focusing on tracking my macros for 4 weeks now and I’ve lost about the same amount of weight/centimetres each week, this week was no different, even though I swapped some of my sweet potato and fats for a donut every day. I wanted to do this because so many people get so stuck in the mindset that they HAVE to eat “clean” to lose weight. By incorporating our favourite foods in to our “diet” we can find something that’s sustainable and doesn’t feel like a diet.
I never feel like I’m missing out on food, because I know I can have everything, I just have to make it fit. You should never look at any food like “cheating”! There is no “good” and “bad” food, there is simply food that is higher in calories and food that is lower in calories. Think of your calories/macros as a budget. You can either be smart and spend it on food that will keep you full for longer and fuel your body with good nutrients, or you can eat something like a donut or a pizza and get that satisfaction, but might have to eat a little bit less for the rest of the day.
Same thing goes if you go out and buy clothes. If you treat yourself to a really nice dress and shoes you might have to spend a little bit less money on take away coffee or dinners that week.
It’s not about feeling guilty, after all, it’s just numbers. Numbers that will help you on your journey of losing/gaining weight. Yes you CAN still lose weight without counting calories. You can eat “clean” food and drop a few kilos. But what are you going to do if you stop losing weight? Eat cleaner? Or if you’ve lost weight because you’ve cut out your carbs? What are you going to cut out when you stop losing weight and you don’t have any carbs left to cut out?
By calculating your calories and macros you’ll know how much you’re eating and can easily make changes to your diet if you don’t get the results you want. Counting your calories helps change your body composition, macronutrients dictate how you feel.
See original post here.