Drastically reducing your calorie intake may seem like the easiest way to lose weight fast. However, a professional warned that it may not be wise.
Online coach Lol Darby (@loldarbyfit on TikTok) took to the sharing platform to share some sage advice on achieving long-term results. She encouraged slimmers to avoid a “massive calorie deficit” where they do not eat enough food, especially protein.
Lol is the founder of Team Embodiment coaching, which allows clients to “transform while eating tasty food”. Sharing one client’s impressive transformation, she shared some do’s and don’ts for effective slimming.
Referencing a client who made a major transformation in three months, Lol said: “Here’s everything you need to do and everything you’re currently doing wrong [if you want to achieve the same].
‘You can see that this client has reduced her body fat and also built muscle and built her glutes’
TikTok / @loldarbyfit
“Let’s talk about what you’re doing wrong if this is your goal. You can see that this client has reduced her body fat and also built muscle and built her glutes.
“This is so important because the main thing that people do wrong when they’re trying to lose fat is go in a massive calorie deficit and don’t eat enough protein or enough food in general.
“They might lose a bit of fat at the start but lose a lot of muscle mass as well.”
Slimmers who follow this strategy often feel “better” as they see the numbers on the scale drop, but it’s actually “counterproductive to your goal”.
The expert explained that losing muscle mass is not beneficial as it negatively impacts your metabolism, “making it harder for you to lose weight”.
Losing muscle mass can also lead to a slimmer becoming “skinny fat”, a term which refers to someone who has a higher percentage of body fat than is healthy, but a normal or low body mass index (BMI). According to the coach, this may result in an “untoned” body.
Not only this, cutting your calories dramatically is not a “sustainable” weight loss strategy that can be implemented for long-term results.
To lose weight effectively and sustainably, as well as maintain muscle mass, the expert advised against cutting calories too much.
Instead, slimmers should aim for a “small calorie deficit and a high-protein diet, so your body is getting the fuel it needs”.
High-protein sources to include are beans, peas and lentils, nuts and seeds, lean meats, fish, dairy products and soy products.
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Eating a high-protein diet is essential for long-term results
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As for exercise, resistance training (which is “any form of exercise where you lift or pull against resistance”, according to Nuffield Health) three to five times a week is the way to go.
The expert said: “This way, when you’re losing weight, you’re losing body fat – you’re not losing muscle.
“So when you get to the end, you’re left with a toned body, a body shape that you want and importantly, it’s going to help support your metabolism going forward to help maintain your weight loss and help keep a good body composition.”
The coach explained that committing to losing weight the right way will allow for a “proper transformation” three months down the line. However, a quick-fix calorie cut will see you “back to square one much, much quicker and making no progress”.
In other weight loss news, a woman shared how she slimmed down and kept the weight off by implementing one rule at breakfast.
