7 Weight Loss Truths You Need to Know
LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER
Let’s chat about weight loss, because let’s be real, the majority of you listening are most likely obsessed with losing weight, right?
But the reality is, many of us have unrealistic standards when it comes to weight loss, and many of us are going about weight loss in the wrong way with the wrong mindset. That’s why in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I want to share 7 truths about weight loss I think you need to know.
Here’s a recap…
Weight loss shouldn’t be linear.
When you’re losing weight correctly, you won’t lose it rapidly.
You should let weight loss happen naturally
Weight loss from quick-fixes isn’t real weight loss
Weight loss probably isn’t what you’re actually looking for.
Weight gain doesn’t always mean fat gain
You Shouldn’t Live in “Weight Loss Mode”
If you loved this episode, I know you’ll also love…
Episode 104: How to Stop Thinking You Need to Be Skinnier to Be Valued
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get in. Let's get go. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your Real Podcast. Excited about today's episode. We're actually chatting about weight loss. This shouldn't be a trigger episode for you. I think that the majority of women and things that I just see on social media is just an unrealistic standard when it comes to weight loss. And so I just kind of want to bring some things to light. And I know that many of you listening may be on a weight loss journey, or maybe you struggle with weight loss and you struggle with this idea of weight loss. And so in today's episode, I want to share seven truths about weight loss that I think you need to know.
But before I dive into the episode, I have to share this review of the day. It comes from Kort Corrine. She says, "Life changing. This podcast has truly changed my life. I started this year planning and excessive exercising and undereating routine when I came across Julie's podcast. I have hated my body since as long as I can remember. I have lost a considerable amount of weight over the years, but I was never enough. I would do anything to lose more because that's what I thought would make me happy. Julie's helping me shift my mindset. These podcasts have honestly changed my life. I've never felt as happy and free from self-hatred as I have since I started listening to them. Whenever I'm feeling depressed, unmotivated, or going to fall back into an old habit, I will turn on an episode and instantly my mind is redirected to a better place. Thank you, Julie, for giving me the tools to find my happiness."
Oh my goodness. This is my why. This is why I show up for you guys and I just appreciate so much you guys sharing these things with me because I don't think you realize how much it truly does impact me. And it reminds me to continue to show up for you guys as you guys show up for me every single day. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate you more than you know.
All right, let's dive into the seven truths about weight loss that I want you to know.
Number one, weight loss isn't linear. I know so many of you expect to step on a scale daily or weekly and see that dip in your weight. I hate to break it to you, but that is 100% unrealistic to think that you can continue to drop weight steadily for long periods of time. I want you to think about it like this. If you lose one pound a week for a year, you would literally lose 52 pounds. And if you lost a pound a week for two years, you will lose 104 pounds. I don't know about you, but most of us don't even have 10 to 15 or 20 pounds to lose, let alone 52 or 104 pounds. Oftentimes the scale might not change at all, but you'll see more changes in your body when you compare photos or measurements or how you're feeling mentally, which is why it's so, so important to find other ways to monitor your progress other than the scale.
Number two, when you're losing weight correctly, you won't lose it rapidly. I think many of us are used to seeing people go on fad diets. And when we do, we see them see results very fast. So they might go on a keto diet, which is low carb, or cutting out all food groups for the sole purposes of trying to lose weight, or whatever the trendy diet of the month or of the year is. And we oftentimes see these people losing a lot of weight very fast.
Even if you're on a store, looking on the magazines, you'll see like, "Lose 25 pounds in two weeks." You have to remember that the weight that you lose from quick fixes, you will gain back as quickly as you lost it. It's that simple. Going about weight loss in a healthy way won't bring you rapid results and that's not a sexy thing to sell, but it will bring you long-lasting results. Using sustainable methods to lose weight will make sure that your weight loss is actually sustainable. And I know it can be frustrating, working so hard to nourish your body with what it needs and honor your body with movement consistently, and not see these amazing results in two or three or four weeks. But that is actually real progress. You are making real progress when you're committing to the long haul. So I need you to relax and I need you to stop focusing on how much weight you're losing and keep focusing on nourishing and honoring and moving your body.
With that being said, number three, you should let weight loss happen naturally with consistency. I think so many of us have this ideal body weight that we're striving for. And many times our ideal body weight isn't even our natural body weight. We try to lose a certain amount of weight to make our body a certain size that just isn't natural for us. For example, I'm almost 5'9, and I used to honestly think that 120 pounds on my frame was what I was shooting for. Like at 5'9, 120 pounds is not natural for me. A double zero, a two, that's not natural for me. Even though it was my ideal body weight, that doesn't mean that it's a healthy body weight for me. So if we just concentrate, like I said, on honoring our body with movement and nourishing our body with what it needs, we will lose weight naturally as we stay consistent, and it's likely that your body will naturally find the weight that it's meant to be. So I want to encourage you to let go of focusing on what you think your body should be. And instead, just start shifting your focus on giving your body what it needs and let your body be whatever it is after that.
Number four, weight loss from quick fixes isn't real weight loss. Similar to what I mentioned earlier, it's likely that you've seen or heard a person, or maybe you even yourself have went on a trendy diet and lost 12 pounds in two weeks. But let me break this down if it's actually possible to lose 12 pounds in two weeks. Here's some math to put into perspective for you.
As a general rule of thumb, there's about 3,500 calories for one pound of fat. Now, in order for you to lose one pound of fat, you would need to be in a 3,500 caloric deficit. So to lose 12 pounds in two weeks, you would have to cut 42,000 calories in two weeks, which is 21,000 calories per week and 3,000 calories daily. That is so insane and that is very unrealistic. The reason why these people might be seeing this "amazing weight loss' so fast, is because they're not actually losing weight from fat. They're likely losing water or muscle mass. Many quick fad diets, especially low-carb diets can cause your body to release water you're hanging onto and it can make it seem like you've lost all this weight super fast. Well, yes, you've may have lost weight. You're likely not losing much fat and it's not going to change your body composition whatsoever.
With that being said, number five, weight loss probably isn't what you're actually looking for. Now, I want to emphasize this. Weight loss does not necessarily mean fat loss. If you're solely focusing on weight loss, you could potentially lose the following: muscle, bone mass, water, or body fat. On the flip side, fat loss alone actually focuses on reducing the body fat percentage while retaining muscle that you've been working so hard to earn. Now, if you lose fat and gain muscle, yes, you could weigh more, but you'll look smaller. That's because muscle gain changes your body composition, which can make you appear leaner because muscle is a lot more dense than fat, while fat takes up more space, aka volume. So I suggest that you focus on transforming your body composition by reducing your body fat, which will give you that more toned appearance with the added benefit of increasing your metabolic capacity. Because studies have shown that muscle can actually aid slightly in helping to increase your metabolism, while losing weight without gaining muscle will likely slow down your metabolism.
At the end of the day, please remember this. That the weight scale measures a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. It cannot tell you if your clothes are fitting better. It cannot tell you if you're having more energy. It cannot tell you if you're feeling better mentally or physically or stronger or any of those things. So don't just focus on weight loss. If you really want to reach the goal that you have in mind, you have to focus on reducing that body fat. And more importantly, just how overall you're feeling.
Number six, weight gain doesn't always mean fat gain. Now I think oftentimes women step on the scale and they see that they have "gained weight" and instantly freak out thinking that the program that they're doing isn't working or that they're gaining more fat. But I have to repeat and remind you that just because you maybe have gained weight in terms of number on the scale, that doesn't mean that you've gained fat. Your weight could be fluctuating because you ate a big meal. You have undigested food in your stomach. You're retaining extra water. You're weighing yourself at different times of the day, which can lead to weight variance. It's the time of the month you're not sleeping as much. You're stressed. As you can see, there are so many variables when it comes to weight fluctuation. In fact, it's normal for a woman to fluctuate anywhere from five to 10 pounds in one day.
So please remember that the number on the scale could be going up because you've actually gained muscle. If the weigh scale is a trigger for you, throw it out. I can tell you, I have not weighed myself with the exception of being weighed at my gynecologist appointment every year in two or three years. I don't care. I don't go off of that. I go off of progress photos. I go off of how I'm feeling. I go off of energy. I go off of body measurements. There are so many other forms of measurements. So if you're struggling with that scale, please, you have my permission to take that scale outside and go beat it with a baseball bat or go throw it on the ground. And I would love for you to take a picture, post it up on your Instagram Story and tag me, and I will celebrate that with you. In all seriousness though, please don't focus on the weight scale.
Number seven, you shouldn't always live in weight loss mode. For how long have you been trying to lose weight, but seriously, how long have you been saying in your mind, whether out loud or just in your head, "I need to lose weight. I need to lose weight"? I'm sure for many of you it's been years and years. But I'm here to tell you sister, that is not healthy both mentally and physically. First of all, living in a severe caloric deficit will slow down your metabolism over. Exercising will slow down your metabolism. You are not meant to live in a severe caloric deficit. You need to make sure to give your body a break by returning to maintenance or even going through a reverse diet once in a while.
I personally switch up my phases where I'll stay in maintenance mode for a while, and then maybe cut. Typically I do this with the challenges, the honor your body challenges that I really see cheer. I'll be in a body fat loss phase for about four to six weeks, and then I'll reverse diet to maintenance. And then I'll repeat the cycle. It's not healthy for our sanity to live in a severe caloric deficit. When we constantly feel like we need to lose weight or eat less than our bodies need, we constantly prevent ourselves from being able to enjoy living our life to the fullest. I need you to remember that moderation is the key to success, not deprivation.
There you have it. Those are the seven truths that I wanted to tell you about weight loss. I want to recap this in case you are list person like me. I love writing a good list down. It just helps me remember things. So this could be a list that you put as the background of your phone, and I'll be sure to put up a list of this on Instagram, on the Embrace Your Real Instagram account so that you can go ahead and save it and even share it with your friends that follow you.
Number one, weight loss should not be linear.
Number two, when you're losing weight correctly, you won't lose it rapidly.
Number three, you should let weight loss happen naturally with consistency.
Number four, weight loss from quick fixes isn't real weight loss.
Number five, weight loss probably isn't what you're actually looking for.
Number six, weight gain doesn't always mean fat gain.
And number seven, you shouldn't live in weight loss mode forever.
There you have it. Those are the seven truths that I needed to tell you about weight loss. If you loved this episode, I know you'll also love episode 104: How to stop thinking you need to be skinnier to be valued. In this episode, I chat about how to break free from the mindset that we need to be skinnier for another person in order to be worthy, valued, or loved. So be sure to tune in. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes below. Again, that's episode 104.
Also, if you want to learn more about losing weight naturally by nourishing your body with what it needs, I have a completely free macro counting ebook. It literally shares everything that you need to know about how to properly feel your body. I share my story, and then I give you step-by-step tools so that you can start to implement that. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes below, or you can go to www.juliealedbetter.com/free-ebook. Again, that's juliealedbetter.coma lead better.com/free-ebook. That's a 39-plus-page ebook that you can get. All you got to do is type in your email address, confirm it, and then it will be sent directly to your inbox.
Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope that you got something from this episode. If you have a friend, a girlfriend, a coworker, someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this episode, I just ask that you share it with them. You can copy the link. You can post it up on your Instagram Story. Tag me, JulieaLedbetter, tag Embrace Your Real account. We love connecting with you guys and seeing your aha moments.
Also, if you haven't already rated and reviewed the podcast, that really means the world and that's how we spread the message of Embracing Your Real and really teaching women how to honor and nourish their bodies. So all you got to do is scroll all the way down on Apple Podcasts, click that rate and review. And also be sure to subscribe. Hit that bell so that you never miss an episode. New episodes come every Monday and Thursday. Thank you much for tuning in and I'll talk to you guys in the next one.
All right sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, JulieaLedbetter, yes it's with an A in the middle, for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.