The Diet Dilemma: Why Just Cutting Calories Makes Weight Loss So Much Harder (And What To Do Instead)
Are you stuck in the frustrating seemingly never ending diet cycle? You know the drill: cut calories, eat less, exercise more. It goes ok for a few days, maybe even a few weeks if you’re lucky…but then the hunger and cravings get stronger, you start to feel sore and exhausted and you find yourself having to white knuckle it through the day to stay on track.
And that's when, inevitably, it all starts to fall apart. You blame yourself, feeling like you just don’t have enough willpower… just aren't "strong enough."...or can “never stick to anything”...
The weight creeps back on, often with a little extra just to add salt to the wound, and the cycle of frustration continues.
What we don't talk enough about is that this calorie-focused-first approach is precisely what makes trying to lose weight feel so much harder than it needs to be. It's not YOU, it's the bad weight loss advice we’ve been given for YEARS…for some of us even DECADES…
The Problem with "Eat Less, Move More"
It's true that how much you eat matters, but for many of us, trying to lose weight by just cutting calories doesn’t address why we were eating too much in the first place. Calorie restriction without addressing the underlying hormonal issues is like trying to drive a car with the brakes on.
When you drastically cut calories, you start exercising to “burn off any extra calories” your body often reacts with more hunger, intense cravings, and tanking your energy levels. You feel deprived, sore, and absolutely exhausted. Is it any wonder that this would be hard to stick to?
This isn't a lack of willpower. It's not you not trying hard enough; this is your body's survival mechanism kicking in. It's signaling for more fuel because your body isn’t able to use fuel properly.
The Piece Most Diets Ignore:
Here's the thing - for so many of us who struggle with stubborn weight, the real reason we struggle is often a degree of hormonal imbalance or insulin resistance that we don't even know we have.
These hormones – particularly insulin, leptin, and ghrelin – play a monumental role in regulating your hunger, cravings, satiety (how full you feel), and energy levels.
Insulin: Often called the "storage hormone," when insulin is high you’re going to be in “storage mode”. You can’t be in fat storage mode and fat BURNING mode at the same time. SO when insulin is high you’re going to not only store more fat, but the body fat you already have stays locked up and your body has a hard time using it when it needs energy.
Leptin: This hormone, when working properly, tells your brain when you've had enough. If you're leptin resistant, your brain doesn't get the "I'm full" signal, leading to constant hunger.
Ghrelin: The "hunger hormone" that signals when it's time to eat. An imbalance can mean you're always feeling hungry.
When these crucial hormones are outta whack, trying to just eat less and move more can feel really freaking hard. You'll have more hunger and cravings, and feel less satisfied, no matter what or how much you eat.
The Easier Way: Focus on Your Hormones First
Instead of forcing weight loss by just eating less and moving more and then blaming yourself when you can't stick to it, there’s another option - focus on getting your hormones back on track first.
By focusing on balancing your blood sugar and getting those key hunger and satiety hormones (insulin, leptin, ghrelin) back on track, something incredible happens:
Your hunger and cravings naturally decrease.
Your energy and mood improve (and often your motivation too!).
You feel more satisfied after meals.
When your body isn't constantly in hormonal chaos, you can eat less naturally and with much less struggle. You won't need to count every calorie, track every bite, or try to force yourself to ignore the fact that you're freaking hungry! And because you have more stable energy and aren't struggling to drag yourself through the day, you'll likely find yourself wanting to be more active as well. It's a win-win all the way around.
I always say weight loss is so much easier when you're not hungry all the time. It's about working with your body, not against it, so you can lose the weight and actually keep it off.
If you’d like more help with this I’ve created the Weight Loss Unstuck Guide to help walk you through it. You can grab your copy HERE.