How well your body responds to your weight loss efforts will depend on many factors beyond calories in/out and your exercise routine. If you’re looking to lean down then keep reading for some points to consider before you begin making big changes.

Current Calorie Intake

If you are already eating a low calorie diet and are not making any progress, then you really aren’t in an optimal position to begin a “cut”. Let’s say your average intake is around 1400 calories – how much lower can you realistically go? This is a situation when implementing a “reverse diet” can be a great strategy.

Stress

Obviously life will never be free from all stress…but if you happen to be dealing with more than usual, it may not be the best time to add more in the form of restricting calories and/or increasing exercise. It would be best to focus on managing stress and doing your best to make healthy choices for the time being instead of making drastic changes.

Nutrient Deficiencies

If you are lacking important nutrients, then your body is not functioning optimally and will therefore be less responsive to your efforts. This can make it more difficult to stick to a meal plan as cravings can become very powerful, and also have a negative impact on your exercise performance. We recommend having blood work done 1-2 times yearly in order to stay on top of this.

Gut Health

When gut health is off, everything is off. Remember, a healthy body is a responsive body. This plays a role in the point made above as poor gut health will reduce your ability to absorb and utilize key nutrients. Furthermore, if you’re experiencing any unpleasant symptoms, your motivation to exercise will likely decrease. Your gut health also directly influences mental health, so if this is not addressed you may have much more difficulty when it comes to making the best decisions to reach your goals.

Written by Hayley Dickenson, RHN

Optimize Coaching

Thanks for reading our article… Here at Optimize Coaching we strive to help our clients build a strong foundation of nutritional knowledge and guide them to increased health and performance. If you are interested in learning more information regarding health, nutrition or supplements, book an appointment with one of our practitioners today.