Can I eat what I want and lose weight?

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One topic that has and will be at the front of the weight loss/fat loss conversation is “can I eat what I want and still lose weight?” This is a topic of conversation because as time has moved forward in the fitness/wellness industry the research changes. Let me be clear, research is always subject to change due to the nature of life itself. We are always finding new data to suggest a hypothesis is truer than not, neutral, or not true more than true. There are core fundamentals to biology, but nothing will be 100% correct. These questions will always exist.

For example, I have a personal goal to build more muscle while keeping my foundation strong with plyometrics, mobility training, and functional movements. I currently weight train and use these other styles of exercise to accompany my goal. Since, my goal is to gain muscle, that requires a calorie surplus! This is when you consume more calories compared to the calories you burn in a day.

(Ex: If I eat 2000 calories and burn 2000 calories and my weight doesn’t change that is my maintenance. If I want to gain 1lb a week, I will consume 2500 calories instead of 2000 calories every day. This is a surplus of 500 calories!)

Since my goal is to gain weight, allowing myself to have higher calorie meals to meet my calorie goal is extremely helpful. Would I recommend every meal be this way? No. But, it would not do damage to my consistency if I did here or there. Now flip the goal, if my goal was to initiate a fat loss phase, could I eat this meal and still lose weight?

I tell my clients; you CAN eat that. You need to understand what comes with it! So first off, this chick fil a meal doesn’t particularly contain a lot of fiber (which helps you feel full). It contains protein and carbs BUT its fat content is also high. Specifically, trans fat. Now, depending on how many calories you eat per day and how active you are this may or may not matter. Eating this occasionally is NOT, I repeat, NOT going to kill you! BUT this can potentially disrupt your eating pattern and ultimately your adherence to your program!

Let's say you have a calorie limit of 1800 calories per day and get a meal from Chick-fil-a that which is around 800 calories. This means you now have 1000 calories in your budget for the rest of the day. The problem comes when you realize you only have 1000 calories left and it is only 1pm in the afternoon. If you stay up until 9:30-10pm every day, that means you have 8-9 HOURS in the rest of your day and ONLY 1000kcal to consume. As a coach this is unfavorable for fat loss.

With that said, you can implement strategies to work around these issues. Some people might adhere to a nutrition program better with a cheat meal on weekends. Since most people are trying to lose body fat implementing diet breaks (exactly what it sounds like) or refeeds on weekends can give you the opportunity to have meals like Chick-fil-a. This is NOT an excuse to eat whatever you want, but it will give you some flexibility! I would say education on macronutrients (fat, protein and carbs) will make your program feel easier to adhere to as well. We will dive into the topic of macronutrients in a future blog post!

To finish off this conversation I leave you with this! Yes, you can lose weight/body fat even with meals like this in your program. There are ways to work around the issue if you have a clear understanding of how often you consume these meals and when you consume these meals. Though they usually are not ideal, it can still be done! We do not want to demonize foods because it can lead to an unhealthy relationship with consuming food. We want to practice practical application while adhering to nutrition protocols!

What are your thoughts on this? Did you find this helpful? If you are interested in learning more about nutrition and don’t know where to begin. Schedule a free nutrition coaching consultation by clicking the button below! Like this post if you found this content enjoyable!