Real Nutrition Basics: Reality Guide to Weight Loss

By: Kevin Bogus
Sunday, July 13, 2014


We live in a fast-paced culture. This is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself but it does lead to bad habits. One of those bad habits is the desire for quick and easy results. We as a people need to enhance our ability to accept delayed gratification. This is seen throughout the health and fitness industry. How often do you see miracle supplements, powders, and exercise machines being touted as the “quick and easy” way to get in shape? These programs and products promise the moon but rarely deliver. This way of market induced thinking holds people back. In this series of articles, I will attempt to wade through the marketing and offer approaches to diet and exercise that are grounded in reality and will work when applied correctly over an appropriate amount of time.

It is the simple fact that one takes in too many calories and does not expend enough. There are three states that you need to familiarize with, they are:

1.      Caloric Surplus- this is when (relative to your level of activity) you have taken in more calories than you burn (through activity) in a given period of time. In layman’s terms, you have over eaten. In this state, your body packs on lbs.

2.      Caloric Deficit- this is when you have eaten less than your body burns. In this state your body sheds lbs.

3.      Calorie Neutral- You have balanced your food intake with your activity and your body is in a state of homeostasis.

If you are overweight it is because of a consistent caloric surplus. If you are losing weight it is because of a caloric deficit. If your weight is not moving it is because one of these things (calories or activity) needs to change, relative to your goals. The problem is not vitamin deficiencies, Amino Acids, or even carbohydrates. The problem is you eat too much and move to little.

Now once you have decided where you are (overweight, underweight, or just fine) you decide on a course of action. We will deal with the overweight population specifically. The method is simple:

1.      Track your calories for one week. Use any calorie counting program. Weigh and measure your food as best you can and see how much you eat in a given day. Do not try to make changes this week.

2.      Once you get an idea of your average daily intake subtract 500 calories and eat that amount for two weeks. After two weeks, step on a scale and see if you have lost weight. If you haven’t, subtract 200 calories each week until you do.

Now, some people are thinking that this is way too simple. You’re right, it is. The truth is that weight loss is extremely simple. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is a con-artist. The issue that keeps people from losing weight or getting healthy is discipline. You have to have the discipline to track your calories accurately. You have to have the discipline to stay consistent at least 90% of the time. You have to have the discipline to make good decisions that are not always the most appealing. But in the end you and only you can decide whether or not you are worth your effort.

This is the beginning of a weight loss program, but like anything, the basics are the most important aspects to consider. Apply these concepts for the time being and in the next installment, I will expand on what the macronutrients are and why they are important.