Are You Being Realistic?

This week Brianna is giving you some much needed perspective and possibly even tough love when it comes to your weight loss time line. 

If you have questions, or topics that you want to hear about, head over to our Instagrams https://www.instagram.com/bayleethedietitian/ or https://www.instagram.com/brianna.dietitian/ and send us a DM! You can also follow the podcast https://www.instagram.com/mocktailminutes/

Featured Mocktails: 

Olipop 

Click play, sip back, and be empowered.

Transcript

Brianna 0:22

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minute. This is Brianna, um, doing a solo episode for you guys today. So, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna try to keep it short and sweet, but fingers crossed. Before I get started, I am drinking a Orange Poppy with a little bit of the Chobani Sweet Cream creamer. I've been really into making, like, copycat dirty sodas lately, and I'm not that fancy with it, but I really do like the Chobani Sweet Cream creamer with just, like, a, like, a Ollipop, a Poppy. It just, it just makes the day more fun. But today I am talking about something that I've been talking with a lot of my clients, um, about, and it's am I being realistic, or is my timeline for weight loss realistic? And I think it's really hard right now to be realistic because we are seeing very quick, very sudden, very rapid weight loss and a lot of weight loss. You know, it's not abnormal to have a coworker who was 20 to 30 pounds heavier a month or two months ago before they started a GLP-1, and it's kind of all around us. And for those who are losing weight in the traditional sense, they're not using a GLP-1, I think most of you know that that's probably the right way to do it. Like, you know, if you're being honest with yourself and you don't wanna have that rapid weight loss, you wanna do it correctly, you wanna get off this, you know, merry-go-round of yo-yo dieting. But it's hard when the people around you are seeing the results that you want to see much quicker. You know, you're telling yourself, "I know I'm doing it the right way," but it still doesn't change the fact that, you know, you also wanna lose weight. And for some people it's like, you know what? Yeah, losing 20 pounds in, like, a month or two does actually seem really nice, you know, if you're being honest with yourself. And I think that internal struggle is really loud. Um, so I wanna kinda break it down for you. In order to lose a pound of weight, and I'm just gonna say weight because any time you lose weight, it is muscle and it is fat. It's both. Obviously, we know if you're under-eating, you're gonna be losing a lot more muscle than you're losing fat, but in general, it takes 3,500 calories of a deficit, so 3,500 less calories a week to burn or to lose one pound. So this is where the idea of, like, if you do a lot of, like, calculators online, it's like, ooh, what, what should my calories be? It, like, automatically minuses 500 calories from your daily intake. It's because 500 calories times seven is 3,500. So in theory, you should lose a pound a week if you're in a 3,500-calorie deficit. Now, that is a very oversimplified way of looking at it, right? We know, like, a lot goes into how well you burn calories. Are you actually in a deficit? Are you getting more of a deficit fr- from movement, et cetera? You know, is your thyroid optimal? A lot of things go into am I-- you know, can I simply just calculate a 3,500-calorie deficit and lose a pound? So that is one pound a week, which is realistic weight loss. Realistic weight loss is anywhere between zero to technically textbook says two and a half pounds a week. Notice how I said zero, because weight loss doesn't always happen, in a linear fashion. We know that it goes up and down. So zero, maintaining for a week, is still normal weight loss. Honestly, anything above two pounds a week, I'm really, really questioning Are you maintaining your muscle mass? Because your body will get rid of muscle before it gets rid of fat because muscle is not a good energy source and fat is a good energy source. And your body, which is made to survive, is gonna keep the energy source that helps it maintain itself. So anything over two, and I'm really questioning, like, what are we doing here? That's quite substantial. So I would say hanging out around the one pound a week, very normal. Half a pound a week, one pound a week, very normal when you're in a true deficit and you're being consistent and you're working on that weight loss. One pound a week is 52 pounds for the year, and 52 pounds is a lot. It might not seem like very much when you think about it in a span of over a year, but let's be realistic. You have probably been trying to lose weight for over a year. A lot of you can think of, myself included, think about where I was a year ago, really doesn't seem like that long. So we kind of do this thing with ourselves where we're like, "One pound just isn't a lot." We discredit it. It's nothing. But 52 pounds in a year is substantial, especially when you're kind of in the same place that you've been for the last couple of years. Which brings me to my next point: Are you being realistic with yourself about your weight loss timeline? Is it I wanna lose weight in one month, two months, three months? Or is it, but I, it took me five, six, seven, 10 years to gain this weight? You have to kinda think, how long did it kinda take me to get to this weight? How long did I have habits or lack of certain habits that kind of got me here? Or what life changes happened, right? Like, what major move, or children, going back to school, working, single parent, whatever it is. How long have you not been focusing on yourself or been able to focus on yourself that has caused you to be at a weight that you're unhappy with? A lot of times it's gonna be longer than a month, and three months, and six months, and a year, probably more than two years. So kind of being realistic with yourself, like, I didn't gain all this weight, because similar it, similarly to how 3,500 calories deficit a week in theory should burn you one pound, well, that's how much extra you have to eat a week to gain one pound. Okay so, you were... It just feels like the stuff that was happening when you were gaining weight was, like, rapid. But the reality is, it probably was over a big span of time. Now, I know that's not always true. There's people who have always been in a larger body and a larger weight, and I'm not necessarily talking to those people, because that's a completely different topic episode for another day. I'm talking about the people that's like, "I don't know, it just seems from, like, 20 to 30, or from 30 to 40, or 40 to 50, I just gained 10 pounds in the last 10 years," or, "I gained 20 pounds in the last 10 years," that sort of thing. So am I being realistic? Did it take me 10 years to kinda get here? Okay, well maybe I need to be thinking, I'm not gonna reach my goal weight in three months, and I, I hate... That's a question that I get all the time, like, realistically, like, when do you think I could be at my goal weight? Realistically. And that is, it's such a hard question to answer, because it truly does depend, right? How often are you doing the things that you need to do to lose that weight? 'Cause the reality is, not everybody can live a 90/10, 80/20 life. A lot of us, it's gonna be 40/60, 30/70. So you're moving that needle much slower, and that's something to also ask yourself. Am I able to focus on weight loss? Like, is this the only thing I'm gonna be focusing on right now? If so, you're probably gonna lose weight faster. It's probably gonna be a little bit easier. But if you know, like, yeah, I'm juggling a full-time job, and multiple kids, and, you know, running a household, or, doing all these things, I don't have the capacity to do 100%. 90/10, 80/20 right now. Okay. That's okay But let's have that expectation in our head of knowing, hey, I'm not gonna get to this goal of where I wanna be next month because I- it's physically impossible. I don't have the time to do as much as I need to do, right? And then there's a whole conversation of like, okay, well, let's do the-- let's set realistic goals. Let's set realistic expectations. Let's figure out those micro habits that get you to that habit change. Like, that's all stuff that I work on, I work on with people to make sure, like, hey, how are we actually making that happen? But for the most part, many of us are very unrealistic with our timeline, and it is because of what we're seeing around us, it's hard. And I think for some people, it, it removes that reinforcement that they're doing good, right? 'Cause if you think about, like, if you've done keto or you've done, a really low-calorie diet and you have been weighing every day, and every day you get on the scale or every week you get on the scale and it goes down, that's that reinforcement of, "I'm gonna keep doing this thing that sucks because I am doing it right because I am seeing the outcome I wanna see." And so when you are seeing people get the outcome that you wanna have, it's- it kind of takes away from you feeling like, "Well, am I doing the right thing? Like, does this actually work?" And then you have social media preying on you saying, "Nope, it's not gonna work because you're broken. Your hormones are broken, and you're going through menopause, and you have insulin resistance, and you need to work on your gut health." And while all that could be true, like yes, focusing on your gut health helps you lose weight. Focusing on reversing your insulin resistance helps you lose weight. You know, focusing on balancing your hormones or fixing hormones that are really out of whack can help you lose weight. But it just, it preys on that really vulnerable voice that you have going, "Am I doing it right or am I broken?" And it comes in loud and says, "Yes, you are." And so a lot of times when I have clients who are having unrealistic expectations of weight loss, I have them kinda do a social media audit, and I have them remove or silence or mute or hide anyone or any accounts that are, like, reinforcing that you're not doing it right. You need something extra. You're not doing enough. You're broken. Or accounts where, you know, you're seeing people lose really quick weight, and it's just a trigger for you. It's a trigger for you. You think you're doing all the right things, you're feeling good about it, and then you go on Instagram and you're like, "Wow, look at her. She's 10 pounds lighter than she was last month." And suddenly, like, you're back to square one mindset-wise. So if you are having unrealistic expectations, number one, just ask yourself, "Is my timeline realistic?" Is it kind of around that one pound a week? Do I have the time to do 80/20 right now? And how long did it kinda take me to get here? And then kinda reevaluate what is a realistic goal for healthy, sustainable weight loss without the use of a GLP-1 or a diet that, is severe calorie restriction and making you lose rapid weight, because we know that returns. And this is not to bag on anyone that's using a GLP-1 like microdosing, or they're using it for diabetes, or they're using it for PCOS or PMOS or, because they just need a little bit of extra help or a tool and are doing it correctly. This is not for you. This is not me bagging on it. I work with a lot of people that work- that use a GLP-1 correctly, for sure. Like, this is the age that we're in. I think it's a great tool. I think it changes lives. I'm talking about the people who are taking very high doses, seeing that rapid weight loss. They're not doing any of the lifestyle changes. We know now, they've been out long enough, people have weight rebound within the first year, year and a half of, like, 80% to more than 100% of the weight loss that they lost when using it incorrect. So you know I'm not trying to be one of those people. I'm trying to do this correct. I'm trying to do it right, so that way, in a year from now, which is gonna sneak up on me a lot faster than I think, I am happier with the movement that I have made on the scale. I'm happier in my body. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling strong. I have good muscle mass. I've actually improved my health. This is for you. Okay? Am I being realistic? I'm gonna say probably not. Or I'm gonna say you just need someone in your ear telling you, like, "Hey, chill out. You're doing the things. Let's keep being consistent, and let's give it some time." A month is not a lot of time. Three months, you're just scraping the surface. I would say six months of lifestyle changes consistently, you're gonna start to really see that outcome. Notice I said consistent. Are you 80/20? Can you be 80/20? So one month you might see a little bit maybe, and, and again, everyone is different with how quickly they lose weight, if they have inflammation, all of that. But let me give it a good solid six months of the plan I'm doing to see if it's working before I reevaluate. Because if you just keep throwing spaghetti at the wall hoping that it sticks, you're never gonna figure out what it is that really helps you, and you're gonna keep spinning your wheels. That voice of, "I must be broken" is gonna get louder and louder, and then suddenly you're gonna wanna break and give in to, "I'm just gonna lose 30 pounds in the next two months, and then I'll figure it out from there." It's exhausting. It's exhausting. So hopefully this is a helpful episode.. I want you just to have that serious conversation with yourself, because I think it's hard right now when you're seeing people get that instant gratification for not really a lot of work. You're gonna question, like, "Why am I doing all these things?" If you have questions, you can reach out to us on Instagram, @mocktailminutes. You could also reach out to Bailey or I separately. We're here every week. We love to talk in our DMs with people about problems or issues they're having, future episodes, that sort of thing. So we will be back next week, and we actually have a really fun surprise for you. I'm not gonna say what it is, because I don't know if we're uploading it next week, but next week we are gonna be recording and doing some really fun episodes that I cannot wait for you guys to hear. So until then, have a good week. Bye.