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You're listening to episode number 13 of the Fat Fuelled Female podcast.
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Welcome to the fat fueled female podcast. I'm your host Marja Chow, a holistic nutritionist, personal trainer and proud dog mama of two. I am obsessed with helping women achieve their goals, feel confident in their skin, and become empowered health advocates. This podcast is designed to help ambitious women thrive on a low carb, high fat lifestyle. So tune in each week, as we talk all aspects of nutrition, improving your fitness, enhancing your mindset, so that you can take inspired action, and live your best life all starting from the inside out. I'm so happy to have you here. Now let's get started.
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Hello, and welcome back to the Fat Fuelled Female podcast. And in this episode, we're going to talk about three of the top mistakes women make with their weight loss journey.
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So if your goal is weight loss, listen up to this episode to prevent you from making the same mistakes. So let's dive into this episode, shall we? So number one, most women start with doing the wrong things.
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So think of an algebra problem, there is an order of operation in where you start with the formula or equation, whatever it's called, I'm not good at math. So you're not going to get the right answer.
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No matter how hard you try, you will not get the right answer, if you don't start with the right part of the equation. So a lot of women stay stuck spinning their wheels, exerting so much energy on the wrong things.
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So women, when many women start out and this was my story for so long, the first thing they do is or we do is we start slashing the calories, cutting back on the food because that is what we have been told to do for decades.
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And when the first step in actuality is to look at your own habits, your own behaviors, actually understand how much food you are eating.
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And this will all tie into your metabolic health. And where you are at your starting point is not going to be like anyone else's. Right.
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So when there's these diets that are like, you're 1200 calories, you're 1200 calories and you are 1200 calories, too. It's like huh, what, we are not carbon copies of each other.
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We are also beautifully biochemical unique. So why is the same diet and calorie consumption, you know, administered, or prescribed or whatever recommended to every single person.
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And when women start off with doing the wrong things, slashing the food right off the go, it perpetuates them into what I refer to as the weight loss circle of frustration.
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And I will create another podcast episode, or I may do a live event or live training, all on the weight loss circle of frustration. So stay tuned for that. And one more thing before we go into number two.
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When women are wanting to lose weight, or you know, anything, really like build muscle, hit a revenue goal, start a new career, whatever it is, like even women when they like, meet a guy, it's like we already are planning if we have chemistry, it's like, okay, so we're gonna move in together, we're gonna have 2.5 kids are weddings gonna look like this and all the things right?
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We jump ahead, that is what women do. But a lot of women will we do, which is not going to serve you is especially when you're committed.
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So you're like, you know what, I've been on the fence with going to the gym or cleaning up my nutrition and really putting my energy and focus into it. And maybe the thought of you actually taking action. And doing it has been maybe it's been six weeks.
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Maybe it's been six months. Maybe it's been a year, maybe it's been two months, whatever it is. So when you're like yep, I'm ready. Let's go.
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Women often want results Now. They're like, okay, but I'm doing all the things I want the results now actually, no, women want results yesterday.
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So when we don't get results quick enough. It's like we often accumulate This isn't working. Oh my gosh, like I'm putting in so much work and I'm not seeing the benefit of all the quote unquote sacrifice and stuff. struggle, and all the things I'm doing. And weight loss doesn't have to be a struggle. And it doesn't have to be sacrificing everything. It doesn't have to take over your entire world, right? So I'm kind of going off on a tangent here.
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But yeah, basically, focus on the now focus on the day to day, if you've made this commitment to yourself, that this is an identity you want to take on of someone who cares about their fitness, puts attention and focus into nutrition.
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And you're committed, and you're do going through the motions each day, you will get the results you desire, with consistency, focus, and not, you know, worrying that you're not getting there fast enough.
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Because when someone's like, Oh, I'm so behind, or I'm not getting there fast enough. Like, what are you measuring this against?
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Like, this isn't a race, you're not like, is there a timeline like, you know, and when you have these like, rigid goals, and timelines are like I'm supposed to lose, you know, eight pounds in this month, and it doesn't happen, a lot of women can get really easily discouraged.
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So it's about managing your expectations. And knowing if you're going into a healthy way of losing weight, healthy weight loss is around, you know, one to 2.5 pounds per week. Okay. And although that can happen, weight loss isn't this linear thing.
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All of our bodies are beautifully unique and different. So practice patience, don't focus on the wrong things by slashing your calories. Right off the go. All right, let's move on to point number two, women don't create a customized plan specific to your goals.
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So you follow a program that work for your mom, or your sister or your co worker, but it's not catered to you. And it's not catered to your goals and your body.
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And I can even go as far to say women will hire a coach or a nutritionist to design a program for you. That's what a lot of women do.
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But wouldn't it be that much more impactful if you knew how to design your own program, where you had the tools, and the strategies to understand how to shift out of different phases of weight loss.
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When your body hit plateaus, you had the tools, you knew what to do, without having to second guess your decisions. Of course, there's a learning curve learning anything new.
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But I always say education brings motivation, when you know how systems function in your body, when you know what is potentially causing you bloating, when you know how ywhat your liver does, when you know why potentially you have acid reflux, there is so much more purpose and meaning and inspiration because you have a clearer understanding of what's going on in your body. You're not questioning it.
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And I like to give this analogy like, think if you had a kid, and you're teaching a child how to bake a cake, and you're like, Okay, you need eggs, flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, whatever. Okay, and what we're gonna do, we're gonna take all those ingredients, and we're going to mix them all together, and then we're going to put it in the oven for 30 minutes, and then voila, there will be your cake. Okay, so that's one option of doing it.
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As opposed to being like, okay, Susie, you need eggs, because eggs are going to be the foundation that's holds all the ingredients together. Now you need the baking soda or the baking powder. I forget what one does what but if you don't have either one, then I think your cake won't rise. And you need the flour to make the crust or the dough or whatever. And then you need the salt to add flavor against the sugar and let's just say we're using like stevia or xylitol, not actual sugar.
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So you get what I'm saying. If you're explaining something, and giving context to like, what ingredient does Susie or Sarah whatever I said, she's gonna be like, Oh, okay, yeah, we need the eggs here.
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And oh, wait, no, no, we definitely need the salt. So there's a lot more understanding of why you're doing the things you're doing to make the cake. And I think it's easy for us to pay someone to do it.
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But how much more longevity and meaning would you have with your nutrition? If you understood it on your own?
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And one of my favorite quotes is: Give a man a fish. You will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime. And that is what I offer to all of my clients. Because First off, it's all about options and choice. Right?
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If you hire someone that says, This is the only way to do your nutrition program, and it's only about calories, and they're not explaining food quality ingredients, your bio individuality, how systems function, I would run the other way, because it's only addressing one part of the equation.
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And people may think, Well, okay, this is my nutrition program, this is all I have to do. This is what I follow, and you know, X plus Y equals z, and then I'll get the results.
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And it's like, the only constant thing in life is change, your body's changing, you are evolving, you are growing, that your nutrition isn't going to be the same all the time.
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So when you hit a weight loss plateau, or when you're feeling like you have low energy, wouldn't it make more sense? Or if you're bloated? Wouldn't it make more sense for you to actually understand, on a core level, why this is happening in your body?
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So I don't live in anyone's body. I don't know what it's like to be anyone else, but myself. But I honestly feel when you have all of these tools in your toolbox, and you have so much more awareness and connection with your body. And you put yourself into the quote unquote, Battlefield and take action. And how do we learn what works for us?
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We don't learn by reading books. Well, we do learn by reading books. But if you just read a book, and you don't do anything, it's just more information and facts in your mind. Right?
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You learn by taking action, and you learn by experience, you learn by understanding what works for your body, and what doesn't. And no nutritionist or no coach, or no doctor can really they can give you a Rolodex of information and theories and all these things.
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But when it comes down to it, you are going to be the best judge of character of what works for your body. And what doesn't.
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Okay, moving on to point number three women think the lower the amount of carbs the better. What did you say that what aren't you like the fat fueled female? Don't you promote like a high fat ketogenic lifestyle? I sure do.
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But I believe, and you've probably probably heard me say this, we are all unique and beautifully different. So everyone's carb tolerance, and threshold is going to be so different.
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And of course, there is a period of time where you become fat adapted, where you have to reduce the amount of carbs to allow the secondary metabolic pathway, the fat burning system to be activated. This takes about four to six weeks, okay. But after you do that, you can cycle carbs in a way to your lifestyle that works for you. And you create something in your body referred to as metabolic flexibility, where your body is able to run off to fuel sources, not one, but two.
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So I'm a little bit biased, because I have seen it with myself. And obviously, that's why I've been eating a fat fuelled lifestyle for you know, coming up to six years. And I see it in my clients time and time again. But I think everyone would operate and perform better running off of ketones running off of fat, not not all the time, right?
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Like, I'm not saying you need to be in ketosis all the time you eat 25 grams of carbs a day. And this is kind of a sidebar. But nowadays, there's so much packaged keto goods, because keto is so mainstream, and a lot of that stuff is garbage. I'm about eating Rolfe, raw foods, real foods, whole foods, you know what Mother Nature intended us to eat connecting with our bodies.
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And, you know, I like that there is packaged stuff that can if you want crackers, you can have keto crackers, and some of them arn't bad.
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But what I'm saying here is, you have the option to run off of two fuel sources. And you don't have to be in ketosis all of the time, I think for women and for our lifestyles and for for social events. And for performance at the gym, it is beneficial to come in and out of ketosis, creating metabolic flexibility and having your metabolism run off to fuel sources, right? So people have this idea that keto is like super low carb and the the, you know, the lower the carb, the better.
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And that is like a traditional keto diet where it's like 80 to 90% fat, and that is for people who have neurological conditions and that can support them from a therapeutic level. But if you're like just the average person, you're like, I have brain fog. I have low energy. I'm hungry all the time. You know, I have more body fat than I used to around the midsection, like, yes, fat fueled lifestyle, it could definitely help facilitate you and get you the results. But more importantly, there was also last.
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And one more thing I want to say, if you were just starting your fat fuel journey, a lot of the times when people first go into ketosis, they're like, oh, my gosh, my brain feels a lit a F, I have so much energy, I'm not as hungry, I forget to eat sometimes. And people can be like, more is better. Like me, being in ketosis more is better, lowering my carbs is better. And what I want to offer you what I want you to ask yourself is, is this something that you can do in the long run? are? Are you going to be in ketosis for the rest of your life? And for most people, I would say no.
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So I think it's healthy to cycle carbs in in a way that works for your lifestyle, and where you feel supported, where your body feels supported, and not be like, Oh, I just I keep on losing weight to keep it feeling great, the lower the carb, the better, because then you run into problems there as well.
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So that is why my signature program is called the fat fuelled female method, not the Keto method, it's about creating metabolic flexibility, where when you eat carbs, you burn through those carbs, and your body goes back to burning fat pretty seamlessly.
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So you have more control over your energy, your hunger levels, and life just is a million times easier.
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So let's recap on this episode. Mistake number one, women focus on the wrong things when starting out, aka slashing calories right off the go. And not examining where they currently are with their own nutrition, and how much they're actually eating. So many women I find are under eating.
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And when you under eat, your metabolism operates at a low level. So it makes it harder to lose weight, that act to lose weight and keep it off you want. You want weight loss, but you want weight loss that you can maintain right?
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Mistake number two, following someone else's plan and not figuring out how to design your own plan. That becomes a lifestyle and not another diet to check off taking ownership and responsibility for your health.
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Because no one else is going to care about your health more than you. So doesn't it make more sense if you had all these tools in your toolbox? So when you were at a weight loss plateau, or when your energy was down, or when you were bloated or when whatever it is, you're like, Okay, I'm going to be my own investigator. And I am going to kind of understand why this potentially could be happening in my body, be your own physician from within, become your own freakin health advocate.
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And mistake number three, thinking the lower the carbs, the better. Again, you won't know where you feel your best with your carb carb tolerance. Unless you experiment with yourself, right? You are not a carbon copy of anyone else.
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Maybe you feel better at low carb. But maybe in six months, you're like, you know what, I feel better at having more moderate carb, or maybe it's your like low carb for a couple days. And then you like cycling carbs and like, there is no blueprint of how this needs to be done.
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The only blueprint there is is going through the experiment on your own with trial and error and seeing what works for you.
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I actually had a client come to me. And she had been doing keto for like, pretty strict keto for I think it was four months.
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No, it was six months, it was six months. But she was like I'm in a weight loss plateau. And I don't really feel good. I'm like kind of binging on carbs every week. And I said to her, Well, why are you doing this?
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And she's like, Oh, well, I want to be in ketosis. Like, I think this is like what's gonna get me like, get me to my weight loss goals.
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I'm like, okay, but you're at a plateau like you haven't lost any weight in three months, and you're binging on carbs, like weekly.
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And so I you know, sometimes people just don't really have the awareness of what they're doing. They're like, Oh, I never I never really looked at it like that, right?
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And I had to remind her like, hey, keto is a tool. keto in ketosis is a metabolic state. You don't have to be in it forever, especially if it's not working for you anymore.
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So what we did is she started cycling carbs in like two times a week before her workouts before her. She was lifting weights. And then I think it was we did carbs like three dinners a week, and then she started feeling good. She stopped binging off carbs on the weekend cuz she cycled them in in a way that worked for her. And then she started actually losing weight and building muscle.
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So it's like, we don't have to follow all these rigid rules. Because there shouldn't be any the rules that you make. The rules that you have are going to be the rules. I don't even really like saying the word word rules, but how you design your nutrition is going to be based on you.
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And no one else is going to know how you feel your best accept you in your body.
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And again, once you become metabolically flexible, you do you boo, you do what works for you. We don't have to follow super stupid, super rigid rules with food.
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Alright, beautiful humans. That is all for this episode. I hope this gave you some more clarity on common mistakes women make with weight loss. And keep your ears peeled for any upcoming episode or that live stream I will do on the weight loss circle of frustration and how to get the heck out of it.
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So be kind to one another. Be kind to yourself, and I'm sending you all the love and positivity have the best rest of your day or morning whatever time of day you were listening to this podcast on. Thanks so much for hanging out with me and I will catch you next week.
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Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. If you enjoyed what you heard, make sure to subscribe to the podcast. And if you feel you got some extra value from this episode, it would mean the world to me. If you could head over to Apple podcasts or whatever service you're listening to this podcast on. Drop a five star review. Let me know your thoughts in the show. Doing this really helps more people like yourself by the podcast. And if you're not already following me on social media right now is the time you can find me on Instagram at Marja Chow for all your nutrition tips, tricks and inspiration or visit my website at Fat FuelLed Female.com where you can download my free seven day keto meal plan with recipes. Thanks so much for tuning in and I will catch you next week.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
