If you’re looking to lose weight, you might think the trick is to count calories and eat less. However, Terry Fairclough, a top personal trainer and co-founder of Your Body Programme, offers a different perspective.

As a personal trainer, I’ve come across all sorts of opinions and questions about the best diet for weight loss. Should we be counting calories? How many should we consume? What about low fat, low carb, or high protein diets? Is fasting effective? Should we eat small meals throughout the day? While these approaches have their merits, considering your body type, goals, and activity level, under-eating is never the solution.

We all know someone who starts cutting calories to get that beach-ready body, hoping the weight will just fall off. It might, to some extent, but this doesn’t always lead to fat loss, which is what most people are after. A significant calorie deficit results in weight loss, not necessarily fat loss, which is crucial to understand.

In many cases, our diets include more calories than necessary. While some might need a slight deficit due to previous overeating, many people mistakenly think that under-eating is the only way to lose weight, which isn’t true.

When we eat, our body converts carbohydrates into glucose, our cells’ primary source of energy. Excess glucose is stored as glycogen in our muscles and liver, along with water molecules. When we reduce calories, what we’re actually losing is stored glycogen and water, not fat. Over time, a severe calorie deficit can cause the body to hold onto fat instead while breaking down protein, as protein is biologically active and helps burn fat to fuel muscles even when at rest. That’s why consuming a balanced diet with fats, carbs, and protein is essential.

For those avoiding fats to lose weight, it’s important to remember that fat is a vital energy source, providing more than twice the energy as carbs or proteins. Stored within our muscle fibers, fat is accessible during exercise, unlike limited glycogen stores. Cutting out fat entirely can deplete energy levels, hindering fitness goals.

Restricting calories and nutrients may also lead to deficiencies, impacting overall health and slowing metabolism. Under-eating can cause health issues like fatigue, malnutrition, osteoporosis, anemia, depression, and hormonal problems. Extreme calorie restriction stresses the body, releasing cortisol, a stress hormone. Initially, this might lead to weight loss but chronic high cortisol levels make the body store fat, slowing metabolism and impairing thyroid function.

Furthermore, under-eating can affect digestion and sleep. Low blood sugar triggers adrenaline, disturbing sleep and hindering liver detoxification, immunity, and productivity, ultimately leading to weight gain.

Athletes like bodybuilders often restrict calories to achieve lean physiques but must cycle back to higher caloric intake post-competition to avoid health issues. Constant calorie-cutting puts the body in famine mode, where it stores any surplus as fat, hindering weight loss efforts.

Ultimately, it’s critical to consume the right amount of calories, carbs, fats, and proteins for your body type, goals, and lifestyle. I established Your Body Programme to help personalize calorie needs based on individual body types. A balanced approach has proven time and again that increasing caloric intake can aid in losing fat.

Don’t shy away from lean proteins like beef, chicken, eggs, and fish, or plant-based options like tofu and legumes. Include healthy carbs from fruits, vegetables, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and whole grains, and incorporate good fats like avocados, nuts, and olive oil.

Terry Fairclough, co-founder of Your Body Programme and a passionate fitness enthusiast, champions the benefits of balanced nutrition and effective training for optimal health and weight management.