Hey and welcome back to the fit me Turo fitness podcast. I'm your host, Turo Virta, and today we are diving into a super common and frustrating topic, why am I eating healthy but still not losing fat? So you are doing the work, making better choices, eating cleaner and maybe even exercising more than before, and yet the scale won't change. Your clothes still feel the same, and you are wondering, what, what am I doing wrong? First, take a deep breath, because you are not broken. You are not failing, and definitely you are not alone. In this episode, we are going to unpack why eating clean doesn't guarantee fat loss, how portion sizes and calorie grid sneak in, what metabolic adaptation really means, and why strength training is the keys. Is the key and a very, very overlooked point, why the scale doesn't move at first, even you are doing everything right. So let's break it down. So first, why that clean eating doesn't guarantee fat loss. So here is the honest truth. So healthy food can still make you gain fat weight, and you can absolutely overeat on clean food. So to say what, what you are calling clean you are because, especially in case, is when you are not measuring your portion sizes accurately. So let's say you are eating some like maybe fruits or granola with some yogurt for breakfast, you are having avocado toast for lunch, salmon with olive oil and quinoa for dinner, and few handfuls of nuts as snacks. So all those are great food choices, but easily, they can be easily over 2500 calories depending on the portions. So this is, this is very common and fat loss, because the fat loss and is all about energy balance. So it doesn't it matters if you are eating healthy, but if your goal is solid to lose fat, it's all about that energy balance. So if you are consuming more than your body burns. Even if it's clean, organic and nutrition rich, you won't lose fat. And that is, that is one of the biggest mistakes I see. And what you can, what you can actually do it, what I often recommend is that even you don't like a think it like tracking your calories, food intake. It's a tool, what you could be using. It doesn't mean that you have to use it always, because it's, I know it's, it takes some time, it takes some energy, and the ultimate goal for most people is to use it as a tool and not as a diet, because it's not, it's not tracking your calorie intake. Is not a diet. So how to actually, it's, it's just a tool to actually learn from your current habits, and then when you are seeing you learn about your portion sizes, you earn about learn about foods you are eating on daily basis. It's, it's a tool, what you you can use that information. And once you have it visible, you have it, you see it somewhere, like even you think that, Oh, you are. You are eating healthy. You make better choices than before. But once you don't, once you learn and see it visibly, what how many calories you are actually eating, how your portion sizes are, then it's easy to make some adjustments, and those adjustments are usually so small that you don't even feel that you are doing something. It's it could be like in in a real life. Examples could be changing some nuts, eating still nuts, maybe a bit less and adding something. What is, for example, now in summertime, my favorite snack is watermelon, like it's very low in in calories, a lot of volume, so it makes you feel fuller, but you are just eating less calories, or just looking towards and sizes, and especially learning from foods you are eating on daily basis. Because for most people, you know, I don't, I don't think I work with any of any person, or very few of them who doesn't know what healthy options that they are not making, maybe the right decisions, and they think that now, you know, I have to be stricter. I have to get more willpower, I have to just stick into the plan. And then when you don't do it for some occasion or questions, you are eating something more than you know that you shouldn't, and you have that kind of feeling failure. And then it's you go off track for whole weekend, one often, one meal is turning into a bad day or bad weekend, and then overall, you get into that trap of aiming for being perfect. And when you can be perfect, then you are like that. What is the point of doing it? I'm just not I will restart in next Monday or next week or next month or even next year. So that is the biggest miscommon and mistake what I what I see, and it says, it says that doing it like that, what I often recommend for my clients, especially who are starting, is to become more aware what you are currently doing, how many calories you are eating, and then just taking it that it's, it's, if it's not if it's for, at least for a couple of days. Usually we can include it and it's, it's not, often it's not, especially vegans, you know when you know that now you are not on on your perfect you are not making perfect choices. So then you think that, now I just don't track it, but just try to be honest with yourself, and also track your weekends. So you see that, because it's it might be that you are perfectly on a spot during the week, from Monday to Thursday, and then usually maybe Friday afternoon or evening, you are thinking, Now I deserve something. And then you get, you go overboard, you eat a bit more. And that is that could be a reason that in a weekly basis, you might be in a perfectly, in a balancing, in a big deficit during the week, but then that weekend is kind of ruining your whole progress and and maybe if you are aiming for what is, what I call sustainable progresses, if you are like, more or less 500 calorie deficit, depending, of course, on your starting weight, your goals. But let's say that that is your calorie deficit for the first four days. And you are, you are great. You are in minus 2000 in a week, and then during the weekend, you might be a bit more, like eating a bit more, having a little bit more freedom. And in the end, you are in a positive energy balance, or on the maintenance. So you are you are eating. Let's say it's during the three days you are in a slight surplus. You are eating plus 500 calories. So your weekly calorie deficit is 1500 you are still in a deficit, but the amount of progress you can expect to see is a half kilo or one pound of fat is around 3500 calories. So with this speed, you would end up losing half kilo in every two three weeks, instead of every single week, or on average, like four pounds or two kilos in a month. It might be half kilo or one kilo per month, and it is. It feels frustrating because you are thinking that you are trying so hard because you are on spot on from Monday to Thursday, but then that weekend is kind of ruining your whole progress. So this is just just, just reminder that actually those calories matters, matters and and if you are not sure, try to track them because it doesn't. Eating clean doesn't always guarantee that you are losing fat, or even if you are losing Yeah, then you have to accept that, what is realistic progress. The second most common mistake is where most people go wrong without realizing it. So you are thinking that you are eating normal portions, but our modern blades restaurant sizes and habits often are not. They are screwing it. So, just example, so you are taking tablespoon of peanut butter, it's not, it's not that actually the serving size, if you are not tracking it with like, actually in a food scale, or like, especially in the US, like, portion sizes. They don't write amount of calories. They write about serving sizes and tablespoon. If you actually measure it, how much is tablespoon? It might be that it's a it's a 15 grams. So if you take 15 grams, which would be tablespoon, but I don't see any person who is taking a tablespoon, because tablespoon, if you take something delicious for like a peanut butter, it's like a big, big tablespoon. And then you think that you took only one tablespoon, but it actually the serving size. If it's 15 grams, it might be 35 grams. So you are eating actually two tablespoons. So those are kind of like tracking mistakes. What I often see if you are not using food scale so or, or if you think that serving of rice is half cup cooked rice, and it's not full pole. So what about or then, for example, protein bar, you are seeing that, okay, there might be 20 grams of protein, but it also has over 300 calories, so and especially with the protein bars. You know, you are seeing those marketing food labels, they are often so misleading. So you are seeing that, oh, there is a, it's a protein bar. But if you look actually ingredients, calories, what is inside of that protein bar? You might see that this is actually just another candy bar. And there is, there might be a little bit more protein, but calories are exactly the same that you would take some candy bar, so just pay attention. And like I said, fixing, fixing this would require, require to actually learn about them, trying to track accurately using food scale always when it's possible. Of course, I know that most of you who are listening are in situations that it's not possible to use food scale every time, but even you do it as accurately as you can, it gives you tools. It gives you an idea, awareness what you are actually doing. And when you have a chance to measure your food intake with actual food scale, you are learning so much about your portion sizes, so and another other things, what is, what is affecting what, often, most people are overlooking, is that you are tasting little bit just there, if it's good. While you are cooking, you are finishing your kids leftovers or or you are you are drinking your latte, latte with milk and syrup you didn't track, or you forgot to track, you didn't think about or adding you are eating some french fries, and adding there some mayonnaise or ketchup or anything like that. And you know, you forget or, or here in Italy, when we eat some pasta, you add little bit Parmesan cheese on top of it, which is, of course, it's, I don't say that those things are not okay, but you also do not forget to track them or add them into your app, because those calories count as well, and often those kind of small mistakes, like, especially when we are repeating those kind of things several times per day, and you forgot to add every single time. Like, it's a let's say that it's 30 calories in your breakfast, it's 50 calories for your lunch, maybe some licks and bites while you are cooking, finishing your leftover. So it could be easily three, 400 calories in a day. And the point is that those things are adding up. Even it one time, it might feel that it doesn't, it's a small thing. It doesn't make big difference, but in a long term, that could be actually reason that you are not in a deficit, even you think you are. So these are, these are kind of all most common tracking mistakes. And then there is a kind of third mistake, what I often see, especially with the women over 3035, 40, and that is the metabolic adaptation, and it's a real thing. So it's a little bit different than a starving mode. But if you are someone who have been dieting for a long time, eating less, doing maybe lots of cardio, your body is going to adapt. So it's not that starvation, most mode famous what's what, by the way, doesn't exist, but it says that your body is adapting, and that is called metabolic adaptation. So it's your body's way of protecting you. So you might have a science like a you will have a low energy you will have a poor, poor sleep, you will have constant cravings. You will no more see fat loss despite low calorie intake. And it doesn't mean that your metabolism is broken. It's just a sign that your body is actually smart and trying to survive. And this is where, if you are in that kind of situation, that you doubt that was often like, there is nothing wrong with your metabolism and but if you, if you have been dieting for decades, you have been doing several YOLO diets in your life, and every time, especially for women over over 40, you might be in a situation that this have worked for you five years ago, 10 years ago, or even long, longer time ago, and now the same things that used to work doesn't work anymore. And this is where reverse dieting comes in. It's strategic strategy. Actually it means that you are stratically Increasing your calories to repeat your metabolism and energy before entering another fat loss phase. So I'm not going to go deeper about reverse dieting. I check out my late my episode I had it. I have several episodes about reverse dieting, and check out those my episodes. So if you are in that situation, so just at least you know where to get started how to actually do it. So just check my episodes. I have one recent one. I have a few of with my clients who have actually went through this. So they deal with their own words how it felt, how it felt, and what action steps they actually took, and how mentally challenging it is to think that, you know, especially for someone who wants to lose weight, and you think that solution is eating less, doing lots of cardio, burning more calories, creating better, bigger calorie deficit, and when something is telling you that you actually do reach your goal, you should start actually eating more and probably even doing less cardio. So it sounds like that. No, this is a crazy idea. Turo, thank you. I trust you. You are nice guy, but no way I'm going to start eating more. But this is actually a solution, which have been a solution for so many people I have worked with, and that is the, probably the scariest thing you have ever done, especially if you have been trying several diets. But that this is because ultimately, you have two options. You have, either you can either if, despite eating less and moving more, you could be trying to increase that eating even less and moving even more, which would mean even lower energy, even poorer sleep, having even more cravings, and often that solution is that it's not, it's not going to be in long term, very sustainable or or not going to work, because it goes on and on the same cycle. So imagine that everything works. You are in a short term. You are able to see results. But then what? Then next? If you still say that you know you have last five kilos, 10 pounds to lose, and you would still need to do it like in this old, traditional way. And that is not, if that is not sustainably any more possible, then reverse dieting and strategy, strategically eating more comes in. And then Mistake number four, what I see is that is actually water retention. And this is this, is this one is so important. So I see it every time like especially with the women starting new routine. So it means like that you have clean up your eating. You are working out, maybe even strength training, but the scale eater stays the same, or even goes up, and you feel so frustrated. And here is what, what's actually happening. So when you are starting strength training or increase your activity, your muscles retain more water to repair and adapt. And this is normal. This is actually a good sign, but it means that you might not see immediate weight loss, even though your body is already changing so and this is, this is very, very common, especially in the beginning, for someone who have been relatively inactive, starting new workout routine and thinking like that. What is actually happening? So let's say that you are already losing fat, you are making progress, but the skills stays the same. You your clothes might feel the same. You are not. Maybe there is some little changes, but you think that they should be a lot more, because your expectation maybe they come from your friends, from your from social media. And the honest truth is that that if you compare yourself with, I don't know where you get those expectations from, but if it's if you use social media, those platforms, they know your insecurities. They know you better properly than you know yourself. So they know exactly what to show you, what to what is interesting you so you are spending more time in social media, and that, again, leads that you are, you are you have your expectations are not very realistic. So, so that is, that is, was, then when you know that what is actually good amount of progress, what is a normal amount? And so if you like, let's say this is one of the examples I use. Like, if you see these before after pictures, by the way, which I'm not a big believer of posting, or I don't like to post them. I probably should, if I would be some marketing guy, I would, I should post a lot more amazing and or even realistic before after pictures. But that is like the exact reason why I'm not actually doing it, because I feel like so many people are feeling only worse about themselves, because when you start to compare yourself with someone else's situation. So in those before after pictures, you don't see what kind of how is their stress? How is their sleep? Do they have a children or not, or or, you know, there are so many factors that are impacting on your progress and comparing yourself with someone else. It's not very smart strategy for me. But coming back to the point, so what is, what actually also is happening, why you are not, or why some people are not losing weight in the beginning, because it also like that your digestive system needs time to adjust, because probably, when you are cleaning up your diet, it means that you are probably eating more fiber, more protein, and you are eating more regular meals, so that can also add some temporary weight and bloating. So but here is, here is the thing, if you are eating well, training consistently, and sleeping enough, your body is changing. So it just takes time to show up visibly. And for some people, that takes two to four weeks. For another it takes six to eight weeks or even more. So please do yourself a favor and don't give up. Give up or think that the thing what I'm doing is not working because the scale is so slow, so your body is working with you, not against you. Mistake number five is, that is a question. What I asked, are you doing some kind of strength training. And with strength training, I mean resistance training, it could be lifting weights. It could be using resistance training with your either body weight using pants. There are so many ways to do it. So cardio is great. So it's great for your heart, your mental health and general movement. But if fat loss and body composition are your codes, strength training is essential. So especially for women over 3540 strength training helps you to preserve lean muscle. So let's say that you are going to another if weight loss, like for many of my clients, what they tell that the weight loss is the only code they need to get into a certain amount of weight. But if you like, the best example is that how you where you want to lose that weight, that if I, if I would like, it's the most stupid or radical example you would cut another arm off, you would be you would have only one arm if you still have two, obviously, but you would probably lose little weight from your arm. But would you be happier? No, and and if you are eating in a in a calorie deficit, so you are eating less than you consume. It means for your body, if you think, not just in your mind, but in for your body. So there is your you are creating negative energy balance. So if you are losing some tissue, but your body, and for you, of course you would like to lose that it's only fat that what is bothering you and and you think that you know it's, of course, it's fat. But for your body, your body doesn't care, it's going to be some tissue, so it's going to be fat or muscle. And for many women in this situation, you know, they they are eating in a deficient, you know, even a big deficit, so you are seeing a relatively quick fat loss progress. But if you don't pay attention to your protein intake, your strength, if you are not doing strength training so you are, you might lose, okay, you lose, let's say you lose five kilos. You lose three kilos of fat, three kilo of muscle mass. And actually that makes things a lot harder in future. And your situation didn't got actually better in despite you lost significant or good amount of weight in the scale. But it means also in the future, when you lost that lean muscle, it makes things harder so and of course, it means that your metabolism is going to be lower. Maintaining that new lower weight is going to be harder, because you you lost muscle mass, and your maintenance calories, where you are able to maintain your weight is going to be even lower. So it means that if earlier, let's say that you were maintaining with the 2000 calories, now you might need 1000 9008, and that sounds like it's not that big difference, but trust me, that is a huge difference. So it strength training supports your metabolism. It's improving your bone density, which, by the way, declines rapidly after menopause, up to 20% bone loss and reducing, reducing that, that when you are strength training and maintaining your muscles or even building them up, it's, it's going to reduce that half kilo to one and a half kilo of typical weight gain for most women experience per year during this at this age. So this is often that weight what is like? Kind of creeping. You don't even see you see that after five years, you gained maybe, maybe two and a half, five kilos, seven and a half within that time. So it's not that it's all of sudden, but it's kind of creeping during this metabolic adaptations and so and how you are, then actually doing the strength thing. So you don't need to train five days a week. This is by far the most common mistake. So just two, even one, not more than three, you don't for most people, like two to three full body sessions with compound movements like squats, deadlifts, rows, push ups, lunches are is more than enough. So often, what I say that with one time per week, you are maintaining everything, if you or even if you are beginner, you are even making some progress. But then if you are able to add it up to two to three sessions, you are going to build actually, and it makes things a lot easier. Even during the activity, during the strength training, you don't need as many calories as you would need in a calorie in doing some intense cardio, which feels obviously great, but in the long term, it's it's not the solution. And don't get me wrong, I don't say that you shouldn't do cardio at all. It's just the ways of thinking for most people you know who think that now I start to get running, and the honest answer is, No, you shouldn't meet so in strength training, you should use it's that actually challenge you and progressively overload, so meaning credibly increasing either reps or weights over time. So last part, I want to bring all this what we talked together. So let's recap the most common reasons you are not seeing pet loss even eating clean. So number one was that you are eating too much of the right foods. So you are eating healthy, but you forget that calories still count. So number two was the portion sizes. So you are going to do you think? You don't know exactly. You don't measure exactly what you are eating. You forget to track some things. So solution for this, my first two points is actually to track for few days to check and become more aware. Number three was metabolic adaptation. So you have, if you have dieted hard for months or years, it might be time to use reverse dieting as a tool. And number four, if you just started training, your body is holding water while making already adaptations which you don't see. So that's why take pictures, take tape measurements, and not use only scale measuring your progress. And number five is that you are not strength training and therefore not building or maintaining that leant issue. The solution isn't to panic cut carbs or double your workouts. The solution is to stay the course, make strategy, strategy tweaks, and focus on consistency, not perfection. So if today's episode gave you an aha moment, or if it helped take some pressure off, share it with a friend, or leave a quick review. Those reviews are really helping the podcast grow, and I would really, really appreciate and want to thank you at this point for all those who have already done the review, and if you need help figuring out your next step. Maybe you are stuck in a plateau or unsure if you should reverse diet or train differently, reach out, send me a message in my instagram at personal trainer, underline Turo or check out my website. I will put link to show notes, and we can have a quick chat if we are good maths to work together. Thank you so much for listening and remember you are not broken. You are just getting started. Talk to you next week.