Do You Have a Love/Hate Relationship with The Scales? Part 2

This is a continuation of last week’s article where I discussed weighing scales and carbohydrates.

 Water weight and carbohydrates

The body can store 500g of glycogen in its cells. For every 1g of glycogen, the body stores 3g – 4g of water with it, this can mean storing weight of up to 2.5kg (over 5.5lb) between water and glycogen. When your carbohydrates are reduced, your glycogen stores reduce, meaning your weight loss is only from water weight (as it has nothing to bind to) and not fat. This is why individuals get great results in a week of following a low calorie diet and they think they have lost 7lbs of fat when actually it is mainly their stored glycogen and water.

The 1- 2lbs weekly weight loss

This is the most challenging aspect of weight loss to explain to individuals as it can be difficult to understand. Ideally if you are on a weight loss journey then 1 -2 lbs is the recommended weight loss to achieve in a week, any more is water, as previously discussed.  1lb contains 3,500Kcals; by this knowledge if we eat 3,500 less calories a week than we lose 1lb, right? Not exactly, unfortunately we cannot control how our bodies respond to a calorie deficit.

A calorie deficit is only advisable for an individual who is consuming more than their RDA (recommended daily allowance). For men it is 2450Kcal and for women it is 1450Kcal. By reducing your calories bellow your RDA then your body goes into starvation mode, causing more damage than good.  You may struggle to lose weight by doing this and could slow down your metabolism if continued for a long period. If you are consuming more than your RDA of calories and then reduce it by 3,500Kcals a week, it can result in a weight loss of 1lb a week however, it is important to take into consideration that all of our bodies are different and how we react to food is also different.

By reducing your calories and improving your health by exercising you will achieve weight loss. Try eating; lean meat, whole grains, plenty of fruit and vegetables and include plenty of water. Another way to track your weight loss is by monitoring it through your clothing. Make sure you keep a positive mental attitude about weight loss and remember the weighing scales are not an indication of your health.  

Whelehans Nutrition Service

Whelehans nutritional service is a private one to one advice service with our nutritionist Aisling Murray. Aisling’s areas of interest include weight loss management, nutrition education and food intolerance. Our nutrition service offers you the chance to change your life in a positive way by focusing on your overall wellbeing as well as the chance to follow up on your progress.

Aisling Murray has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and offers a one to one specialist nutrition service at Whelehans Pharmacy. Call Whelehans at 04493 34591 for an appointment. Aisling’s Nutriton Clinic costs only €10 per week.