What do I eat?

How Weight Loss Works

Weight loss feels complex, but in many ways, it's quite simple:

• Eat MORE calories than your body burns = you gain body fat
• Eat LESS calories than your body burns = you lose body fat
• Eat the SAME amount of calories as your body burns = your body fat stays the same

While weight loss is theoretically simple, it's hard in real life.

Here's where to focus:

• Tracking - Tracking (keeping a food log) is not required for weight loss, but it's a very helpful tool. You can keep a paper log or use an app like the free version of My Fitness Pal.
• Calories - While not an exact science, having a daily calorie range is helpful. Apps like My Fitness Pal will give you this information. I recommend aiming for a loss of 0.5 pounds per week. I know you want to lose weight faster, but eating too little kicks in your body's primitive hunger mechanism. Slow, realistic weight loss is better.
• Produce - Add more fruits and vegetables. Try to start every meal with a serving of veggies. People in first-world countries are overfed and undernourished.
• Healthy groceries - You'll want to stock up on healthy food, but in the meantime, shop your pantry and freezer to find what you have available. Frozen and canned veggies, eggs, cans of tuna or chicken, and canned soup are great options to tide you over.
• A note for WW Members - Weight Watchers uses a points system which is a gamified version of calorie tracking. If you are already using WW and like it - great! Keep going, and anytime we refer to calories, you can assume it also applies to points. If you are not currently a WW member, you don't need to purchase it. Using a free calorie-tracking app is just as good.
  

Your Next Steps

1. If you aren't currently tracking, choose a method to keep a food log for a couple days. Don't worry about changing what you eat. Just track it.
2. Find out a range of how many calories you should eat in a day to lose weight without starving yourself. Apps like My Fitness Pal will give you this.
3. Shop the pantry for some healthy foods you can eat in the next few days.
4. Create a meal plan (next activity) and choose a day this week when you will shop for healthy groceries.
   

To go deeper, check out this section of the Resource library about how to lose weight.

What's your next step for weight loss? Share in the comments.