3 facts about weight loss you should know

Stories about weight loss can make it difficult to know what to believe. A friend tells you they lost five stone in a matter of days, while social media introduces another eating plan that promises remarkable results. Before long, it becomes hard to separate what supports health from what simply captures attention.

Beneath all of these claims sits a much simpler question: what does the human body actually need? Enough nourishing food to support it, opportunities to move in ways that fit into everyday life, and time spent outdoors would probably do more for my health than squeezing a demanding workout into the start of the day before spending the remaining hours sitting at a computer.

Many of the challenges we experience with weight are closely linked to the way modern life is organised rather than to a lack of determination. Our food environment, daily routines and patterns of movement are very different from those our bodies evolved within, and that influences how easily we gain or lose weight.

As I began reading the research, I came across several findings that challenged what I had always assumed about weight loss. They also raised questions that many of my hypnotherapy clients ask. I'd like to share some of those findings with you.

Three facts about weight loss

Muscle helps weight loss

When I told a personal trainer that I run four times a week and only go to the gym once a week to build muscle, she responded with a big, "No, no, no, no, no!"

Her point was that muscle is metabolically active tissue. A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat, just as a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of gold. The difference is that muscle requires more energy to maintain than fat does, so people with more muscle generally burn slightly more calories, even when resting.

This is linked to your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy your body needs to keep you alive and functioning while at rest. It's easy to confuse BMR with BMI, but they measure completely different things. Building muscle won't transform your metabolism overnight, but it can gradually increase the amount of energy your body uses each day while also making you stronger and supporting long-term health.

Hypnotherapy can help with the motivation, confidence and consistency that are often needed to build new habits around exercise. Some of my clients tell me they feel they need to lose weight before they can go to the gym because they worry about being judged. It reminds me of cleaning the house before the cleaner arrives.

If that sounds familiar, hypnotherapy can help you change how you feel about exercise so that walking into your local gym or heading out for a run feels less daunting. Feeling comfortable enough to begin is often the hardest part.

You need carbs

Your body needs carbohydrates to function well. They are the brain's preferred source of energy and provide fuel for many of the body's daily activities. Current dietary guidance recommends that carbohydrates make up a substantial proportion of a healthy diet, with the emphasis on choosing foods that are as close as possible to their natural form.

Fruit, vegetables, beans, lentils and other minimally processed plant foods provide carbohydrates alongside fibre, vitamins and minerals. Sweet potatoes, bananas, beetroot, apples, oranges, blueberries and chickpeas are all good examples.

Many of us, however, find ourselves reaching for highly processed carbohydrate-rich foods. White bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits, sugary cereals and confectionery are manufactured in a way that makes us want more, and they can gradually become the foods we crave. They also tend to be the foods that are easiest to grab when we're tired, stressed or short of time.

Improving your diet doesn't usually mean removing carbohydrates, just changing where those carbohydrates come from. Hypnotherapy can help reduce the pull of habitual food choices and support the development of new preferences and routines. Some people find they begin reaching more naturally for fruit, vegetables or whole foods because those choices become more familiar and more rewarding over time.

If there are particular foods you would like to eat less often, your hypnotherapist can help you explore the habits, emotions and situations that drive those choices. The goal is not to rely on willpower but to make healthier decisions feel easier and more automatic.

Low-fat but high-sugar

Products labelled "low fat" are always worth a second look. Reducing the fat sometimes means adding sugar, starches or other ingredients to improve the flavour and texture, so it's worth reading the nutrition label rather than relying on the marketing on the front of the packet.

Research shows that some reduced-fat products contain more sugar than their full-fat equivalents, although this varies depending on the type of food. Added sugar can also appear in foods that don't taste particularly sweet. I remember checking every packet of pre-cooked chicken in a high-end food hall and being surprised to find that each one contained added sugar.

In The 4 Pillar Plan, Rangan Chatterjee suggests choosing processed foods with only a small number of recognisable ingredients whenever possible. It's a simple guideline that encourages you to pay attention to what you're eating rather than relying on health claims printed on the packaging.

There is still debate about whether sugar itself is addictive. What is well recognised is that highly processed foods can become powerful habits, especially when they are regularly linked with stress, boredom or comfort. Reading ingredient labels can help you become more aware of where added sugar appears, and hypnotherapy may help you change the habits and associations that keep drawing you back to those foods.

References

Nguyen PK, Lin S, Heidenreich P. A systematic comparison of sugar content in low-fat vs regular versions of food. Nutr Diabetes. 2016 Jan 25;6(1):e193. doi: 10.1038/nutd.2015.43. PMID: 26807511; PMCID: PMC4742721.