So recently I have had several people contact me asking for advice regarding to weight loss (or more accurately losing body fat), and how they have been struggling despite them exercising at least 2 hours a week. Now that may not seem a lot but it’s a dam good start, and 2 hours more than they normally would.

I reviewed their diets, made recommendations to their exercise, but it was one major thing that stood out. So I went on to explain the following:

Losing body fat and slimming down is all about the calories, as I’m sure you already know, therefore it is just as much about your diet as it is about the exercise. It’s always a challenge to out-exercise excessive calorie intake.

Consider this: a McDonald’s cheeseburger is 300 calories which roughly equates to 34 minutes of jogging depending on the person, and that’s not including the fries and soft drink you get along with the meal.

So you hit the treadmill for 40 minutes; you feel great. You worked up a sweat and really pushed yourself, and you also managed this another 2 times in the week. Thumbs up, that’s a great start! You have made some major changes to your diet and are eating healthier and have included a modest calorie deficit!

The week having gone so well you decide to treat yourself…

You decide to go out for a bit of social, you end up have 4 glasses of wine over the evening and a burger on the trip home.

Simple sums, what you have just done is cancelled out all but 18 minutes of that hard work on the treadmill. It’s that one evening that undid pretty much all of your hard work.

You have to evaluate those food and drink treats and choices in your life, and consider the impact one evening of indulgence has on your calorie consumption.

Despite you having made all positive changes to your regular eating patterns, one big evening is more than likely going to counter all your hard work and effort for the week, making reaching your weight goals an uphill battle from the start.