Hello, GOALfriend. Welcome to episode number 309. This is the one where we are talking about whether or not you should cut carbs to lose weight. And without preamble and all. I'm gonna jump right into it and tell you that the short answer is no.
And I have a longer, much more nuanced answer than that because I know some of you are just like, but wait there's all this information about low carb and how it works and why it works and why it's good for you and and all things. And so I really want to acknowledge that there is a long answer. There is a nuanced answer. I asked you that question in the title of, should you cut carbs to lose weight very specifically for 2 really good reasons. Number 1, I do wanna talk to you about nutrition and eating at least briefly. Because here's the thing, cutting carbs in and of itself does not guarantee weight loss. The truth of it is that weight loss is always, always, always, and has been scientifically proven again and again to be driven by, a, believing that you can, and then b, which I'm holding up the number 2.
If you're watching the video, I was gonna say 1 and 2, but I said a and b, and I don't know enough sign language to be able to do that quickly, but b, even in a slight caloric deficit over time. Here's the thing about cutting carbs is that because there's so much information on the Internet and because there's a lot of it, I'm just gonna say a popular belief about it. Sometimes when you first start losing weight, you have such a strong belief that, yes, this is absolutely going to work for me, and then you cut carbs, and there's a very good chance, but not a guarantee, that you will be eating in that slight caloric deficit. This works more specifically for people who tend to eat over their calorie target versus people who eat under. People who eat under? I mean, we've had this conversation numerous times in numerous ways. I work with a lot of women who are severely undereating, and undereating is actually the problem. So if you are already undereating from your calorie target and you cut carbs, it probably won't work for you at all. But people who are overeating and cutting carbs might find themselves kind of randomly in that slight caloric deficit, which is why lots of women do see some good results right away.
But here's what I want you to know. Just cutting carbs does not guarantee weight loss because it does not guarantee that you'll believe that you can lose weight and sort through all of the different ways that you might have disbelief or self doubt. And it also does not guarantee that you will be in the right slight caloric deficit. Now having said that, I do absolutely want acknowledge that there might be health reasons why you'd like to cut carbs, that it might be for you personally that carbs don't digest well, they don't feel good, that You might like to cut carbs for health reasons, and we are gonna actually talk about that a little bit more when I get into the even longer and even more nuanced answer, sorry for the second half of the nuanced answer. But recognizing that cutting carbs just to lose weight doesn't necessarily help you lose weight, but cutting carbs for other reasons might be a decent plan for you personally. Now In full disclosure, I do eat carbs. I like carbs. I'm not interested in cutting carbs.
I have tried it. Didn't love it. Didn't feel amazing. Therefore, for me, you will hear my bias when we get to the second half of my long nuanced answer. You will hear my bias, and want to make that very, very clear that because of the way I'm presenting this, not because of the way that I'm presenting this doesn't necessarily apply to you. Here's the scientific facts about weight loss. You need to believe that you can, and you need to be eating in a slight caloric deficit over time. The real reason I asked you that question in the title of should you cut carbs to lose weight is because I wanted to bring up this conversation that we're about to have. The truth of it is that you never should do anything to lose weight, because that's not how weight loss works.
That word should. I'd like you to ponder that with me for a little while. And really specifically, what I'd like you to ponder about it is how it feels. When you notice yourself shoulding on yourself. I will guarantee that whatever it is that you are saying you should do or you have to do or you must do or the only way. But it's not actually the thing that you want to be doing. Here is the way to know The fastest, easiest, and best way to lose weight, by understanding what you actually want to do. And the reason why is because of something that we have talked about, I'm gonna say numerous times, and the one that I'm gonna really point you to.
It was a while ago. It was a bonus episode called The Wheel. And here's the way it works. Every single thing in the world works this way where you have a thought. That thought creates a feeling. That feeling drives your actions, and your actions produce a result that is a reflection of your original thought. The way to know how to get what you actually want is to really pay attention to how you feel. When you tell yourself I should do something, I have to do something, the only way to lose weight is to do anything, x, y, or z.
I'm talking about cutting carbs today because it's one that I hear a lot, but you could fill that blank in with intermittent fasting or those are the 2 that I think of off the top of my head all the time, but maybe even, like, eating keto or you know, I used to always give the option of eating vegan or vegetarian or even plant based there. And I've had more than 1 person comment to me that that they don't personally eat that way for weight loss. They eat that way for other, like, ethical or health reasons. So I don't wanna keep throwing that out there as an example because it's true. I do think that most people who eat are, like, plant based vegetarian or vegan are not necessarily eating that way for weight loss. I do think that most people who consider intermittent fasting or low carb or keto are very specifically doing that for weight loss. So I will narrow down my examples to just those 3. But here's the thing, when you tell yourself you should do something like, let's just actually come with me for a minute.
Let's just get really in tune with your body for a moment. Like, sit someplace kinda quiet, kinda still. Or if you are walking or doing dishes or doing something else while you're listening to this podcast. Just take a brief moment to kind of tune in to your body. Like, think about what's going on inside your chest, inside your stomach. Just think about the interior of your body for a moment, and then tell yourself, I should cut carbs. Okay. For me, the 1st place I always notice this is in my lips.
My lips and my mouth and my jaw get really tight when I tell myself I should do something, especially when I tell myself I should do something that I kinda don't wanna do. I Should and you can finish the sentence however you want to. I should do x, y, or z. My shoulders got a little bit tight. They hunched forward a little bit. My stomach got a little bit tight. Actually, not even my stomach because your stomach, of course, is up here, and I totally apologize because I just hit the microphone. But, like, my solar plexus right in the middle, like, somebody just got me right there in the gut.
And my intestines aren't doing a whole lot right now. I don't feel a whole lot of tension or churning in my intestines for that. What else do I notice? I should mostly, I just feel it almost feels like I'm catching my breath. I think that's why I feel it so much in my diaphragm, my solar plexus. It feels like I'm, like, bracing myself and pulling in a breath of air, like holding my breath almost. I should my hands don't feel especially tight. Sometimes they do. Again, this really depends on what thing I think I should do.
I might notice tightness in my hands, my feet, my legs, my arms. This one definitely seems to be centered, like, right here around my mouth, my shoulders, and my solar plexus. And now I wanna offer you the moment to think about. First of all, let's just take a deep breath and kinda get that out of ourselves. I want you to think about something that you actually want to do for weight loss, specifically. We're gonna stick with weight loss. What do you want to do? Personally, I want to be able to eat anything I want. I want to really be able to enjoy what I eat, I want, gosh, I want freedom. Think about what that feels like.
Freedom. I want. For me I mean, if you were watching, my shoulders came forward a little bit, and then they relaxed. Like, I want. And my heart feels very open. My solar plexus feels very open. I feel like I'm taking nice deep breaths. I want.
For me personally, this feeling is what I allow to guide me to all of my choices. I want that freedom, that openness. My food philosophy, just in case you've never heard it, my food philosophy is to eat the foods that you already know and love in portion sizes that hit your calorie target or that makes sense for your goal is the way I usually phrase that. You have a goal of weight loss, which means you have a calorie target to hit every single day. For me, personally, I want to hit that target because I know that that target feels amazing in my body. I'm gonna take a really quick left turn here because I hear I actually just talked with somebody who was like, I wanna hit my target, but I find myself so hungry. Here's what I want you to know about that. Your target for weight loss should feel amazing.
You should feel hungry when it's time to eat, and you should feel that beautiful full amount of satisfaction but not over full when you eat. If that is not how you feel your target is incorrect. It's a whole nother conversation for a whole another day. I just I wanted to throw that out at you right this minute because that's why I I personally want to hit my calorie target. It feels amazing. It feels amazing in my body. It feels energetic. It feels like I have enough food and fuel to do what I wanna do for the day, but not so much that I'm, like, low key and tired and feel that That puffy over full feeling.
I want to hit my calorie target. I want to enjoy the foods that I know and love. I want to not be desperately looking up new recipes for something that I can eat, like, 20 minutes before I'm trying to eat because I'm already hungry, and I'd like to just cook something I already know how to cook. Like, I want to eat exactly the way I eat. As it turns out, I have been using this wanting and this feeling in my body to guide me for years, for years. And I wanna share this. I want to share this with you from a feeling of generosity, from a feeling of kindness and love towards you. I absolutely 100% believe that your body, in so many ways, has the information that tells you exactly what to do next. When you should focus on yourself, your body, your feelings, your emotions, that tightness in your mouth, in your shoulders, in your solar plexus tells you that what you are saying that you should do is actually something that you do not want to do.
That wanting, desire, loveliness, that openness, that feeling will create, will drive the actions of doing that thing. It is so easy to do the things you want to do. And I highly encourage you to look for and find this particular feeling in your body as often as possible. And further to that, really notice when you don't have it. Really notice when you are going to eat something and you feel tight stingy in your mouth and your shoulders about it, or when you are honestly going to honestly do anything on your weight loss journey. If you find yourself feeling tight and shoulding on yourself. Just take a look at that. The truth of it is you shouldn't do anything.
You can do anything you want to do. Let the wanting, the openness, and not the wanting let me clarify that part too Like, not that wanting, like, oh, I want that so much and I can't. You know, that longing, that feeling of wanting without being able to get, I'm talking about the kind of wanting trying to think about something that would be a really good example for wanting something that you know is available to you. Probably, like, wanting to sit down at the end of a long day. You know you have a couch. You know well, okay. Your brain will let you not think about your chores or what you have to do tomorrow, those kinds of things. And maybe that wasn't a good example.
Thinking about something that you want that feels very available to you. Honestly you know what? I'm gonna let you come up with a really good example because I'm thinking about lots of examples that might not apply to you, and I really want you to think about wanting something that is available to you, how different that feels from wanting something that you think isn't available to you. Foods you already know and love in portion sizes that fit your calorie target are available to you. You can want and have anything you want to eat. And I'm trying to think of whether or not I really wanna qualify that anymore. I don't wanna muddy these waters anymore for you because the point of this particular podcast was really to show you that your body has the answer, that the word should create a feeling in your body, and the word want or desire can create a very different feeling in your body. Allow the feelings in your body to direct you which way you personally want to go. If you want to cut carbs.
Let it be because when you do cut carbs, it feels amazing for you, that you actually love the foods you eat. They feel comfortable and good. You know how to cook them. You have recipes. The way that you digest actually feels really good. You don't feel too full or too, too energetic or too lethargic or too anything, you actually feel really good in your body, then you might want to eat that way. And frankly, if you do, you probably don't call it cutting carbs. You probably just call Eating the way you eat, which means that maybe this conversation didn't mean a whole lot to you.
If you have already found foods that feel amazing in your body. You know exactly what this feels like. That's what I want to eat and run. I really hope that this was more clarifying than not for you today. Thank you so much for being here with me. I'll talk to you again next
