Why Am I Eating Healthy but Not Losing Fat?

Nikkiey: Healthy doesn't always mean effective. Effective means giving your body enough protein, it means giving appropriate portions, it means awareness of calorie density, it means consistency across the entire week, not just Monday through Friday, and it means being in alignment with your goal. You can't be in alignment with your goal if you're quote-unquote eating healthy, eyeballing, and just guessing as you go.

Hey you guys, what's up? Welcome back to another episode of The WarriorBabe Show with your host, Nikkiey Stott. On these episodes, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident.

So my friends, today, episode number 335, we're going to talk about something that I see every single day, and especially more over the last few weeks because I've been traveling a lot, if you guys follow me on Instagram. I've been in various different locations, and I've sparked up a lot of conversations around nutrition and fitness and working out and this type of lifestyle. And it inspired me to bring this episode to the podcast.

I think the topic I'm going to talk about today is a big, frustrating place for women who think they're doing things the right way, but they're not getting the results that they want and they feel very stuck. And that is around healthy eating, women saying, I eat healthy. The conversations I was having were mainly around nutrition, because anybody and everyone can work out. Everyone loves to go to the gym. They love to be there. They love to get it done. Working out generally isn't the big problem, from what I'm seeing. It boils down to the nutrition aspect.

And when I'm having these conversations, I hear women saying, yeah, I eat healthy, until I unpack that a little bit further. Or, I don't eat any junk food. I really focus on whole ingredients, whole food, and X, Y, and Z. Or, well, we don't really go out that often. I mainly cook from home, or I'm just trying to be very mindful of the food that I'm eating. And yet, when I started to unpack this and get into deeper conversations with them, it's, but I'm not losing fat. Or, I'm not seeing my body change. Or, I'm eating clean, but I'm still feeling tired. I'm still feeling hungry. I'm still feeling bloated. Overall, these women are just getting to the point of, I'm just very confused.

So I just want to say clearly out of the gate with this episode: healthy eating does not automatically equal you being effective with your eating. And I'm not judging you guys. That's just the psychological aspect of it and the physiological aspect of it. What I hope to break down in this episode with you guys is why your healthy eating habits might not be working, and what actually needs to change if you want to experience that fat loss, that change in your body composition, having that energy, and most importantly, being consistent with it. Because when I was talking to these women, it always led back to the inconsistency aspect of it, and not letting it marinate, eating the right way for a period of time in order for the body to be able to adapt and change.

Among these conversations that I was having, the one area where I saw most women getting tripped up was looking at or labeling food as clean, healthy, whole, or organic. And then they assume that if food is labeled that way, if it's labeled clean, healthy, organic, whole, then it must support the goal of fat loss.

But I want to make very, very clear here: your body doesn't respond to those labels. What it responds to is the calories. It responds to the macronutrients. It responds to the portion sizes. And most importantly, it will respond to you being consistent with those things over time. So you can eat all of the clean foods and still be overeating in calories. You could still be under-eating in protein. You could be spiking your blood sugar because you're not giving your body enough of one proper nutrient that will help to stabilize that. And you could still stall in fat loss while saying you're eating these healthy, clean foods. All of these things can still be happening.

When I boil it down in conversations with them, they're like, yeah, I eat clean. I'm like, okay, can you tell me what that means? Or, I eat healthy. I'm like, okay, tell me what that means. And they're like, well, you know, I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I'm like, okay, tell me what those meals consist of. And out of the gate, in my mind, I can just tally up the calorie numbers, and even ballpark the macros, depending on whether they're telling me how much is on their plate. But broadly speaking, I'm like, okay, that's probably maybe 1,200 calories in a day, if that. Or for some of them, it'll be a breakfast and a lunch and a very, very big dinner. And then they're overeating, or they're overeating in the carbs and the fats, which I'll get into in a second, and they're under-eating in the protein.

So you can say you're eating healthy. You can eat all of the quote-unquote clean foods and give them labels. But you are still under-eating, or under-eating protein, or mainly overeating in calories.

Okay. So when women say, I eat really healthy, but nothing's happening, what that usually means is, I'm eating foods I believe are good, but they're not aligned with my actual needs. They're not aligned with what my body actually needs in order to fuel and adapt toward the results you want to see.

So I touched a little bit on overeating calories, and I want to unpack that a little bit more, because I believe it can be a silent sabotage for a lot of individuals. I want to talk about calorie density. What that means is how many calories are packed into a small volume of food. And this is where quote-unquote healthy foods get very, very sneaky. Foods like nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil. These are all healthy foods. These are all great foods that I still incorporate into my everyday. However, they sneak up on you because they are calorically dense.

Things like granola, things like hummus. I know women love hummus with celery and carrots for a snack. People love their granola and yogurt because it's healthy and it's small. But these are sneaky things. Smoothies, trail mix, and especially the nuts. I'll never forget a client I worked with years ago who said, yeah, well, I eat a handful of nuts midday, and maybe I'll have a little bit more later on in the day. I'm like, do you know how many calories and fats are in that handful of nuts? You're probably sending yourself overboard with that alone, or at least halfway overboard on what you need for the day.

I just want to educate you guys on these, because these foods are nutrient dense, yes, but they're also calorically dense. Which means you can eat a healthy meal that looks small and accidentally consume 700 to 900 calories. And the issue isn't the food. It's the unawareness around what I'm talking about here. It's, oh, this is healthy food. Back to the story about the nuts: it's healthy. Yes, it's nutrient dense. But it's also calorically dense. Same with the yogurt and granola, or the hummus with the carrots and celery. It's a healthy meal that looks small, but you can accidentally consume a ton of calories in it. So I hope to bring awareness to that.

Because most women aren't tracking portions, honestly. The same thing can be broken down with the portion size of peanut butter. You can over-consume peanut butter very quickly, because the portion size is only two tablespoons. I remember when I was talking with women and bringing this awareness to them, they would eat spoonfuls of it, because it's healthy and it has protein in it. But it also has fat, which makes it calorically dense. So women aren't tracking portions, honestly. What they're doing is eyeballing the handful of nuts, the tablespoons of peanut butter. They're pouring sauces or dressings, which are also very calorically dense. And those calories can add up very, very fast.

So as a reminder, fat loss doesn't care whether the calories come from avocado or cookies. Your body only has an energy budget. So if you're over-consuming calories in these small, healthy meals that put you overboard early on, and then you're also eating a lunch and a dinner for the rest of the day, that will send you over the calories you're supposed to consume. Portions matter the most.

And that's also what gets people tripped up, because they think they have to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but the portions of those are small because people think they need to eat less. When you actually give your body what it needs to consume in the day and you break it down into five meals, people are afraid of that, because you think of five meals and you think, oh, those are going to be big meals. No, it's just portioned out appropriately to give you a good amount of protein, fats, and carbs in each meal so that you're giving your body what it needs in the day. Reminding you, your body has an energy budget. Okay?

And a big issue that I see is the protein aspect of it. Women eat quote-unquote healthy meals that are carbs and fat. Carbs and fat. Even the hummus is carbs and fat, the carrots are carbs, and the celery barely has anything in it. Or going back to the nuts: carbs and fat. Oatmeal with nut butter, avocado toast: carbs and fat. Salad with oils and seeds: carbs and fat. Smoothies with fruit and almond milk: carbs and fat. And then they say, man, I'm starving all of the time. Or, I snack nonstop throughout the day. I have this meal, oatmeal and nut butter, but I'm hungry in an hour. And I can't stay consistent because I'm always snacking.

It's because protein is missing. I know I've been hammering this in a few episodes lately, but protein is what stabilizes your blood sugar, so you're not experiencing those spikes in blood sugar, which make you feel hungry, and then a crash. And then a spike, and then a crash, and then a spike, with you snacking constantly. That's what's happening when you're snacking constantly.

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All right, let's get back to the show. Protein is what is going to control your hunger. As I talked about, it's going to preserve your lean muscle mass. It's going to support your metabolism. But mainly, it's going to control your hunger.

When you have anywhere upwards of 25 to 30 grams of protein in each one of your meals, I will lay my life on it, if you're being consistent with this, that you will not feel hungry an hour or two hours later, because you gave your body enough protein. It's going to stabilize the blood sugar. It's going to control your hunger.

And I'll say this too: most women think they're eating quote-unquote enough protein. I've seen that, even in the conversations I've been having. Oh, I get enough protein in my day. Okay, unpack that. What does that mean to you? But they're only eating 10 to 15 grams per meal, if that. Let me say this loud and clear: that is not enough. And when protein is too low, your body will keep asking for more food, because you're under-fueled by the lack of nutrients you're giving your body.

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All right, back to the show. Let me say that again. When your protein is too low, that is why you are constantly craving snacky foods throughout the day. That is why at the end of the day, you eat your dinner and you feel hungry afterwards. You feel snacky afterwards because probably the majority of that meal was carbs and fat and a little bit of protein. It happens when you go out to restaurants as well. The portion sizes are mainly carbs and fats, which is why you always need to ask for extra protein. Okay. Your body keeps asking for food because you are under-fueled. When you are quote-unquote eating healthy without an adequate amount of protein, that is going to lead to constant hunger, to cravings, to overeating later in the day, and to poor body composition. You're going to struggle to see the results you want to see. Okay.

Something I want to add in here too, because as I was having those conversations with women, liquid calories got brought up. And this one shocks a lot of people. By liquid calories, I mean smoothies, protein shakes made wrong, fancy coffees, juices, wellness shots, wellness drinks. These can quietly add hundreds of calories without making you feel satisfied. That's because these liquid calories digest faster. They don't require you to chew, which adds stimulation to the brain and to your stomach. They don't trigger fullness the same way a whole food, nutritious meal of protein, fats, and carbs does.

And so some women say, I barely eat anything, because they're drinking 400-calorie smoothies. They're drinking oat milk lattes. When I see women at Starbucks, I'm like, holy cow, the Frappuccino alone is probably 400, 500 calories. Juice shots. Those things add up, but none of them keeps you full. Now, they're not bad. Juice shots, treating yourself to an oat milk latte, they're not bad. But you need to be intentional around them. Otherwise, they're going to blow your calorie budget without you even realizing it. Again, you could easily accidentally consume 700 to 900 calories just in those examples I gave you, and you're blowing your calorie budget for the rest of the day.

That's why people are overweight, because they're over-consuming the food. And then they go into, I need to do the opposite and eat less, which only sends a shock to your body to try and hold on to that fat, and that's why women get more weight added to their body. If you can find the right calories and the right macros that your body needs, this is literally the answer, the secret sauce, the secret balance.

And I'm just going to add this plug, because we have a product that can help you guys, and it's $27. You can get The Macro Method. I'm going to link it in the description below, or you can go to WarriorBabe and check out our products. It will give you the right protocol for your individual, unique body, to set you up for success and help you understand what calories and macros you need.

Because the hard truth is, and I'm going to say it with love, you guys, most people underestimate how much they're eating. Not because they're lying or they don't know or whatever. It's because humans are bad at eyeballing, especially when it comes to oils, nuts, dressings, sauces, rice. The majority of people are eyeballing these things, and people are bad at it. They're trying to estimate these portion sizes, and the way the brain works is, I need to eat less, I need to eat less, I need to eat less. So having a smaller portion on your plate is what makes your brain think it's working. But if you're over-consuming the things I'm talking about, you're underestimating portion sizes. You're underestimating how much you're eating.

And that's why I'm saying tracking, even if it's just temporary, can be very, very educational for you. And I don't say it in an obsessive way. I know a lot of women are like, I don't want to have to track for the rest of my life. You don't have to track for the rest of your life if you understand that tracking macros is a skill set that will serve you for the rest of your life. It's just temporary.

What I mean by that is, you're going to have an app that supports you with tracking your macros. You log your food, and at the same time you're logging your food, you're looking at your plate and seeing what a good portion size of protein looks like, and what a good portion size of carbs and fat looks like. And you're educating your brain to see this as enough food, or what I need. And when you do that consistently, you're becoming more educated around macronutrients and more aware around food freedom.

Once you see what portions actually look like, you can stop guessing. And when you stop guessing, fat loss stops feeling so confusing. That's why I say, dude, just track macros, even if it's just temporary, to give yourself the education. And I hope it changes your mindset around looking at it in a very obsessive way. It's not obsessive. The only ones labeling it obsessive are you and potentially the women you're talking to in your circle, or the things you're following online. Because it's worked for thousands of women, and for me. Okay?

One thing I also need to add in is the consistency marker, because this one matters a lot. Many women eat quote-unquote good. I eat perfect Monday through Friday. I hear this all the time. And then they eat out on the weekends. They drink more on the weekends. They stop tracking on the weekends. They snack mindlessly on the weekends. And they say, oh, it's just the weekend.

But here's the thing: fat loss doesn't reset on Monday. A calorie deficit for five days can be erased easily in two days. So women feel like, oh, I'm doing everything right, but I'm not seeing the results that I want. This is where consistency matters. Consistency isn't just for the weekdays. It is about averages.

This is what consistency looks like, because you don't need to be perfect. You don't need to be 100% Monday through Sunday. You could be 70% one day, 30% one day, 90% one day, 50% one day, 100% one day. That is consistency. And then you'll work your way into, wow, I feel better on my 70, 90, 95, 80, 85 days. I need more of that. And then you go into a bracket of, my consistency looks like 70 to 80%. Oh, 75. But then 90. That's what matters. It's about the averages. You don't need perfection, but you do need awareness across all of the days, and you need some level of consistency across all of the days. That's what's going to make you win.

This is the core lesson to take from this episode. Clean eating focuses on food quality. Yes. Macros focus on quality plus consumption. You need both. You can eat clean foods, whole foods, organic foods, and still not lose fat if the macros don't align with your goal. Macros are not the enemy here. They are the framework.

You can still not lose all of the fat. You can still not be where you want to be while eating clean foods, eating quote-unquote healthy, if the macros don't align with your goal and where you want to go. If you are trying to lose fat, you need to dial in the consistency of your calories, and even take it up a level with the consistency of your macros. They are the framework here. They give structure to healthy eating. They turn I think I'm doing okay, I think I'm eating healthy, I think I'm eating enough, into I know this is working. I have data. I have proof. Here are my numbers.

Anybody who has an analytical mind should be eating this up. I can understand that it could be tough for anybody who's more of a type B, the creative, go-with-the-flow type of mind. But data is data. If you can log your food and see it, and you can look at your consistency over weeks and know what your macros are, you can say, I know this is working. And you can stop being in this limbo of, oh, I'm eyeballing, I'm guessing, I eat healthy, I eat okay, this is what I eat. No. If you know exactly what you're eating, you can say, I know this is working.

So if you've been telling yourself, I eat healthy, but nothing's happening, I need you to reframe it to, I eat foods I believe are healthy, but my strategy might not be as effective. And that's not you being a failure. That's you being aware and giving yourself the ability to be open to information.

Because healthy doesn't always mean effective. Effective means giving your body enough protein. It means giving appropriate portions. It means awareness of calorie density. It means consistency across the entire week, not just Monday through Friday. And it means being in alignment with your goal. You can't be in alignment with your goal if you're quote-unquote eating healthy, eyeballing, and just guessing as you go. Point blank. And once you understand that, fat loss stops feeling like a mystery, and consistency stops feeling exhausting.

All right. So I hope you guys took that away from this episode. If you're eating healthy, I need you to change your perspective. I need you to be like, okay, cool, yeah, I'm eating healthy, but I need my strategy to be more effective. And that's where macros come into play.

All right, my friends. I love you guys. I hope this episode helped. And if you need macros, The Macro Method is linked below this episode. Go get it. $27. Love you guys. See you in the next episode. Peace out.

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