You want to know why you’re still carrying that spare tyre despite “trying really hard”?
It’s because you’re committing one (or all seven) of these deadly sins.
Let’s tear this down...
Sin 1 - Crash Dieting
Overly restricting calories is the fastest way to lose weight and gain it all back, plus an extra stone for your trouble.
Here’s the thing: your body isn’t stupid.
Starve it like a prisoner of war, and it’ll fight back harder than you can white-knuckle through willpower.
The real problem is you’re treating fat loss like a sprint when it’s a marathon.
Remember that tortoise and hare story?
The hare was a cocky twat who fell asleep.
Don’t be the hare.
What to do instead…
Aim for 0.5-1% bodyweight loss per week (NOT per day)
Keep your calories high enough that you can still function like a human being
Think 12 months, not 12 weeks
Slow and steady wins. Always.
Sin 2 - Flying Blind on Your Calories
Not knowing your actual calorie needs is like trying to drive to Glasgow with no map, no GPS, and your mate Dave giving you drunken directions…
You might eventually stumble there, but Christ, what a waste of time.
Here’s what you do:
Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) - don’t guess, actually fucking calculate it
Be honest about your activity levels (sitting at a desk 10 hours doesn’t make you “moderately active”)
Subtract 300 calories from your TDEE - that’s your starting point
Allocate 25-30% of those calories to protein (non-negotiable)
Split the rest between fats and carbs based on what you actually enjoy
Do you need to track forever?
Nope
Track for 4-6 weeks, learn where you’ve been fuck*ng up then adjust.
It’s like using a map until you know the route
Eventually, you don’t need it anymore.
But you’ve got to use it first.
Sin 3 - Cutting Out Entire Food Groups
“I’m doing keto/carnivore/no-carb/whatever-the-influencer-is-pushing.”
Let me be clear: there are two types of people in this world..
those who like carbs and liars.
Newsflash, Carbohydrates are not the enemy.
They’re your body’s preferred fuel source and the reason pizza exists.
Cutting them out completely is like deciding you’ll only drive in first gear because someone on Instagram said gears 2-5 make you fat.
Absolute horseshit.
The truth is you need carbs for:
Energy to train hard
Brain function (so you don’t turn into a miserable bastard)
Actually enjoying your life
There’s zero requirement to eliminate any macronutrient.
Protein? Non-negotiable.
Fats and carbs? Split them however keeps you sane and performing.
Sin 4 - The Weekend Warrior
You know this bloke.
Hell, you might BE this bloke!
Monday to Friday: chicken, broccoli, and misery. Living like a monk.
Saturday and Sunday: eight pints, a kebab, and enough crisps to feed a battalion.
Then wondering why the scales haven’t moved.
Here’s what’s happening…
You’re overly restricting during the week (see Sin 1), which makes you absolutely ravenous at the weekend.
Then you compensate by hoovering up everything in sight.
The fix is simple: Eat enough Monday through Friday so you’re not treating Saturday like it’s your last meal on Earth.
If you had 300 more calories on Tuesday, you wouldn’t need to demolish that entire Domino’s on Saturday night.
See the difference?
Sin 5 - Ignoring Your Trigger Foods
Everyone’s got trigger foods!
The shit you simply cannot have in the house without demolishing the lot in one sitting.
For me? Licorice Flyers.
Those little bastards don’t stand a chance if they’re within arm’s reach.
“Moderation” is horseshit advice for trigger foods.
You can’t moderate something that triggers you
That’s literally what “trigger” means.
Two options:
Reduce - Buy single servings only, never bulk packs
Remove - Don’t have them in the house at all
“Out of sight, out of mind” doesn’t work when you KNOW they’re in the cupboard calling your name at 9 PM.
Stop messing about and remove the temptation.
Sin 6 - Drinking Your Calories
Back when I was stationed in Iraq, their dining facilities had rows of fridges stacked with massive bottles of Gatorade - 320 calories per bottle.
Blokes would drink three of these a day then wonder why they couldn’t shift weight.
The Problem is liquid calories don’t fill you up.
That 120-calorie coke could be an actual snack that keeps you satisfied for hours.
What to do:
Ditch full-sugar soft drinks - there are zero-calorie options everywhere now
If you’re drinking alcohol (no judgement), swap pints for bottles
Better yet: gin and slimline tonic is about 80 calories versus a pint at 200+
Full-fat coke in is so 1993…
Allocate those calories to actual food.
Sin 7 - Not Prepping Your Food
Last year, first half: I was buying £3 meal deals every lunchtime from Tesco.
“Healthy enough,” I told myself.
Wasn’t filling, cost a fortune, and I was winging it daily.
Second half: Got my shit together.
Every Sunday:
Supermarket trip
Buy chicken, turkey, pork
Make a massive chilli, curry, or slow cooker batch
Portion into containers
Time investment: 2 hours on Sunday including shopping
Weekday prep: 5 minutes to reheat
Money saved: Hundreds of quid
Mental energy saved: Priceless
You’re not “too busy” - you’re disorganised. There’s a difference.
Look, fat loss isn’t complicated, but it’s not easy either.
The difference?
Complicated means confusing.
Not easy means it requires consistent effort.
Stop doing this:
Crash dieting
Guessing your calories
Eliminating food groups
Weekend binge-restrict cycles
Keeping trigger foods around
Drinking your calories
Winging your meals
Start doing this:
Eat in a moderate deficit you can sustain
Know your actual numbers
Eat carbs, for fuck’s sake
Be consistent seven days a week
Remove temptation completely
Drink calories only when it’s worth it
Prep your food on Sundays
Your body at 40, 50, or 60 isn’t broken - you’re just making the same mistakes everyone makes because some Instagram influencer promised you a shortcut.
There are no shortcuts.
Just honest work, done consistently, without the drama.
Now stop reading and go calculate your bloody TDEE.
See you next week.
Jay Alderton
