If you’re currently trying to lose weight, I have one single piece of advice for you: Do not starve yourself to lose the excess fat.

This is something I hear a lot from clients who are trying their very best to cut down on their intake and get into the shape they want.

There’s a preconceived notion that you have to endure hunger to reach your goal. In this article, we’re going to dive into this topic so that you’re better equipped for your weight loss journey...

Why Starving Doesn’t Work

Hunger is not your friend when it comes to fat loss. In fact, you want to stay as far away from it as possible because it will trick you into stepping off the right path.

There’s a pattern—a vicious loop—that leads to yo-yo dieting, and it happens when frustration is the lever you pull for weight loss.

If you starve yourself, you’re likely ignoring your hunger signals and preventing yourself from eating. But we, as humans, are very bad at handling frustration, which leads us to do things we regret later.

When you accumulate too much frustration, it’s only a matter of time before your hungry brain pushes you to open the fridge for an unplanned snack.

The truth is, depriving yourself of food and being in a constant state of hunger is not sustainable. When it comes to weight loss, you want to take the opposite approach.

When You Can’t Trust Your Brain and Body

On a physical level, your body is designed to respond to constant hunger by adapting the way it functions. It enters energy-saving mode and slows your metabolism.

It essentially does everything slower to conserve energy, and this affects your brain as well. Functions like motivation, willpower, and decision-making—especially the more demanding ones—become impaired.

For example, resisting the doughnut your colleague brought and left on the office table becomes as mentally exhausting as trying to read two pages of a book at the same time.

This happens because your glucose-depleted brain can’t function properly and will not cooperate with your long-term goals.

Additionally, your perception of time becomes distorted, and long-term decisions are quickly replaced by short-term gratification.

How to Lose Weight Without Starving Yourself


Please Stop Starving Yourself

If your goal is sustainable weight loss, stop starving yourself and adopt a long-term strategy—a sustainable one.

First, understand that you may be holding on to a false belief about food. Hunger is not directly related to weight loss. A caloric deficit will make you lose fat, but that doesn’t mean you have to be hungry all the time.

In fact, the frustration you accumulate while being hungry and deprived of energy will never help you make better food choices.

The first step is to shift your mindset. Redirect your focus toward making better food choices instead of simply pushing food away.


Focus on a Caloric Deficit

This term may sound scientific, but it simply means consuming less energy than your body uses each day.
As you can see, hunger is not a prerequisite for a caloric deficit.

If you’d rather avoid tracking exact numbers, you can take an intuitive approach:
• Weigh yourself weekly.
• Track your food intake.
• Observe the trends on the scale.

Over time, test and adjust your nutrition. With consistent effort, you’ll gradually lose weight by simply playing with what you eat.


Add More Volume to Your Plate

Your best allies in weight loss are foods that are high in volume and low in calories, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.

This is one of the easiest strategies to start with. On your next grocery trip, focus on buying whole, minimally processed foods.

By doing this, you’ll ensure that your plate is filled with high-volume, low-calorie options.


Enjoy Your Diet

Fat loss takes time, so it doesn’t make sense to force yourself to eat foods you don’t enjoy. If you dislike broccoli, don’t eat it.

The only approach that works is one you can stick to long term.

To achieve this, you need to enjoy what you’re eating and find pleasure in your meals. Your relationship with food is at the heart of your journey and may need some work.

Take your time, find what works for you, and repeat it every day until you reach your goal. It’s as simple as that.