Beyond Calories: Why How You Lose Weight Matters
Written by Gina Hill, Registered Clinical Nutritionist
For years, the dominant narrative around weight loss has focused on one principle: calories in vs. calories out. And while it’s true that a calorie deficit is necessary to lose body fat, this explanation is overly simplistic - and often misleading.
In reality, it’s how you create that deficit plays a far more important role in whether weight loss is effective, sustainable, and supportive of your health. So, what should you do instead?
Let’s break it down:
Instead of focusing on eating less, focus on eating better.
Nutrient-dense wholefoods provide the fuel your body needs to function, repair, and thrive - especially during fat loss. This includes:
Protein – for satiety, muscle maintenance, and blood sugar control
Fibre – for appetite regulation, gut health, and hormone balance
Healthy fats – for mood, skin, and cellular function
Micronutrients – to support metabolism, digestion, sleep, and energy production
For women navigating digestive issues, insulin resistance, or hormonal changes like perimenopause, nutrient quality makes all the difference. It’s not just about the foods you reduce or remove - it’s about the foods you include.
The Crucial Role of Protein
Protein is a game-changer for sustainable fat loss. Not only does it support lean muscle and boost metabolism, but it also:
Keeps you fuller for longer
Reduces cravings and food noise (especially in the afternoon and evening)
Promotes thermogenesis - the energy your body uses to digest and absorb it
Supports blood sugar and insulin regulation
During perimenopause, when muscle loss accelerates and metabolism naturally declines, protein becomes essential for maintaining strength, body composition, and energy levels. When protein is too low during a fat loss phase, you lose muscle instead of fat - slowing metabolism and making weight loss harder to maintain.
But, Protein Isn’t Everything: Muscle Requires Calories and Strength Training
Muscle is the tissue that burns more energy at rest, improves insulin sensitivity, and protects our bone and joint health. Maintaining or growing muscle mass requires a combination of adequate protein intake, strength training, and avoiding excessive calorie restriction.
If you’re not preserving muscle during a deficit, your body burns fewer calories, stores more fat, and becomes less responsive to fat loss over time.
Fibre: The Most Overlooked Fat Loss Tool
Fibre does far more than support digestion. It’s foundational for:
Stable blood sugar - especially when paired with protein, helping with appetite and reducing cravings
Hormone balance (estrogen clearance happens via the gut)
A healthy microbiome, which influences mood, cravings, immunity, and metabolism
Regular bowel movements, essential for detoxification and hormonal balance
High-fibre foods are low calorie for volume - meaning they’re incredibly filling and help you naturally eat less without feeling deprived.
Without enough fibre, your appetite, hormones, and gut health are harder to regulate - making fat loss more difficult to achieve and sustain.
Hormones and Fat Loss: A Complex Relationship
Hormones like insulin, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol, thyroid hormones, and sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) play a critical role in:
Fat metabolism
Appetite control
Energy balance
Fat distribution (e.g. abdomen vs. hips)
A calorie deficit becomes counterproductive when it disrupts the systems responsible for:
Appetite regulation
Blood sugar balance
Fat storage and distribution
Sleep quality and recovery
When your diet lacks both adequate calories and key nutrients - such as healthy fats, fiber, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and iodine - it can disrupt these hormonal systems. This makes it significantly harder to lose weight - especially around the midsection - and increases rebound weight gain.
When key nutrients are missing:
Thyroid function slows → leading to a sluggish metabolism, low energy, and increased fat storage
Cortisol levels rise → triggering more abdominal fat, muscle breakdown, and insulin resistance
Insulin and leptin resistance → resulting in persistent hunger, cravings, and fat gain (especially visceral fat)
Weakened satiety signals → causing overeating, even when your body doesn’t need more food, constant food noise
So, What Actually Works?
A calorie deficit that’s not carefully planned makes fat loss feel exhausting, difficult to stick to, and unlikely to deliver lasting results.
When your body’s not getting what it needs, it tells you - through:
Persistent hunger
Constantly thinking about food (“food noise”)
Afternoon energy crashes
Intense sugar cravings
Digestive discomfort
Trouble sleeping
Poor mood and anxiety
These aren’t signs you need more willpower, they’re signals that your body is undernourished and out of balance. If you ignore them and push through, your body pushes back - slowing fat loss, raising stress hormones, and driving overeating, fatigue, and irritability.
When you build your fat loss approach on these foundations, your body becomes more responsive- not just with weight, but with improved energy, mood, digestion, sleep, and long-term health.
And that’s exactly what we’re doing inside Go Diet Free.
