The real reason why you can't lose the last 5kg

A nutritionist weighs in

Consider what you’re giving up in your attempts to lose the last 5kgs. Image: Pexels

If you're subsisting on kale smoothies and hitting the gym regularly but not seeing results, nutritionist Lyndi Cohen has some insights into why.

When it comes to weight loss, shedding the last 5kg before you reach your 'goal weight' can be the hardest part. You might find yourself sweating it out at the gym consistently, sticking to your calorie deficit or strict diet plan, or even trying measures like intermittent fasting to help you get to your 'goal' weight.

But there’s a reason the last 5kgs are so difficult to lose.

While social media (and mainstream media) have conditioned you to think you need to lose an additional 5kgs to have the 'perfect body', you may be fighting against your body and your health to achieve this. For many of us, we aren’t physiologically able to drop below a certain weight or get to a certain clothing size, without compromising our wellbeing in the process.

Like what you see? Sign up to our bodyandsoul.com.au newsletter for more stories like this.

In reality, your body has a 'happy weight' at which it is functioning normally. You’ll know you’re at your happy weight, not when you fit into your skinny jeans, but instead when; your energy levels are consistent, your hormones are balanced, you sleep well, and you’re not consumed by thoughts about food every second of every day. If you fall below this happy weight, you risk interfering with all of these essential functions and measures of health. And is it ever worth giving up 95 per cent of your life to weigh 5 per cent less? 

Your weight is not the best indicator of your health, despite what you’ve been told. In many instances, you may be healthier when your weight is slightly higher than you’d like it to be! The weight at which your body naturally wants to sit is where it functions at its best. So if you’re finding it tricky to shift those last few kilos, it could be because you’re not supposed to lose that last 5kgs after all.

Why a calorie deficit won’t get you there

If you’re cutting calories and portion sizes left, right and centre, it’s time to reevaluate your approach to losing those last 5kgs. Cutting your energy intake is probably having the opposite effect on your weight loss goals. Here are two reasons why creating a great calorie deficit won’t help you get there. 

Cutting your calories and food intake often leads to binge eating or overeating. Image: Getty

Reason 1. If you’re not eating enough to keep your body happy, it begins to think it’s in a state of famine - in other words, your body is no longer sure if it can rely on you providing it with enough food or energy in the near future. So, to protect itself and ensure it can continue to keep up its most essential functions, your metabolism begins to slow down. This means you’re burning less energy doing the same activities day to day - so you have to continue eating less and less, and exercising more and more to burn the same energy in a day. This is unsustainable - and unhealthy! Plus, it’s a one-way ticket to a miserable, lonely life.

Reason 2. Cutting your calories and food intake also often leads to binge eating or overeating. You become so fixated on food, or thoughts about foods you’re “not allowing yourself” to eat, to the point where you simply can’t resist the appeal they now hold. Because whenever you cut something out of your diet, you suddenly crave it all the more. Add the intense cravings, all-consuming thoughts about food, and the fact your body is hungry, and you have the perfect recipe for overeating or bingeing. Again, not eating enough or cutting your calories is sabotaging your attempts to lose weight.

Instead of cutting calories, make sure you’re eating enough consistently. Don’t skip meals, and ensure your main meals are satisfying and balanced, including a source of complex carbohydrates, healthy fat and protein each time. This will significantly reduce your likelihood of overeating or bingeing.

5 things you should do instead

Rather than following strict diets, limiting your food intake or food choices, or exercising excessively, consider trying the following strategies:

Consider what you’re giving up in your attempts to lose the last 5kgs

Are you giving up dinners out with friends? The ability to sleep soundly without your stomach rumbling all night long and keeping you awake? Sleep-ins with your partner instead of dragging yourself to the gym for hours at the crack of dawn each day? Even simply the chance to enjoy your food, choose options you genuinely want and get excited to eat? Is all of this really worth sacrificing just to be a few kilos lighter?

Rethink how you define health

Is your body or weight really the best way to determine whether you’re healthy or not? Consider your energy levels, your sleep, your mental health, your mood, your hormones… All of these things are far more important than the size of your body. It’s time to shift how you assess your own health and wellbeing.

Recognise that you are at your happy weight already

It might not be the same as your 'goal weight', but if you need to fight your own body in order to get there, is the number you’ve fixated on in your mind truly the healthiest weight for you? Realise that for most of us, our goal weight and our body’s happy weight are not one and the same - and that’s okay! You’re at your best when your body is healthy, strong, and functioning just as it should be.

It's never worth giving up 95 per cent of your life to weigh 5 per cent less. Image: Pexels

Accept that your body doesn’t define you

Even if you don’t look exactly as you’d like to, you are enough already. You don’t become more loveable, acceptable or worthy by losing weight. Have confidence in who you are as a person - this makes you worthy, loved and beautiful. And if you don’t believe that, just ask the people in your life what they love about you… I’m willing to bet the answer is not your weight.

Broaden your life

When you fixate on your weight and your food choices, your world becomes smaller and smaller. Your brain is taken over by thoughts about food, by feelings of hunger. When you’re restricting yourself, you’re limiting your potential and your life. Lean into the joys of life, particularly those outside of food and your body! Get curious, try new hobbies, meet new people. Remind yourself there is far more to life than your weight.

I’ve been where you are. I’ve tried all the diets, I’ve fixated on my body and weight, and I’ve struggled with binge eating and body fluctuations. Only when I realised how to listen to my body and honour my happy weight did things improve for me. I learned how to stop binge eating, how to eat intuitively, and how to embrace life outside of food.

And yes, incidentally I lost 20kg by ditching the diets and the obsession with my weight. But now, I’m able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, without missing out on anything in pursuit of losing those last 5kgs. I’m the healthiest and the happiest I’ve ever been, having made peace with my body and its happy weight. The changes I made were very gradual, and it took me years to improve my relationship with food, but I did it in a sustainable, enjoyable way that will last a lifetime - and you can too. 

Lyndi Cohen is a dietitian and best-selling author and is known for calling out nutrition nonsense, challenging diet culture and promoting healthy body image. You can follow her on Instagram here, visit her here, or download her Back to Basics app. 

Originally published as The real reason why you can't lose the last 5kg