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One thing most overlook in working towards sustainable weight loss is the process of building healthier structure. Weight loss isn’t always about loss, but rather expansion. Let me teach you how.
Growing up, I saw many people attempt weight loss. Some succeeded, at least temporarily, but few paid attention to where the weight came from. Health was reduced to the number glaring back at them from the scale.
In those days, health was about weight loss, and weight loss was about all forms of “less.”
While both statements have some truth, they’re not the whole truth. This is why health can feel so confusing. It’s both partially true and incomplete—both this and the opposite of this.
Health is best lived at an optimal weight, but weight loss doesn’t always lead to health.
Likewise, weight loss often involves “less”—but not in the sense of restriction. Instead, it’s less in the way of expansion: less energy-draining foods, less resistance, less working against your body.
It might sound contradictory, as if I’m speaking out of both sides of my mouth. But when you begin to understand that it’s not one or the other—but a combination of what we do and what we’re working against—you start to make meaningful progress toward your goals.
At the end of the day, all goals align with the most critical element of health: the expansion and protection of energy. When you expand your energy, you create healthier structures, and healthier structures produce healthier functions.
This aligns with the biological principle that energy builds structure, and structure determines function.
In the context of weight loss, this means we should focus on building and maintaining healthy structures—like bone density, organ health, and muscle mass—rather than fixating on the number on the scale.
Your optimal weight is not just about reaching a specific number; it’s about achieving, retaining, and supporting a body made of healthy, resilient tissues. Don’t get so consumed by weight loss that you overlook the most critical aspect of achieving a healthy weight: the kind of tissue you’re losing in the process.
Listen to today’s podcast to learn why the structure of your body matters more than your weight—and how you can build a healthier structure for lasting health.
The Backward Approach To Weight Loss
Weight loss doesn’t have to mean losing healthy structure. While some loss is inevitable, the amount depends on your strategy. Without an intentional approach, weight loss often leads to an unhealthy reduction in the tissues you need to retain.
(Read: 7 Truths About Body Fat You Haven’t Heard)
The goal should always be to lose body fat while maintaining healthy tissues like muscle, bone, and organ mass. This process requires balance and precision, but it’s entirely achievable.
In what I call bioenergetic weight loss, there are three key stages to focus on:
- Maintenance
- Fat Loss Phase
- Reverse Dieting (Metabolic Restoration)
If you’re serious about building a strategy for sustainable weight loss, I dive deeper into these stages inside my class. It’s a roadmap that makes weight loss work with your body instead of against it.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misunderstanding in weight loss is how much time should be spent in each phase:
- Maintenance should make up the majority of your life. Very little time should be spent in a fat loss phase.
- You can only enter a fat loss phase if you’re sufficiently resourced, meaning you are eating enough and your body is thriving (learn if you’re eating enough here).
Skipping these steps often leads to a destructive pattern—what I call “the body war.” And here’s the truth:
If health feels like a fight, it isn’t healthy.
The fat-loss phase should be very short and not completed often. Unfortunately, many people are trying to exist in a fat-loss phase, which is making fat loss impossible. If this is true for you, the first step is to reverse diet yourself out of it – working towards maintenance – while restoring your metabolism.
Without the foundation of nourishment, your body will resist weight loss. Instead of burning fat, it may break down muscle or other tissues, suppress your metabolism, and make long-term weight loss even harder.
If you constantly undernourish your body, you’re sending it into survival mode. When nutrients and energy are scarce, your body holds onto fat for protection. This metabolic suppression not only prevents fat loss but makes future efforts even more challenging.
5 Keys to Building Healthier Structure
Building healthier structure requires a focus outside of any “fat loss” phase. It’s difficult to build when you’re actively breaking down. However, even during fat loss, there are essential strategies to maintain healthy structure by following consistent, supportive patterns.
1. Eat Enough (Even in a Fat Loss Phase)
You cannot build healthy structure without sufficient nutrients and energy. No one should consume less than 1,500 calories in a fat-loss phase, and during maintenance, intake should be much higher to sustain and support healthy tissues.
- In non-weight-loss phases, focus on nourishing your body fully to rebuild and strengthen.
- Avoid dropping calories so low that your body is forced to break down its healthy stores.
2. Include All Macronutrients (Especially Carbohydrates)
Protein is the body’s main building block, but it requires carbohydrates to function effectively. However, without adequate carbs, your body will repurpose protein (and even break down healthy tissues) to produce energy.
- Make sure your diet includes all macronutrients in balanced amounts.
- Prioritize carbohydrates to preserve and optimize protein’s role in building and maintaining healthy tissue.
3. Build Muscle Through Activity
Muscle is a cornerstone of healthy structure, and building it requires intentional effort.
- Incorporate movement and strength training into your routine.
- Progressively add more weight or resistance over time to continue building.
- Start where you are, but ensure your plan evolves as you grow stronger.
4. Prioritize Sleep
Sleep is a biological powerhouse. It directly impacts how much tissue your body breaks down or builds. Sleep singlehandedly changes every function inside your body.
- Aim for 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night.
- Create a sleep routine that supports recovery and regeneration.
- Don’t overlook the importance of rest in maintaining healthy structure.
5. Recharge Your Energy Battery
Food isn’t the only source of energy. Everything you engage with influences your energy levels.
- Identify energy drains and fills in your life by performing an energy audit.
- Incorporate basic energy fills like morning sunlight, hydration, fresh air, and meaningful connections.
- Protect your energy tank to support your body’s ability to build and maintain healthy structure.
Want a Better Strategy for Weight Loss?
Learn how to support weight loss while preserving healthy structure inside my class, available through The Weekly Fill.
Subscribers gain access to past classes, including guides to revitalize your metabolic output and maintain a balanced approach to weight loss.
Head to The Weekly Fill to subscribe and start your journey toward sustainable health.
