A registered dietitian has revealed why eating less and exercising more doesn’t always help women lose weight – and shared what they should do instead.
Taylor Grasso, 25, from Iowa, has more than 91,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares tips on intuitive eating, cycle syncing, meal prep and other health-related behaviors.
The content creator, who uses the handle @ simplygezondrecently dedicated a video to her female followers who come to her saying they eat less than 1,200 calories a day and exercise five to six days a week but can’t lose weight.
Grasso acknowledged that there are many “gymbros” on the app who insist that “all you have to do is exercise more and eat in a calorie deficit,” but she said that isn’t always the case in women due to metabolic and hormone health.
Dietitian Taylor Grasso, 25, from Iowa, has more than 91,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares tips on intuitive eating, cycle synchronization and other health-related behaviors
The expert recently explained why eating less and exercising more does not always help women lose weight. He said metabolism and hormone balance have a lot to do with it.
‘Men have a 24-hour hormone cycle. We women have a 28-day hormone cycle, and our hormones and metabolism are affected very differently than men’s,” she explained.
The dietitian said this is why men can add cardio to their routines and “drop the pounds that way,” but many women commit suicide in the gym without any results.
‘I’m not saying calorie deficits don’t work. Don’t be angry about that,” she clarified. “What I’m saying is that a lot of the research and studies that have been done on successful weight loss have been done on men.”
Grasso explained that a woman’s 28-day cycle is her menstrual cycle, which begins on the first day of her period.
‘You go through a period and then you enter the follicular phase. This is about the highlight of our month,” she said.
“Then we ovulate and then we go into the luteal phase, which is exactly what happens when you’re PMSing, right before your menstrual cycle, and then it starts all over again.”
Grasso noted that when women want to lose weight or change their appearance, they typically limit themselves to a restrictive calorie deficit and excessive exercise.
This is behavior in women can cause cortisol – the stress hormone – to a strong peak, which affects metabolic function and the ability to lose weight.
Grasso then explained the five “health-related behaviors” women should focus on instead of calorie counting and grueling workouts.
Grasso said women should prioritize non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) movements throughout the day, including walking and stair climbing
Prioritize NEAT movement: Take the stairs next time
Grasso said women should prioritize non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) movement throughout the day.
She defined NEAT as “any movement outside of organized exercise,” such as walking to the grocery store and taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Grasso explained that if you had a desk job and were sitting all day, an hour of exercise isn’t as beneficial as NEAT exercise.
She noted that she wasn’t saying you shouldn’t exercise, but that it was more important to move your body consistently throughout the day.
“NEAT actually contributes significantly more to our total daily energy expenditure, or the amount of calories we burn in a day, than your hourly workout,” she said.
Grasso emphasized that this doesn’t have to be an extravagant move to be effective.
“We’re so downplaying the results of a simple walk,” she said. ‘It doesn’t have to be a 30-minute walk. It doesn’t have to be a six kilometer walk.
‘Walking ten minutes a few times a day is better than not exercising at all.’
When it comes to fitness, Grasso explained that women should focus on strength training and low-intensity cardio
Do strength training and low-intensity cardio
When it comes to fitness, Grasso explained that women should focus on strength training and low-intensity cardio.
‘What I often hear is that women love group fitness classes. We love the idea of sweating and killing our bodies at the gym. “I don’t know why we’re so obsessed with it, but we are,” she said.
‘But our bodies don’t actually respond very well to killing it in the gym every day. Instead, we want to focus on increasing our strength training because when you have more muscle, you burn more calories at rest.
‘We have something called a basal metabolism. That is our metabolism. It contributes the most to that total daily energy expenditure. A lot of that is actually based on how much muscle you have. If you have more muscles, you burn more calories at rest.’
Grasso said you should also prioritize low-intensity cardio, such as walking on an incline or running outdoors.
As for high-intensity interval training (HIIT), she recommended only doing it during the follicular phase of your cycle, when you feel your strongest.
“I’m not saying you have to do it every day,” she repeated. “However, it may be helpful to do it a few times a week during this part of your cycle.”
Grasso said it’s important to prioritize eating protein and fiber at every meal to keep your blood sugar levels balanced
Grasso recommended adding protein and fiber if you “find that many of your meals and snacks consist of carbohydrate-based foods.”
Get protein and fiber with every meal
Grasso said it was important to prioritize eating protein and fiber at every meal to keep your blood sugar levels balanced.
Not only will the combination make you feel fuller and more satisfied all day, but it can also help with issues like insulin resistance.
Grasso recommended adding protein and fiber if you “find that many of your meals and snacks consist of carbohydrate-based foods.”
She explained that whole grains, fruits and vegetables are packed with fiber, while cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, meat and soy-based foods provide protein.
Sleep six to eight hours per night
Grasso recommended getting between six and eight hours of sleep per night – no excuses.
“Your body repairs so much while you sleep,” she said. “So if you do strength training, that’s going to cause your muscles to actually recover, recover and then grow.”
Sleep also plays a “very crucial role in the regulation of our hunger and fullness hormones, ghrelin and leptin,” she explained.
Grasso noted that some research has shown that a lack of sleep can cause decreased leptin secretion, which may leave you feeling unsatisfied or full after eating.
Grasso also recommended preparing weekly meals so that you have healthy food on hand all week long
Make time for meal planning and preparing ingredients
Grasso recommended weekly meal prep to ensure you have healthy food on hand all week.
“This doesn’t have to be complicated on a Sunday, spending five hours preparing each meal,” she said.
The dietitian explained that you can “just prep a few ingredients for the week” to make sure you have chopped fruits and vegetables, at least two sources of protein, and some carbs.
“It’s going to make a huge difference in how easily you can access healthy, nutritious food,” she said.
Grasso added that planning your meals could also keep you from buying random things at the grocery store and ordering takeout because you don’t know what to make.
“Eating more meals at home is a health-related behavior, just like preparing meals and preparing ingredients, that you can do to improve your health,” she concluded.