Calorie Restriction Works Until It Doesn’t – Here’s a Better Way!
posted on: July 23, 2026. posted in: Weight loss, Nutrition, Dieting
"What are your views on calorie restrictions, because a lot of folks say this is the only way to lose the weight."
Let’s not mess about here.
Yes, if you’re a bigger person, living in a heavier, fatter body, and if you genuinely want to lose weight and live in a lighter, slimmer body, you’re most likely going to have to eat less.
BUT…
There are two routes to eating less. One much harder and more difficult to sustain. Another much easier and more easy to sustain. Those two routes are…
Restricting Calories.
And
Suppressing Appetite.
Let’s explore both.
__________
Restricting Calories 🤐
Jenny lives in a bigger, heavier body, weighing in at 18 stone. She wants to be 12 stone, so she can move better, feel better, fit in her clothes and get back to her old favourite hobby of horse riding. So she decides to consciously restrict her calories.
She consciously cuts out high-calorie foods like chocolate and biscuits. She consciously counts calories, trying to stick to only 1200 a day. She consciously fights with her appetite, trying to resist the constant urge to eat.
Her conscious restriction relies on grit, determination, discipline and willpower to eat less.
And it works.
Jenny loses weight. She gets down to 15 stone, losing 3 stone, and feeling much better. But…
She finds it’s harder and harder to sustain that conscious calorie restriction. She slips up more. She loses control more. There are days where she loses it completely, binging despite her best efforts. And she doesn’t just regain the weight—she regains up to 19 stone.
And so…
Restricting calories does produce weight loss. But the weight loss only lasts as long as you can sustain that conscious effort. A few months if you’re determined, a few weeks if you’re burnt out and tired.
__________
Suppressing Appetite 😌
Claire is a rebel who has been there, done that and bought the consciously restricting t-shirt. The Weight Watchers t-shirt, the Slimming World t-shirt, the Atkins t-shirt, the frying-her-brain counting every last calorie t-shirt.
At age 50 she realises she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life restricting calories, only to rebound and end up gaining more. So she looks for another way. A better way. A more sustainable way to eat less that lasts.
Aka Suppressing Appetite.
The question Claire tries to answer is this…
“What is it that’s making my appetite so high in the first place, so I need all this conscious effort to restrict and lose weight?”
• In some people it’s BIOLOGICAL. There are hormonal issues (like insulin resistance) or medical conditions (like PCOS) driving their appetite up, meaning they have to consciously restrict. But when they fix those hormonal issues? They intuitively eat less. They start losing weight without trying, because they are biologically healthier.
• In some people it’s PSYCHOLOGICAL. There are psychological issues (like depression or anxiety) driving their appetite up, meaning they have to consciously restrict. But when they fix those psychological issues? They intuitively eat less. They start losing weight without trying, because they are psychologically healthier.
• In some people it’s SOCIAL. There are social issues (like loneliness or a lack of connection) driving their appetite up, meaning they have to consciously eat less. But when they fix those social issues? They intuitively eat less. They start losing weight without trying, because they are socially healthier.
With a bit of deeper work and investigation, Claire realises the cause of her high appetite is that she is living with anxiety. Almost like conjoined twins, whenever her anxiety turns up, her appetite turns up with it. So for as long as her anxiety is in the room, she has to consciously and effortfully battle her appetite if she wants to eat less.
Which is exhausting. And temporary. Resulting in inevitable binging and weight regain when she no longer has the energy to fight the Anxiety-Appetite twins 👯
But remove the anxiety from the room?
You remove the appetite from the room…
And unconsciously eating less just happens.
Claire’s not consciously trying to restrict and resist the biscuit tin. She just doesn’t want the biscuits anymore, because she’s less anxious and doesn’t need those biscuits to self-soothe.
__________
The take home?
If you want weight loss that lasts, stop relying solely on willpower to restrict calories. Find and address what’s driving your appetite up in the first place, whether biological, psychological or social. Fix the root, and eating less becomes the natural outcome rather than a daily fight you eventually lose.
Liam x
Rebelfit
