5 KEYS TO FAT LOSS

Sometimes it is not clear what to do in the quest to lose fat.

We mean fat rather than weight because it is this type of body tissue (fat = adipose tissue) that people usually mean when they say “I want to lose weight”. Most bodybuilders have the mindset to lose fat but it’s still best to be clear about the difference between losing fat and weight.

Let’s look briefly at the factors that most frequently prevent the human body getting rid of fat.

1. DIETING (BURNING MORE CALORIES THAN YOU EAT)

It may not be what you want to hear but calorie intake is absolutely fundamental for reducing the percentage of fat in the body. All you need to understand is a simple formula: if you burn more calories than you consume, your weight will decrease. If you achieve that deficit between what you eat and what you burn then you will fulfil a weight-loss goal. But be careful not to achieve this deficit by reducing protein (amino acids), which could lead to you losing muscle rather than fat. To ensure the weight you lose is fat eat several times a day (aim for a minimum of five times, with a maximum of 4 hours between meals), consume protein in each meal and keep your metabolic level high. Drinking plenty of water daily will also help a lot.

2. AVOID SMOKING AND/OR DRINKING ALCOHOL

Unhealthy habits can scupper your chances of achieving your goal. Alcohol contains empty calories that can affect the calorie deficit you want to achieve as well as tax the liver. It’s also wise to stop smoking: in the short-term you may add weight due to the dreaded weight gain that often occurs when you first quit tobacco and the blood is cleansed but long-term you can learn to control it.

3. TRAIN WITH WEIGHTS

I suspect you expected to read about the value of aerobic exercise but I prefer to recommend this type of anaerobic exercise. Bodybuilding training will help you maintain muscle mass (and even increase it), by increasing your metabolism and stimulating the hormones that preserve muscle, which will allow you to ensure any weight you lose is fat and muscle tissue gets preserved despite the calorie deficit. This is especially relevant for those females who avoid weight training, although it does not mean that you can not do other exercise as well.

4. SLEEP 8 HOURS A DAY

It may seem contradictory to recommend laying in bed for 8 hours a day while at the same time encouraging you to be active and hit the gym but there are infinite studies showing that a good rest period enhances the conditions that make fat burning occur. You need sleep even more if you want to preserve the muscle you train so hard to build.

5. BE DETERMINED AND PATIENT

This is the real key to determining whether you will be successful at losing fat over a period of time. How often have you seen friends start a calorie restricted diet only to put back on most of the weight they lost or bounce back to an even higher weight? Be aware that in the first week you could lose 2-3 kilos, which is basically due to your body storing less water. After this period, half a kilo per week (more or less) is the ideal pace of fat loss for an average person. Any more and it’s likely you are losing muscle mass; any less and your progress may be stalling.