Without throwing a lot of science at you, I'm going to tell you the very basics of fat loss. Erase everything that you've heard so far. I can guarantee that most of the advice you've been given over the years is complete broscience*. There's a lot of misinformation that passes around in the fitness community, and you need to begin with forgetting ALL OF IT.
1. The most basic rule for weight loss is "Calories In Vs. Calories Out" - This means that if you burn more calories than you consume, you WILL lose weight. No catches.
2. Expanding further on the same point, every body has a maintenance level of calories. For example, my daily maintenance is around 2500 calories. These are the amount of calories needed for your day to day activities, which include eating, walking, talking and even breathing. If you eat at maintenance, your weight will remain stable. If you eat above maintenance, you will gain weight and if you eat below maintenance.. TADA! Weight Loss.
3. Losing weight is not the same as losing fat. Confused? Don't be. Weight is a combination of fat and muscle. If you end up starving yourself in an attempt to lose fat, your body will realize that it isn't receiving ample amounts of energy from external sources.
Our bodies are built for survival and what's going to happen is that you're going to end up burning muscle along with fat. Ever wonder why some of you have skinny arms & legs yet suffer from a gut? It's because you don't have enough lean body mass; muscle. Therefore; starvation is a big NO-NO!
4. So how many calories below maintenance should you actually eat? A 20% deficit would be a great number for safe and healthy fat loss. Figure out what your maintenance is, and subtract the number by 500.
5. Do you need to exercise to lose weight? No necessarily. Would I recommend it? Absolutely! Exercising and lifting weights means your body is going to maintain muscle mass while burning fat. Also, it allows you to eat more. More food and muscles YAY!
6. The worst addition to a poor diet is a poor exercise routine. Doing hours and hours of cardio can be detrimental to the body. Lift heavy weights and perform high intensity interval training instead. This will help you preserve muscle and shed fat.
7. Weight loss takes time. Never EVER rush. Initially, this was one of the mistakes that I made. Poor diet, lots of cardio and no strength training. This resulted in loss of muscle, loose skin and God awful stretch marks. My impatience and lack of knowledge led to this. Don't make the same mistake.
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8. In order to preserve muscle while shedding fat, you need to eat ample amounts of protein; Approximately 1g of protein per pound of body weight. This means that if you weigh 150 lbs, you need to eat 150g of protein per day.
How do you track such numbers or even count calories? It's easy. Download an app such as myfitnesspal or livestrong on your phone and just keep a diary of what you're eating. This will actually help you realize how many unnecessary calories you're consuming everyday.
9. There isn't a "Type" of food that's going to make you gain or lose weight. You could lose weight eating pizza and ice creams all day, as long you're hitting your macros and maintaining a caloric deficit. However, junk food is very high in calories, where as foods such as vegetables are high in fiber and contain very few calories.
10. Everyone's body is different. There's no point in asking someone how much weight you can lose in one month. How much weight you lose depends on how much time and effort you put into it. If you're tracking your calories accurately, exercising frequently and resting efficiently, the results will show. Set a realistic goal and work your way towards it. Get better by the day and ignore how long it's going to take.
1. The most basic rule for weight loss is "Calories In Vs. Calories Out" - This means that if you burn more calories than you consume, you WILL lose weight. No catches.
2. Expanding further on the same point, every body has a maintenance level of calories. For example, my daily maintenance is around 2500 calories. These are the amount of calories needed for your day to day activities, which include eating, walking, talking and even breathing. If you eat at maintenance, your weight will remain stable. If you eat above maintenance, you will gain weight and if you eat below maintenance.. TADA! Weight Loss.
3. Losing weight is not the same as losing fat. Confused? Don't be. Weight is a combination of fat and muscle. If you end up starving yourself in an attempt to lose fat, your body will realize that it isn't receiving ample amounts of energy from external sources.
Our bodies are built for survival and what's going to happen is that you're going to end up burning muscle along with fat. Ever wonder why some of you have skinny arms & legs yet suffer from a gut? It's because you don't have enough lean body mass; muscle. Therefore; starvation is a big NO-NO!
6. The worst addition to a poor diet is a poor exercise routine. Doing hours and hours of cardio can be detrimental to the body. Lift heavy weights and perform high intensity interval training instead. This will help you preserve muscle and shed fat.
8. In order to preserve muscle while shedding fat, you need to eat ample amounts of protein; Approximately 1g of protein per pound of body weight. This means that if you weigh 150 lbs, you need to eat 150g of protein per day.
How do you track such numbers or even count calories? It's easy. Download an app such as myfitnesspal or livestrong on your phone and just keep a diary of what you're eating. This will actually help you realize how many unnecessary calories you're consuming everyday.
9. There isn't a "Type" of food that's going to make you gain or lose weight. You could lose weight eating pizza and ice creams all day, as long you're hitting your macros and maintaining a caloric deficit. However, junk food is very high in calories, where as foods such as vegetables are high in fiber and contain very few calories.
10. Everyone's body is different. There's no point in asking someone how much weight you can lose in one month. How much weight you lose depends on how much time and effort you put into it. If you're tracking your calories accurately, exercising frequently and resting efficiently, the results will show. Set a realistic goal and work your way towards it. Get better by the day and ignore how long it's going to take.
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Very Well Written
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