Losing Fat and Keeping It Off

Losing fat, we've all tried and failed at least once.

A study by Diet Chef showed that women will spend 17 years of their lives in total dieting.

Starting one twice per year!

That tells me there is something wrong with the information people have to work with.

I want to make this article to end that problem.

But I feel we need to look at our thought process to how we approach 'dieting'.

Starting a diet or stopping habits in the way of losing fat?

How many times have we tried and failed?

let's rethink what we're doing.

Instead of a diet, let's aim to stopping the bad habits that brought us to where we are.

Habits such as not eating enough during the day

Then we can't stop eating all evening.

Or starving ourselves Monday-Friday

Then binge eating all weekend.

Perhaps we need to solve these problems first to finally get out of our own way.

How many calories should you have to lose fat?

Let's look at what we need to get in place first of all,.

Once they are locked in, we can look at how fast we can lose it.

Calorie intake will be person dependent, this is why someone else diet plan might not work for you and why there is no one size fits all.

First we find our maintenance caloric intake - the amount we need to maintain what we have.

There are many different ways to calculate it, some more accurate than others. The most commonly used one is the Harris-Benedict Equation.

It's free to use on google just pop in your stats and get your answer here

When you get your figure, subtract 10-15%

That is our calorie amount for fat loss!

What kind of calories to have to lose fat?

Hitting our calorie intake everyday will result in fat loss.

Using those calories to eat McDonalds everyday isn't a good idea.

Yes you'll lose weight, but you'll be starving as it's high in calories but low when it comes to staying full.

Increasing our likelihood of eating too many calories.

Aim for nutrient dense, whole foods to fill up 80% of your intake.

Use what's left over for those odd indulgences.

Need a complete guide to calories? click here for my full guide

Sleep and water for losing fat

Two of the most forgotten aspects of fat loss.

We need enough water everyday to

• lubricate the joints,
• deliver oxygen through the body
• boost skin/beauty and
• regulate body temperature 

Aim for 1 litre per 25 kg of body weight, more if you're exercising.

If sleep isn't in line with your goal, you'll be less likely to stick to your intake and demotivated for exercise.

For a more in depth look at the reason, read here for Why I love sleeping for fat loss

Exercise

Exercising will release endorphins and increase our likelihood to stay on track.

Our workouts serve as a box to tick every time we do it.

They remind us that we are another step closer to our goal.

Especially important if you want that toned look and want to strengthen your body.

Set a date and be accountable to it

Make it public.

Give yourself no choice but to do it or get a coach to help you along the way.

Holidays and events are a great motivator but don't wait for an occasion before starting.

Aim to be in a shape you are proud of all year round.

It won't be linear

There will be a lot of ups and downs when it comes to losing fat.

Life will get in the way.

If you are organised and prepared enough it will only be a minor slip up.

So ride the wave and keep going.

If you were running and went over your ankle, you wouldn't try to go over the other ankle.

You would try to limit the damage.

We wouldn't try to further it.

It's like banking

Think of saving money.

We make 2000 one month, We save 200 euro of it, and use the rest on food, rent and bills.

We are on the way to having a nice amount saved come the end of the year.

If we're impatient and speed it up by 1000+ a month , we've left ourselves short for food, bills and rent.

We rushed it.

The most realistic and sustainable way to have money saved by the end of the year is if we put away something small every week/month.

Fat loss is the exact same.

If we're in a small deficit and we begin to see changes, we're now on the way to losing a lot of body fat in the future.

We often tend to double the deficit instantly.

Trying to get twice the results in half the time.

We can't sustain that.

We'll undo everything we lost by eating all of the foods we craved for when we were overly restricted.

We end up back at the start or worse.

Ever hear of the turtle vs the hare story?

Same thing.

Take your time.

How Fast?

If you're a man between 16-25% body fat or a women between 25-34% we can expect 1-2 lb per week.

Men above 26% and women above 35% you can expect 1.5-3.5 lb per week.

Aim for this steady and sustainable rate per week.

How to Keep it off?

Now we have lost the fat we wanted, to keep it off, we must recalculate our calorie intake.

Our body has changed and with it our caloric demands.

We will be aiming for maintenance calories, meaning if we're sticking to this amount we'll keep our shape.

Simpy use the Harris Benedict calculator again, enter your stats and get your number and don't subtract the 10-15% like before.

Need Help?

Bonus : here's a podcast featuring Dr. Martin McDonald on fat loss and lifestyle

If you need assistance getting any of these steps implemented, don't hesitate to contact me