The weight loss process itself is simple in its core, but the mind is the complex one. Out of all the things that could possibly become the barrier to reaching your goal, it almost always boils down to these three biggest killers of fat loss.
Biggest Killers of Fat Loss
Inconsistency
This is probably the biggest reason why the vast majority of the population is out of shape, overweight or obese.
They’ll state that they have tried this diet and that program and this workout, but it does not work for THEM.
Well, when you do anything for less than 12 days, the results will be minimal to none.
Consistency is the key factor between someone who succeeds and someone who fails.
It is even more important than accuracy.
Even if you finish off the week with 60% of your nutrition followed, you will still be progressing and moving in the right direction.
Let’s put it in perspective.
It’s Monday morning and the alarm clock did not go off.
You finally wake up and realize you’re late for work.
In a rush, you throw on whatever outfit you find and sprint out the door.
Today, you forgot to shower.
Do you stop showering the entire week now because you didn’t do it on Monday? Obviously not.
It’s the same exact principle for dieting, working out or anything else worthwhile in life.
Even if you cheated with a snickers bar on Tuesday or didn’t eat your veggies or whatever, does not mean you say “screw it” and repeat those bad habits the entire week and start “fresh” on Monday.
Keep going. Even if it’s not perfect, stay as consistent as possible and keep progressing.
With a little time, things will become easier and you’d have built a new positive habit that will require essentially no effort to upkeep because it will become second nature to you.
You’ll actually look back and wonder how in the world was I living up until now and never look back again.
The entire concept of change is to destroy the “old you” and evolve into the you that’s stronger, fitter, healthier, wealthier.
That requires consistency.
Not eating ENOUGH
No, it’s not a typo.
Eating too little is just as bad as eating too much.
Our body doesn’t like change, it loves homeostasis.
With every alteration you add into your diet and/or training routine, the body immediately begins to adapt.
Losing weight is a game of small, incremental changes to essentially force the body to tap into stored fats for energy.
If you eat too little, even if you lose some weight initially, you’ll quickly plateau with a slow metabolism and no where to go.
The moment you eat a little more than usual, the body won’t be able to cope with it and deposit the extra food as fat.
Sports car analogy
It’s like having a quarter tank of gas left in your BMW M4 and the next gas station is not for another 150 km.
If you drive like Vin Diesel in Fast and Furious and use hard accelerations every chance you get, you’ll move about 30 km, rather quickly, but you’ll run out of gas and won’t make it
Instead, if you drive slowly, you’ll eventually make it to your destination.
It won’t be as exciting with huge high’s of emotion, however the constant motion forward will win the race.
Metabolism
You can train your body to increase your metabolic rate so that you’re able to eat higher calories without fat deposits.
Small incremental changes in calories with added daily activity will train you body to speed up your metabolism and put those calories to good use.
A low calorie diet equates to a slow metabolism.
Losing weight from this state is extremely difficult since going any lower is unhealthy and unsustainable.
A healthy average person needs about 2000 calories for maintenance.
If you lead an active lifestyle (have a non-sedentary job), you’ll need more.
If you add working out and cardio to that you’ll burn an additional few hundred calories on top.
The majority of people eat really low calories on the days they’re being “good” and fairly high calories when they give in and decide to indulge at a dinner party or on the weekend.
This results in mostly fat gain and a slow metabolism.
Not a good place to be.
Instead, if you train your body to handle more calories, you’ll be able to enjoy more food without the fear of getting fat.
Also, fat loss will become easier since you have a lot of room for decreasing calories.
Sugar
Here’s the deal.
Sugar is as addicting as heroine.
Eating sugar consistently creates a cascade of negative side effects including poor insulin sensitivity, sluggishness, mood swings, ups and downs in energy, strong need for cravings and fat gain.
Can you eat some sugar and still lose weight? Yes you can.
But it’s like walking to the convenience store on your hands.
Can you do it? Probably..maybe not. But you get the point.
Bottom line – If you are 15%+ body-fat (men), 23%+ body-fat (women) and aren’t working out, there’s absolutely zero advantage to having sugar in your diet.
In addition, if you keep sugar in your diet, even if you’re in a calorie deficit and losing some weight you’ll still feel the mood swings, hunger (‘hangry’ feeling) and/or strong need for cravings which will makes things much more difficult to stay the course.
When you completely eliminate sugar from your diet, you’ll actually notice the withdrawal feelings just like you would stopping a strong stimulant or a drug.
The brain stops receiving the feel good chemicals sugar releases when ingested and gets upset when you suddenly stop feeding it.
Once the withdrawal symptoms pass, it will make sticking to your diet much easier. You’ll experience decreased cravings, less mood swings/hangry feelings.
Also, insulin sensitivity will improve and energy levels will increase providing you with the ability to push harder in the gym and promote greater fat loss as well.
Most beneficial time for sugar
The primary benefit for using sugar would be immediately post-workout, when muscle cells are sensitive to receiving nutrients.
At this time, inducing an insulin spike through fast digesting carbohydrates (sugars) is beneficial to replenish the muscle glycogen stores and promote recovery.
Otherwise, you are better off with a more complex carbohydrate to promote a more even energy curve and less blood sugar spikes.
One other beneficial time would be during a refeed day or a cheat day.
Refeeds are implemented during a low caloric diet when the body is depleted, thus having decreased levels of leptin (appetite-suppressing hormone).
Fast-digesting carbohydrates (example: sugar) are great for boosting leptin levels and resuming fat loss, in this particular case.
Lastly, sugar is usually coupled with fats when generally consumed.
Either in the form of a cookie, or peanut butter and jam sandwich, ice cream, etc.
Combining high sugar with high fat is a recipe for fat gain.
Yes, it’s true that total calorie intake vs. total calorie expenditure is what creates fat loss.
However the type of foods you eat greatly affects your body composition, the way you look, feel and overall health.
In addition, it’s much easier to indulge and eat more than your share with something like a chocolate bar than it is with oatmeal.
Let’s say two identical individuals eat the same amount of calories.
Person A gets his/her calories from mostly whole foods, while person B gets his/her calories from foods higher in added sugars, processed, packaged/in boxes with lack of micro-nutrients and emptier calories, there will be a significant difference between the two.
Even though they both lost weight, there will be a definitive difference in the way they look, feel and long-term sustainability of their weight loss.
**Primal Breed is committed to providing you effective personal training in Toronto, helping you lose unwanted weight permanently and build lean muscle for life.
