There are so many guides, tips and articles out there regarding
fat loss that I wanted to try to clear some things up as best I could.
I have tried to cut away at any unnecessary info and give real basic, and I mean bottom line basic info that is essential. There are many other factors involved in fat loss, for example I haven't even mentioned exercise, I simply want people to grasp the basics before moving on. Obviously exercise is fantastic but even that is not entirely essential to drop fat (can of worms here but it's not).
So in my humble opinion, here are my three top tips to starting to shift the fat.
1. Calories in vs calories out.
Ultimately the very, very bottom line when it comes to fat loss is calories in vs calories out. You must create a calorie deficit!
If you are unsure what a deficit is, imagine you run a business. Your income each month is £1000 and your out goings each month are £2000, that leaves you with a deficit of £1000 and you are losing money.
The same applies to your body. Your metabolism describes the rate at which your body burns calories, if your daily metabolism, known as BMR, is, let's say 2500kcals (calories) and you only consume 2000kcals each day then you have created a 500kcal deficit. This means you will lose "weight".
Now "weight" is a very unspecific term, this can include anything from muscle, fat, water and your internal organs. So while a calorie deficit is vital it is however not the only thing that matters, if you want "fat" loss rather than purely "weight" loss then the quality of those calories taken in matters very much.
2. Quality of calories.
As mentioned, this is a bare essential, no frills guide. I do not want to confuse you further; I instead want to cut away the unnecessary and instead only focus on the essential.
There is a long winded, ongoing debate in the fitness industry to decide "Are all calories equal?"
What this means is, is a gram of sugar the same as a gram of rice and so on, or are the better quality calories
more beneficial.
While you probably feel the answer is obvious it is not actually as clear cut as you think. As mentioned above, if you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. Therefore if you ate 2000kcals of rice crispies and burned off 2500kcals each day, you would in fact lose "weight".
So what's the issue?
The problem lies in the nutrient content in the food you choose, if say for example you eat 200g of carbohydrate from rice, potato, vegetables etc you are getting way more nutrients than you would from the same amount of rice crispies or pop tarts.
This lack of nutrients in the long run will leave you malnourished and will also lead to muscle loss as the sugary carb choices do not contain amino acids and other nutrients that are found in rice etc.
If you do this and you do lose muscle, you now make fat loss even more difficult, as muscle is the bodies most efficient fat burner. You will also develop a body know as "skinny fat" this is where you lose muscle and fat at the same time and instead of becoming lean, you in fact look just as overweight, only slightly smaller.
Basically you will be a clothes size smaller but still not look better naked.
So a calorie deficit is essential but quality of those calories does matter.
3. Cheat
Many people start "diets" and convince themselves they must live like monks, they will not touch or look at another sweet ever again!
Two days later you've ate a packet, your diet is over and you'll start again next Monday, because you can't start a diet on a Wednesday can you?
The crazy thing about this scenario is that the sweets you have just eaten probably actually benefitted you!
As mentioned it part one, you need a calorie deficit, this deficit over a prolonged period however causes a drop in a hormone called Leptin.
If you don't know about Leptin, this hormone helps regulate your appetite and controls your metabolic rate, remember this is the amount of calories you burn each day. More Leptin equals more calories or fat burned lower appetite. Less Leptin and the opposite occurs, increased appetite and reduced fat burning.
This explains why, when on a crazy restrictive diet you will get hungrier and hungrier each day until you eventually pig out.
So what's the solution?
To combat this a re-feed is needed, otherwise known as a cheat meal.
Keep in mind that out of the all macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) Carbohydrate causes the greatest increase in leptin. So in fact, that pizza, or pack of sweets you ate has actually boosted your leptin levels, meaning fat burning will speed up and appetite will drop.
No need to self destruct after all!
To summarise then, keep things very simple, eat less than you burn off, choose good nutrient dense food and once per week have one meal of absolutely anything you fancy.
As mentioned there are so many more variants involved in the fat loss process but if you get these three in check you will give yourself a great foundation to start seeing noticeable changes in your body.
I have tried to cut away at any unnecessary info and give real basic, and I mean bottom line basic info that is essential. There are many other factors involved in fat loss, for example I haven't even mentioned exercise, I simply want people to grasp the basics before moving on. Obviously exercise is fantastic but even that is not entirely essential to drop fat (can of worms here but it's not).
So in my humble opinion, here are my three top tips to starting to shift the fat.
1. Calories in vs calories out.
Ultimately the very, very bottom line when it comes to fat loss is calories in vs calories out. You must create a calorie deficit!
If you are unsure what a deficit is, imagine you run a business. Your income each month is £1000 and your out goings each month are £2000, that leaves you with a deficit of £1000 and you are losing money.
The same applies to your body. Your metabolism describes the rate at which your body burns calories, if your daily metabolism, known as BMR, is, let's say 2500kcals (calories) and you only consume 2000kcals each day then you have created a 500kcal deficit. This means you will lose "weight".
Now "weight" is a very unspecific term, this can include anything from muscle, fat, water and your internal organs. So while a calorie deficit is vital it is however not the only thing that matters, if you want "fat" loss rather than purely "weight" loss then the quality of those calories taken in matters very much.
2. Quality of calories.
As mentioned, this is a bare essential, no frills guide. I do not want to confuse you further; I instead want to cut away the unnecessary and instead only focus on the essential.
There is a long winded, ongoing debate in the fitness industry to decide "Are all calories equal?"
What this means is, is a gram of sugar the same as a gram of rice and so on, or are the better quality calories
more beneficial.
While you probably feel the answer is obvious it is not actually as clear cut as you think. As mentioned above, if you have a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. Therefore if you ate 2000kcals of rice crispies and burned off 2500kcals each day, you would in fact lose "weight".
So what's the issue?
The problem lies in the nutrient content in the food you choose, if say for example you eat 200g of carbohydrate from rice, potato, vegetables etc you are getting way more nutrients than you would from the same amount of rice crispies or pop tarts.
This lack of nutrients in the long run will leave you malnourished and will also lead to muscle loss as the sugary carb choices do not contain amino acids and other nutrients that are found in rice etc.
If you do this and you do lose muscle, you now make fat loss even more difficult, as muscle is the bodies most efficient fat burner. You will also develop a body know as "skinny fat" this is where you lose muscle and fat at the same time and instead of becoming lean, you in fact look just as overweight, only slightly smaller.
Basically you will be a clothes size smaller but still not look better naked.
So a calorie deficit is essential but quality of those calories does matter.
3. Cheat
Many people start "diets" and convince themselves they must live like monks, they will not touch or look at another sweet ever again!
Two days later you've ate a packet, your diet is over and you'll start again next Monday, because you can't start a diet on a Wednesday can you?
The crazy thing about this scenario is that the sweets you have just eaten probably actually benefitted you!
As mentioned it part one, you need a calorie deficit, this deficit over a prolonged period however causes a drop in a hormone called Leptin.
If you don't know about Leptin, this hormone helps regulate your appetite and controls your metabolic rate, remember this is the amount of calories you burn each day. More Leptin equals more calories or fat burned lower appetite. Less Leptin and the opposite occurs, increased appetite and reduced fat burning.
This explains why, when on a crazy restrictive diet you will get hungrier and hungrier each day until you eventually pig out.
So what's the solution?
To combat this a re-feed is needed, otherwise known as a cheat meal.
Keep in mind that out of the all macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) Carbohydrate causes the greatest increase in leptin. So in fact, that pizza, or pack of sweets you ate has actually boosted your leptin levels, meaning fat burning will speed up and appetite will drop.
No need to self destruct after all!
To summarise then, keep things very simple, eat less than you burn off, choose good nutrient dense food and once per week have one meal of absolutely anything you fancy.
As mentioned there are so many more variants involved in the fat loss process but if you get these three in check you will give yourself a great foundation to start seeing noticeable changes in your body.
To check the fantastic transformations we have achieved using these 3 simple tips head over to our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bushido-Fitness/194620697245822
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