Looking to kick things in the weight-loss department? Hit a wall with your fat-loss goals? Don’t let those extra pounds get you down! Cutting out that extra layer of fat might be easier than you think. Maybe you are just overlooking a few key elements to help transform sluggish progress into results.
Below are some fat-loss tips which may help achieve your goals this summer:
1) The obvious maybe, but create time-
One thing people never seem to have enough of is time, especially when it comes to fitness. You have to make time, and you have to place getting in shape as a priority. If you don’t, it will get left behind just like your results.
2) Exercise selection to build lean muscle-
Many people who are trying to lose body fat prioritise the smaller muscle groups to train.Rather, choose exercises that recruit as many muscles as possible, such as squats, lunges, dead lifts, rowing and pressing movements.
3) Train hard-
If you walk into most health clubs you will see people training way below their true capacity. If you have never been taken through a tough/ well-structured workout, employ someone to do so with you. Not only will you learn a lot, but you will also achieve better results.
4) Surround yourself with like-minded people-
Spending time with people who want different things to you will always hold you back. Spend time with people who have a like-minded outlook on life and similar goals to you.
5) Drink adequate amounts of water-
Your muscles are 70% water, and your brain is 80% so it doesn’t take much to realise how poorly you’ll function without it. Not only that, but the kidneys and liver rely on optimal water intake to function properly. The liver is a key organ for fat loss, so you must stay hydrated. My guidelines are to drink a minimum of 2.5 litres of water per day.
6) Prioritise your diet around protein-
Many people don’t even think about diet structure, let alone knowing which nutrients are important at what parts of the day. A priority goal for fat loss, is retaining hard earned muscle. So the first macro nutrient that I always make sure is firmly in place, is protein.
7) Always eat a high protein breakfast-
Following on from the last point, I suggest following a rich protein-based breakfast. Not only does it help stabilise your blood sugar first thing in the morning. It provides essential amino acids to your body, which also stimulate brain function to support you through the first part of your day. Through the night as you fast, your body will use amino acids. As these are such essential building blocks for your muscle tissue, it’s essential that you add these into your body first thing in the morning.
8) Eat greens with each meal-
Vegetables provide plenty of fibre, and a rich spectrum of nutrients that many people don’t get from a standard diet.The liver requires a broad spectrum of nutrients to function optimally. Starve your body of nutrients, and you slow down your ability to function optimally, get lean and build muscle.
9) Limit fruit intake-
Regardless of the large health benefits of fruit, they still contain large amounts of sugar. Sugar consumed in excess and at the wrong time, WILL make you fat. If I advise people to eat fruit, it will be around workout only.
10) Ensure adequate fibre intake each day-
Fibre is essential for optimal bowel function, it also helps with the mobilisation of toxins out of the body. Fibre also helps keep you full, and therefore must be a staple in many peoples diets. Aim for 30 – 40 grams per day from vegetables, and fibre sources such as ground flaxseeds and chia seeds.
11) Get 7 – 8 hours sleep per night-
The more stressed your body is, the less inclined it will be to help you lose body fat and build muscle tissue. Cortisol (the stress hormone), has been shown in excess to lower anabolic hormones (those that help you grow). It has also been shown to be catabolic, (in chronic excess ) which induces muscle tissue breakdown (you need muscle to lose body fat). Elevated stress also impacts your blood sugar levels, which also impacts cravings. This stimulates an unnecessary release of sugar into the blood stream, which can promote fat storage.
12) Evaluate your progress-
If you don’t know how well (or not) you’re doing, how can you adapt your training and nutrition. How can you motivate yourself if you don’t know if your programme is working? Each week take progress pictures and have you body fat / weight measured. This will give you weekly targets to work towards, or enable you to correct where you may have gone wrong.
13) Don’t go low-carb’ for too long-
The result is not only low energy levels, but a large loss of muscle tissue. You don’t need to be super lean to have carb’s in your diet, you just need to know when and how much to have. Timing of carb’s is more important that just a set amount each day.
14) Carbohydrate timing-
This is the most effective way to gain muscle tissue, whilst remaining lean. For most people, carb’s can be placed before, possibly intra and always after training. At all others times remain with protein, vegetables and essential fat based meals
15) Learn to cook-
People who don’t know how to cook, often eat very bland foods. Fat loss doesn’t have to be boring, especially when you know how to make food taste great. The more bland you make food, the worse cravings will be and the sooner you’ll cave into ‘cheat foods’ and ruin your hard work.
16) Prepare your food for each day-
“Fail to prepare and prepare to fail”; this is very true indeed, and preparation of food is key to achieving great results. The less you are prepared, the more likely you will be to eat foods that aren’t on your plan.
17) Rotate your protein sources regularly-
Food intolerances affect so many more people than we think. There are a very small amount of foods that the average person eats on a week-to-week basis. To avoid food intolerances from eating the same protein sources (meat, fish, poultry), make sure you mix them up.
18) Ensure your gut is a healthy environment-
Gut problems are a huge issue when it comes to fat loss. Your stomach is the first major part of the digestive system that your food hits after you eat it. If it’s not functioning optimally, food won’t be broken down to further carry on its journey into the intestines. Poorly digested food causes many problems, especially low quality nutrient absorption.
19) Keep most of your caffeine intake to before 1 pm-
The more stressed you are, the slower fat loss will be. Stress also lowers testosterone levels, which isn’t a good idea when you’re trying to build muscle tissue. By reducing any stimulants to before 1pm, you will be in a good place to relax when bed times comes around.
20) Use a liquid-based fish oil supplement daily-
Many diets are rich in omega 6 (too much is very inflammatory), and not enough people eat oily fish each day. So supplement your diet with 3 – 5 grams of fish oil per meal , to help create an anti-inflammatory environment. Fish oils also increase fat loss, and slow down fat storage.
21) Eat a balanced amount of essential fats-
Leaving out fats from your diet, is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Not only are fats rich in quality calories that should make up at least 20% of your diet, they also help promote the development of hormones. Fats also help balance blood sugar levels and transport vitamins around the body. When fat loss and optimal health is your goal, don’t leave out your fats.
Even adopting a few of the habits above will undoubtedly have positive impact to your goals. Give them a go!