5 Fat Loss Mistakes That So Many People Are Making (and what to do about it)
Have you ever wondered why despite all your training efforts (whatever they may be) you seem to be losing muscle, still have those wobbly bits and you're NOT burning body fat?
Yes, your jeans may well feel a little less snug and your t-shirt not as tight around your midsection due to the strict calorie controlled diet you've placed yourself on, but at the same time you've probably noticed that the muscles hidden beneath aren't nearly as defined as you'd like.
All this hard work and you're not any tighter.
This can be disheartening.
I used to be the guy above, i'd smash it for a few weeks while my motivation was at it's peak and then frustration would kick in and I ended up back at square one.
Eating all the food and saying to myself 'I can't do this' or 'well at least I tried'.
Maybe right now you can resonate...
However i'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be this way.
When the following small changes to your burn fat - build muscle strategy are put into place you'll be shredding fat on auto pilot while looking leaner.
Fat Loss Mistake 1 - You don't lift weights
Let’s get down to bizniz compadre, you absolutely need resistance training in your life if you seriously want to burn fat and enhance the shape of your body and look awesome.
This could be bodyweight, kettlebells, free weights or olympic/stronman training.
A lot of women in particular make the mistake of working out with the sole purpose of losing fat. Although it seems like a great idea, studies have shown that when people are motivated to work out in order to lose fat, they usually aren't successful because they end up eating more calories afterwards.
Resistance training is one of the most important factors in your fat loss workouts.
This is the only form of exercise that increases and improves the amount of lean muscle in our body.
I know...Just the mention of the word muscle and it makes a lot of women cringe.
Yet amidst this protest, women want to look lean and toned.
Whether you are a man or woman you need to factor in training those muscles....
Without muscle, it is impossible to attain this desirable physique that you're after
Without muscle, your metabolism drops.
Without muscle, you will maintain a soft, undefined body (is that what you really want?)
And once again ladies NO, strength training will NOT make you bulk up, pinky promise.
Women simply do not have the testosterone to build muscle like men. Plus, any muscle you do put on - only causes you to shrink! Yep, the more lean muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and the more fat you burn.
Increasing your lean muscle is the fastest way to get back into your jeans and into the bikini when you go on your hols.
Let me tell you why...
Because exercises that are geared toward increasing lean tissue tend to super charge the metabolism so that your body burns a massive amount of calories in the post-workout recovery period AKA the afterburn, or it's posh name EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption)
Told you it was posh :)
Seriously if you make resistance training the priority in your workout plan as well as a consuming nutritious real food, I guarantee that you will witness your body shape change before your eyes!
Exactly the reason why my online plans include bodyweight and kettlebell training.
Start your transformation journey ==>> HERE
Fat Loss Loss Mistake 2 - You waste far too much time yo-yo dieting!
Everyone has tried a diet of some kind at one point, even yours truly before he turned to the dark side of fat loss and learnt the real truth.
So do any of these fancy diets really work?
Without a doubt, diets do work. Even short term “fad” diets produce results, so what is the problem?
The problem is that it is dangerous to radically change your eating habits from one day to the next.
Your body simply does not know where the next meal is coming from and therefore the starvation response is triggered.
When food is plentiful, our bodies use what it needs and then stores the rest as fat, for use in the future.
When food is scarce, your body uses the fat that's been stored up and converts it to energy.
If it was this simple then short term diets would work fantastically well.
We could all eat what we wanted and then when we needed to slim down, we simply tightly restrict our calorie intake.
Unfortunately it is not this simple as our bodies are built for survival. When food is plentiful and you eat more than you need to, fat is stored.
Our current reaction is to restrict the calorie intake to use up the fat.
Because we are built for survival, when our diets change drastically it sends a strong signal to the brain that says “Houston…we have a problem, we do not have as much food as yesterday.
"We must prepare for famine”. Instead of your body carrying on as normal and using fat instead of food to run, it lowers your metabolism so less energy is burned.
As your metabolism lowers, your body adjusts to your new diet.
Your energy levels will lower, you will want to sleep more and your moods are likely to be erratic. Your body thinks you are in danger and it causes a lot of emotional issues. After a while of restricting your calorie intake, your body will start to use the stored up fat.
Using up the energy store is seen by your body as a last resort, what will happen when the energy stores are gone?
You will start to not only lose fat but also muscle as your metabolism is lowered and you are likely to be doing less exercise due to having less energy. After your 10 days of tricking your body into thinking you are in danger, you go back to your normal diet.
Out with the calorie controlled meal plans and back in with the old stuff, the stuff that got you fat in the first place.
When this happens your “starving” body sees this as a life line and stores as much of the food away as fat, as possible. So once you finish your 10 day (or whatever) diet, your body purposely piles back on the pounds.
Your metabolism is still low because instead of processing the food it is storing it, also less food is required as you have acclimatised to the diet.
You are also likely to have lost muscle mass, therefore you cannot burn off as much energy as before you started the diet.
This is why after a diet you are highly likely to put back on all the weight you have lost, and with an extra pound or two of fat.
You have probably lost muscle mass and replaced it with fat you did not have even before the diet. So what do people usually do in this situation?
You guessed it, they go back on another diet. This time they have more weight to lose so they need to do an even more extreme diet. This puts more and more pressure onto the body and it reacts in kind by storing more and more fat each time.
This is what is commonly known as the “Yo-Yo diet effect”.
Your weight drops, then raises, then drops then raises. Each time it raises it goes slightly higher and unable to go as low as before, therefore over a period of time you constantly put on weight So what is the answer?
It certainly is not fad diets. For long term weight loss you need to stop abusing your body with short term fixes.
You need to eat a balanced diet for good! This does not mean a strict calorie controlled diet where everything is measured.
It simply means cutting down or eliminating the bad food (highly processed junk food, bread, pastries, pasta, sweets, certain dairy products etc) and eating more healthy foods (poultry, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, good fats and oils such as coconut oil, butter and extra virgin olive oil and good quality carbs such as fruit and vegetables).
Fat Loss Mistake 3 - You're dictated to by a number on the 'sad step'
Whether it's in the bathroom or the bedroom, the 'sad step' is taunting you. Every day it beckons for you to step onto it.
It’s the first thing you think of when you wake up and we always want to hop on the scales before bed. This obsession is one of the reasons you should cut ties with the scale; set it free so you can set yourself free of its chokehold.
When I was overweight and started my transformation journey I would weigh myself daily and despite my body shape changing, that number dictated how I felt.
I felt pretty crap.
Until I finally realised. Daily weigh-ins are meaningless!!! Most people trying to lose weight really want to see a change in their body composition: FAT LOSS. Body composition changes cannot be detected by a scale on a day-to-day basis.
Fat loss can be detected on a weekly basis; however, if you can have enough discipline to only hop on once a week, then you have my permission to keep your scale. This is very tough however- so if you start to notice yourself weighing yourself more often, then hide the damn thing.
Did you know that your scale weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds in one day! This is due to: - Weight of food & beverages - Water loss from exercise - Water gain from menstrual cycles - Water retention from high sodium intake - Weight of non-voided bowel contents The scale is NOT the real barometer of progress.
You may believe that "the scale does not lie," and that the number is objective. However, you can get more objective, more in-depth feedback from other measuring tools.
Here's an easy way to do it at home: - Be mindful of how your clothes are fitting. - A person who finds he/she can suddenly fit with ease into a pair of formerly tight jeans shows that they are losing fat. And they can do this without actually even budging the number on the scale because the scale doesn't measure "fat loss" it measure weight! Other effective measuring tools can be: - How you feel after rushing up a flight of stairs - Not tiring out as quickly when you play with your children - Your new found ability to change the water cooler bottle at work or lift your children without any effort! - Diminished cravings for sugar
The scale cannot record these milestones. When you read the number on the scale, you will automatically associate that number with food.
Yes, that's right. If you don't like the number, what thought pops into your mind? It almost always relates to food. The scale is a harbinger of food obsession, which includes counting every calorie, and carb and fat gram. Before you know it, you'll be carrying a calorie counter with you everywhere you go. Focus on how you feel, milestones in your daily activities, improved muscle definition, better eating habits, and how your clothes fit, rather than an ambiguous number on a gadget. I coach my online clients that it's never about the scales and that it's always about the effect it has on your everyday life.
Fat Loss Mistake 4 - You focus your time on spot reduction training for fat loss
This is one question that gets asked a lot.
Truth be known it's actually one of those fitness industry folklore myths.
The short answer to this is no. Targeted fat loss, commonly known as spot reduction, is not possible.
I’m afraid this is the myth of spot reduction and way too much time is wasted on body part exercises. There is actually no solid scientific evidence to prove that you can burn fat on specific areas of your body.
Plus this myth is one of the ways infomercials to trick you into buying useless gadgets.
For example, doing 300 sit-ups a day will not burn the fat around your belly and no amount of tricep extensions is going to torch off those bingo wings.
Fact is, muscle does not own the fat that lies on top and when it comes to losing fat, you do not decide - your body does where it takes from (Usually from places that do not readily store fat)
Fat loss is a total body process.
The good news is that when you work out in ways that boost your metabolism using full body exercises or weight training you will create the lean and toned look that you desire, plus you’ll have an abundant amount of energy - all in minutes a day!
Combine this with a solid nutrition plan and you can burn fat from your entire body, and get fitter, healthier and leaner in the process.
You can improve muscle growth and improve your body composition with bodyweight and weighted exercises.
What’s the best way to burn fat?
If you know anything about me and have been following me for a while then you’ll know I’m a fan of High Intensity Resistance Training Restance training combined with short bursts of speed).
It’s my go to method of training and it’s super effective at burning fat, improving cardiovascular endurance and building lean muscle all at the same time.
This is one of the reasons my coaching clients are seeing huge results inside my 28 Day Online Coaching Plan
Because with a strength training element in your training routine, you will begin to lose more inches and look more defined or 'toned' if that's what you prefer to call it.
Seriously if you combine HIRT fat burning workouts with good nutrition principles you’ll feel awesome and healthier, fitter, stronger and leaner as well.
Fat Loss Mistake 5 - YOU don't have a powerful enough reason WHY you wan't to burn fat and improve your health
Here's what I know, you [probably] want to:
- get fit
- lose the belly
- have a firmer, leaner body shape
- more energy
- boost your confidence and create new eating habits
because the habits you have right now are out of control and making you gain fat and feel unhappy.
How does that sound?
Would I have most of that right?
But my question to you is, how much of that is actually important to you?
Why is it important and how hard are you willing to work and what are you willing to sacrifice to make it happen?
Because let me tell you this.....
Don't even bother starting or committing to changing your fitness and nutrition until you have a strong enough reason for doing so.
FYI
EVERYONE of us has a strong enough reason for wanting to change, however most just haven't dug deep enough and got down to the nitty gritty to realise what it actually is.
As humans we are creatures of habit
We love our little comfort zones
Most people, perhaps you included associate exercise with painful and hard work.
So why the hell would you want to start in the first place?
However
When you have that massive reason WHY you're going to start....
Not only do you get started but you push yourself beyond the limits of pain, the inconvenience, the sweat and most importantly you find the TIME to do it - time that you never used to think you had.
Because your WHY is so POWERFUL!!!
Some of the reasons WHY that I come across quite often include:
- The Summer holiday..... it's booked, paid for and you don't want to look like a fat middle aged man or woman on the beach
- Recent health scare - high blood pressure that you want to sort out before it gets any worse
- Want to be a role model to the kids - if they see you eating well and exercising they are much likely to be inspired and do the same
- Favorite items of clothing that you want to be able to slide back into again
- Want to feel more confident and happy in your own skin - you want the old you back
.......of course everyone is different and will have something unique and personal to them
So when you write down your reason make sure that it isn't too vague..
You need to dig deep and get to the route cause rather than tip toe round the outside.
for example:
"I just want to lose a bit of weight"
WHY?
"because I want to look and feel better"
WHY?
"because I hate feeling like crap"
WHY?
"Because i'm embarrassed to take my clothes off in front of my wife/husband these days"
AND JUST LIKE THAT we have the REAL reason and the BIGGEST motivator for you to actually move forward and get started.
Once you have identified your WHY, write it down and remind yourself of it
EVERY
SINGLE
DAY
Your WHY is the driving force behind your transformation.
Your WHY has to stay at the forefront of your mind every day, every week, every month etc until you have achieved the outcome you are looking for.
So much of this weightloss/inchloss/fatloss whatever you want to call it game is won when you're thinking in the right way and you're mind is 100% focused.
Don't just rely on will power.
My question to you right now is this......
Whats your reason WHY?
Jason
Coach @ KEBOfit
Get started on your own 16 Week Fitter Body Online Plan:
P.S. Not ready to commit to my online programme? That's totally cool, you can still get my FREE Fat Loss Secrets Revealed Book and join thousands of men and women who are getting back into amazing shape, improving health and feeling more confident about themselves without having to turn their lives upside down to do it.
Get your copy here >> http://www.kebofit.com/
