4 Fat Loss Fundamentals

Believe it or not, successful fat loss doesn’t involve going to the gym 7 days a week.

All the time I hear from people who have gone from one extreme to the other. They have moments of intense motivation where they:

▫️ Hit the gym daily (but only do cardio)
▫️ Eat nothing but salad & air
▫️ Fail to value their recovery

And as you can probably guess.. it doesn’t end well.

​They crash & burn, feel like a failure for not reaching their own absurd expectations, & rebound back to their old ways. If this resonates with you at all, here’s where you’re going wrong: 

1. You’ve set the bar wayyyyy too high.

2. You’re neglecting the fact that you’ve got a career, family, social events, & so many other energy-demanding things going on in your life.

3. You're trying to shortcut a process that requires time!

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t push yourself.. progress doesn’t take place without some discomfort. But, you’ve got to find that happy middle-ground. 

This means creating a lifestyle for yourself that you can sustain not just for a few days.. but for the rest of your life.

So, here are 4 things worth prioritising if you want to slim down, improve your health, & become a more confident version of you!
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1) Strength Train 2-3x p/w

Building muscle is the #1 way to boost your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories) & therefore create fat-loss.

​I won’t go into too much detail on the training side of things, as I’ve touched on this in other articles.

The important thing to know is to not over-do it! You really don’t need to be going to the gym 5, 6, or even 7 days a week & destroying yourself with exhausting HIIT workouts!

The number of people that try doing this for a week & then don’t set foot in the gym again for 6 months is absurd.

My client Sam nailing a RDL!

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​Instead, establish a workout schedule that you’re able to stay consistent with for the long-haul - as consistency is what creates results!⁣
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Ideally, aim to hit each major muscle group (chest, shoulders, back, quads, hamstrings, glutes) 2-3x per week, allowing for at least 48-hours between sessions (e.g. M-W-F). ⁣

This way, each of the main big muscle groups gets attention, even if you’re only able to make it to the gym once or twice in a particular week.

2) Up Your Steps

People often think that doing a shit-ton of cardio is the answer to changing their body shape.

Cardio will of course have a positive impact, but you're actually much better off putting your energy towards increasing your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) - in non-nerd speak, the physical activity that ISN’T exercise (walking, gardening, fidgeting).

It's a lot easier to up your NEAT than it is your EAT (exercise activity thermogenesis) & you're much more likely to be consistent at doing so. 

​As you can see from the image on the left, NEAT accounts for a much greater % of your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure - the number of calories you burn each day) than EAT.

The exact percentages will vary from individual to individual based on genetics & activity levels, but the take-home message from all this is that NEAT matters a lot! 

So here's how I’d suggest increasing your NEAT:

1. Begin by simply tracking your step count for a week to gain an idea of your daily average step count.

2. With this data on hand, set yourself a step target to strive for each day (aim for one that’s just slightly above your current average e.g. 500-1000 steps more than your current average).

3. Get outside & walk!

I appreciate that even when you have a step target outlined it’s not always easy to find the energy & motivation to take yourself outside get it done. If you’re struggling to consistently hit your daily step target, I recommend that you:

• Outline exactly when & for how long you’re going to walk
• Take slightly longer routes to your usual destinations

3) 80% of Calories from REAL Food

As helpful as it can be, the truth is that you don’t need track your calories to lose weight & reduce body fat. But, what you do need to do is set yourself some boundaries.

A handy rule I try my best to live by is to get at least 80% of the calories I eat from real, nutritious food sources.

What I mean by 'real' is single-ingredient foods provided by nature; foods that have been consumed by humans throughout evolutionary history, like..

• Organic Fruit & Vegetables
• Grass-Fed Meat
• Free Range Eggs
• Wild Fish
• Rice, Potatoes, Quinoa
• Nuts, Seeds, Beans, Lentils

This still allows room for ~20% of your calories to come from those less-nutritious foods that we all love; there's no way I could go on without pizza & garlic bread!

4) Proper Rest & Recovery

I left this point until last, but in reality it’s probably the most significant. I say this because If you aren’t recovering & managing your stress levels then you’ll find it incredibly tough to stay on top of your strength training, activity levels, & diet.

So, the first thing to be conscious of is your sleep quantity & quality. Quantity-wise, you ideally want to ensure that you’re getting between 7-9 hours sleep each night. 

Quality-wise, here’s a few things worth considering:

Schedule: Keep a consistent sleep & wake time across the week. By doing so you’re able to regulate hormone production favorably to ensure that you’re tired when it’s time to sleep & alert when it’s time to wake up.

Comfort: Seems obvious, but make sure that you’ve got a comfortable mattress & pillow. If not, it’s going to be tough to get a restful nights sleep

Environment: Keep your bedroom cool, dark, & device free.

Stimulants: I recommend staying free of caffeine post 2/3pm. Caffeine has a half-life of 8 hours, meaning that half of it is still circulating your system 4 hours after consuming it.

Hot Bath: Take a hot bath/shower soon before going to bed. Doing so helps cool your internal body temperature, bringing you into a more restful state.

Eat Light: Avoid having heavy meals 1-2 hours before going to bed - eating too much can cause indigestion, interfering with your sleep. It’s also worth avoiding drinking fluids a couple of hours before bedtime to prevent bathroom trips in the middle of the night.

Get Some Sun: Sunlight exposure during the day helps align your circadian rhythms - our internal body clocks responsible for dictating hormone production, which in turn regulates sleep patterns.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this article! I try to make each article as interesting, easy-to-read, & informative as possible. Hopefully you found it to be useful & has given some direction to your health & fitness journey moving forward. 

But, if you're tired of going round in circle & would like a more detailed guide on the weight-loss process, I highly recommend you check out my free download 'The Transformation Guidebook'.

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