The Knowledge > How To Lose Fat >
Tuesday, 26th September 2017
Countless people are in the gym to cut body fat, but not everybody succeeds. If you're having trouble dropping weight, you are simply making crucial mistakes which are detrimental to your weight loss quest.
Many of us spend years and years trying to get rid of excess body fat with little or no success. We attack our fat when motivation is high, but we seem to cave in too easily when it comes to indulging in high calorie foods. There is no doubt that fat loss may be the most common fitness goal, but it's definitely no easy task to achieve.
If you have been trying endlessly to burn fat for a long time but have yet to accomplish your goals/targets, it is very possible that you are making crucial mistakes which are holding you back.
Take a look at the list below which may well be the reason(s) you are not losing weight as fast as you would like to.
This seems like an obvious mistake, but many people truly don't know how many calories they're actually eating. For example, ordering a salad might seem like a healthy choice, but you could be getting a 600-calorie meal without noticing. This may well be because of the sauces, dressing, ketchup, and oils all have calories you probably don't even think about. Especially if you don't regularly cook at home, you're probably eating more calories than you think.
Remember to lose weight the key is to eat fewer calories than you expend throughout the day. But you must take into account that the he type of calories you eat matters. A carbohydrate-only diet will not help you reach your fat-loss goals. You need the right combination of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats to build muscle and burn fat.
For most people, a 40/40/20 ratio works great. If 40 percent of your food comes from carbs, 40 percent from protein, and 20 percent from fat, the stage is set for positive change.
Many people have to drop their carbs even lower to burn fat successfully. If you do, make sure you boost your fat intake at least slightly to give your body an alternative energy source.
Many people think that if they skip breakfast they will lose weight quicker. This is wrong. Breakfast is essential and your body is striving for nutrients after going the whole night without food. If you skip breakfast you are more likely to eat more during the day and your metabolic rate will slow down which will lead to weight gain. Start your day right with a well balanced meal consisting of complex carbs like oats and lean protein such as whey protein or egg whites.
Overestimating weight-loss rateMost people shed a lot of pounds in the first couple of weeks of a program, a combo of carbs and water. It's an artificially high drop, so don't get discouraged when progress slows down.
Protein does more than just build and repair muscle tissue. but those that consume a diet enriched with protein tend to lose more weight than those that fail to eat this essential macro-nutrient.
Protein can help you help you feel less hungry and therefore eat less throughout the day. High-protein diets can also have positive results on glucose levels, and muscle-to-fat ratios.
Try and choose high-protein foods at every major meal especially instead of foods that are loaded with carbs and results should soon fall into place.
The only liquid your body really needs is water. You can of course have coffee, tea, and sometimes milk, but a steady stream of sugary beverages will undermine fat-loss as some contain hidden calories that you may fail to realise. If you're drinking an additional 300 calories every morning, you are setting yourself up for failure. Losing fat can be difficult enough, so don't make it any harder.
Remember a can of cola is full of sugar and has around 135 caloires per can. All this is empty calories and will lead to weight gain.
It doesn't matter how healthy any particular food is; if you eat too much of it, you'll have a hard time losing fat as this accumuliates to taking in more calories. Two prime examples of healthy foods that run huge calorie tabs are nuts and seeds. The health benefits of these foods can be great for health, but the calories they carry can be excessive. This doesn't mean you should avoid them, but rather, when you pick up some almonds to snack on, don't eat multiple handfuls. Have a respectable portion that will not have an effect on your weight loss goals.
Water is great for weight loss. It helps keep you regular and flush out bad toxins from the body. Remember if you drink lots of water you are less succumbed to water weight which will help you look and feel less bloated. Water keeps food moving in your digestive system and helps eliminate bad food from the body. Always make sure you are keeping hydrated for a healthy weight loss journey.
Beginners should start slowly. However, as you grow accustomed to the weights, machines, and the gym atmosphere, you have to push harder and harder. You can't get comfortable, or you will plateau.
If fat-loss is your goal, you have to create an extreme energy demand so your body can change. Lifting the same light weights day after day will not help you do this or meet any of your other physique goals. Try and push yourself as the weeks progress and have a log that outlines what you have lifted in the previous week and aim to beat that target. This can be by either lifting heavier weight or doing more reps. Both are still a great improvmenet and means you are gradually progressing.
A low-fiber diet may be compromising your weight loss efforts.
Eating enough fibre can help reduce appetite by filling you up so you eat less. It may also help you absorb fewer calories from other foods.
If you want to perform cardio that will do you some good, make some of your workouts full-body workouts with short rest periods. Increase the intensity and get the heart pumping. Remember the more you sweat the more weight you will lose.
Stress is the silent killer. When you get stressed, your body produces cortisol above and beyond the norm and this can be responsible for increased body fat storage and other negative consequences. Even if your diet and training are perfect, excessive stress can keep you from achieving those fat-loss goals.
Take it easy and try and relax more. You can always try things like Yoga, having a long bath, reading a book, watch a film or go for a walk, whatever seems to work for you.
Relax! Although that might be easier said than done, applying relaxation techniques
Like stress, sleep deprivation elevates cortisol, a fat-loss no-no.
To reach your physique or fitness goals you need to look after yourself and sleep well so you have more energy the next day. Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep per night. Limit your of caffeine in the evenings, and give yourself some time to help you hit this target. Like stress, sleep deprivation elevates cortisol, which is not good for weight loss.
Also when you sleep less you will have less motivation and tend to become more aggressive as the day progressed.
Supplements are a great aid to help with your weight loss goals. The below are great to have along with a good diet and good training plan in place to help accomplish your fat loss target/s.
For best results, cycle any of the above on a two month on one month off cycle and follow the instructions on the back.