5 Non-Negotiables For Fat Loss

The process of losing body fat is straightforward yet it can be overwhelmingly challenging if you don’t know what to do. To help you navigate through your fat loss journey and to ensure that you’ve got the right tools to help you succeed, here are 5 essential fat loss to-do’s that would help you reach your fat loss goals.

1. Eating less than you burn. In other words, your energy expenditure and demand have to be greater than your energy storage, either via reducing food intake and/or increasing physical activities to create a deficit with your energy balance.
   
   Simply reducing your portion size and/or swapping out higher calorie food with lower calorie food is a good start. This brings me to the point below.

2. Cleaning up your diet. Nutrient quality and composition are just as important as managing your total calorie intake when it comes to fat loss. The key point here is to provide your body with sufficient nutrients to support your fat loss goals and recovery while keeping your hunger levels at bay as you diet down.
   
   So eat more whole foods like leafy and fibrous vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats, high water-content foods, and starchy carbs to help increase your satiety level while limiting the portion of sweet and savory treats. A simple method to keep in mind when dieting down for fat loss is the 80/20 rule - 80% whole, nutrient-dense foods, and 20% fun foods.

3. Moving is just as important. While dietary adherence and calorie intake are key, staying physically active is just as important and effective when it comes to dropping body fat. Activities such as walking your dog, washing your car, parking your car a little further than usual, sweeping the floor, and the likes of it help contribute to the total calories burned.
   
   Speaking of energy expenditure…

4. Prioritize resistance training. While cardio exercises do burn calories, however, it does not yield the same benefits and effects as performing resistance training. Incorporating resistance and strength training into your regime while dieting down can help improve lean tissue/ muscle retention and increase your energy expenditure as well as metabolism and joint health.
   
   And last but not least…

5. Don’t neglect good sleep. Sleep is not only essential for our physical and mental health and well-being but also our body composition and performance. Losing sleep affects more than just our energy levels and mood. Sleep deprivation reduces our ability to think clearly, raises our blood sugar levels, increases our appetite and hunger levels due to the increase of ghrelin (hunger hormone), poorer digestive health, and lowers our sex drive. Thus affecting the quality and rate of fat loss in the long run.
   
   So try not to stay up all night and neglect a good sleep if you’re serious about dropping body fat and keeping them off.

The process of losing body fat is that simple, as long as you’re consistently putting in the effort and being patient with the process. There will be days when you had overeaten over the weekend or missed a workout or had a bad night’s sleep, and it’s okay, get back on track and do better the next day. Be persistent and keep showing up and your results will show.

One thing you can do to make your life easier is to enlist the help of a coach or mentor who can help you figure out and learn about the process quicker and more accurately. If you’d like to know more about the coaching process, click the ‘Get In Touch” button and leave me a message, and we’ll get you going.