15 Essential Fat Loss Tips

August 6, 2018

Good morning!

If you’re on a mission to get leaner then it’s really important to hone in your fat loss rather than simply focusing on ‘weight loss.’ Losing pounds feels good, but if those pounds are precious muscle or just water loss, then you’re actually hurting your overall ability for fat loss. In order to ensure that the weight you’re losing is FAT and not MUSCLE take the following 15 Essential Fat Loss Tips to heart…

Fat Loss Tip #1: Keep Track

Your willingness to track your food intake is equal to your desire to lose fat. Being serious about losing fat means taking note of every calorie you consume, making sure these calories contain enough protein, and stopping when you meet your daily allowance. One of the biggest limiting factors that we see hold people back from results is that they simply aren’t willing to track and record what they eat, when they eat, how much they eat, when they workout, how many hours of sleep they get, etc. This one tip makes so much difference!

Fat Loss Tip #2: Eat Earlier In The Day

Now people often talk about breakfast being the ‘most important meal of the day,’ but this is simply not the true for a number of reasons which we can get into later. The main reason we DO want you to eat earlier though is to make sure that you are fueling your body early enough in the day so that you don’t make poor choices with food later. Eating earlier in the day will help you fend off the temptations around lunch time and the afternoon to go out to eat, to pick up something quick, or to have that snack, donut, or piece of cake that your coworker brought in that day for their birthday.

Fat Loss Tip #3: Avoid Getting Too Hungry

Dieters often fast until they can’t take it any longer. Now don’t get me wrong, Intermittent Fasting is actually a scientifically proven safe and very effective method of increasing health and bettering your body composition. However, this is an ADVANCED technique that most dieters to improperly and unsafely. It takes extreme personal and bodily awareness to practice intermittent fasting properly and most people aren’t ready for this technique yet.

The downside of fasting when you aren’t properly equipped to do it safely is that many poor choices are made in the heat of the hunger moment. When you have low blood sugar and hunger hormones in your body are on the rise, it’s very difficult to make the healthy decision when it comes to food and most people fall victim to those tempting treats in these key moments. One of the best ways to stave off hunger is to keep healthy snacks nearby. These include whole foods (natural not processed), high protein, high healthy fat, high fiber, and low carb and low sugar. Another great tip is to simply drink more water. Most people mistake thirst for hunger and all you need is to drink about 8-16oz of water and your hunger will go away.

Fat Loss Tip #4: Underestimate Your Routine

Yes, you just pumped iron for an hour and ran six miles. But you probably didn’t burn as many calories as you think. The ‘calories burned’ on your apple watch, Fitbit, or favorite cardio machine are estimations at best. With even our current modern advances in technology those calorie estimations can still be up to 300 calories off! To keep from overeating after a workout, grab a bite immediately after, but make it a small bite. And drink plenty of water. Then wait. You need to wait at least 15-20min after eating before the satiety hormone tells your body it’s full.

Fat Loss Tip #5: Stay Home

Your favorite restaurant may be calling your name, but don’t listen! By cooking your own dinner at home, you’ll sidestep a variety of pitfalls that occur while eating out. There is not way to truly know how much hidden fat, sugar, sodium, or added ingredients are hidden in your favorite meal and your favorite restaurant. It’s fine to dine out and enjoy yourself from time to time, but if you are currently unhappy with your weight, body composition, health, or fitness level then dining out too often is most likely one of the contributing factors so you need to decrease your frequency of this habit.

Fat Loss Tip #6: Reduce Alcohol Intake

Trust me, I love grabbing a tasty amber ale or microbrew! It helps you relax and—if you drink a small amount of alcohol every once in a while it actually has health benefits, but alcohol also comes with a lot of useless calories and toxins. In a nutshell here is what happens when you consume alcohol: Because alcohol is a toxin to the body, your liver, kidneys and body prioritize metabolizing the alcohol first so if you are consuming food nearby when you drink, or while you’re drinking, it will actually increase the likelihood of that food being stored as fat! Too much alcohol (more than about 1 shot of liquor, 1 beer, or 1 glass of wine) can actually raise a stress hormone level in your body from the hormone cortisol. This hormone will trigger a stress response and increases the likelihood of fat storage. So it’s best to limit alcohol consumption as much as possible if your goal is to be leaner.

Fat Loss Tip #7: Redirect

Sticking with a fitness plan gets hard. The next time it gets unbearable, grab your phone and walk out of the danger zone (your kitchen or the office) and call a friend or loved one. Ask how life is going or plan a movie night—just talk about whatever will take your mind off the temptation that will ruin your efforts. This is a sure way to start reprogramming your typical unhealthy habits.

Fat Loss Tip #8: Hit the Hay

So you’ve been dedicated to your fitness plan and diet for a good number of weeks or months now, but you’re still frustrated because you aren’t seeing fat loss. Why is that? Well almost always it is the simple answer that you are not getting enough rest, recovery, and overall sleep. In our modern society we are overworked, overstressed, and under-slept. This means that we are undergoing chronic stressors without enough recovery or release from those stressors. Your body reads this as you being in a ‘fight or flight’ state, or ‘survival mode,’ and this dramatically increases the likelihood that you will store fat over time.

Fat Loss Tip #9: Go Green (First)

One of the best ways to stave off hunger, to fill you up, and to help with your fat loss goals is to start your meals with a large dose of healthy dark leafy greens. This gives you more fiber, lower carbs, and more vitamins and minerals to fuel your metabolism.

Fat Loss Tip #10: Take Measurements Every 2-4 Weeks

Tracking your measurements isn’t just about watching your weight, but weight is a factor that we want to track to see what’s going on in your body. You might not like the idea of jumping on the scale, but if you don’t weigh yourself, you may not recognize your progress. However, some better ways to track progress include taking tape measurements of your neck, chest, arms, waist, hips, thighs, and calves. Also consider a small investment into a hand-help body fat tester. Though it’s only accurate to about 1-3% you can still get a much better idea of how your body is changing than just watching the scale. Take these measurements once every 2-4 weeks, but no more often than that.

Fat Loss Tip #11: Disconnect Diet From Life

Life comes with ups and downs. Your diet should not. When stressed, don’t go to the vending machine, don’t grab that extra shot of caffeine, don’t turn to the sweet soda, or the go-to treat you love for comfort and pleasure. This is using food as a coping mechanism and can ultimately turn into disordered eating or simply a negative unhealthy relationship with food causing feelings of negativity, self-doubt, guilt, etc.

Fat Loss Tip #12: Keep the Burn Going

Working out is not supposed to be a walk in the park. It is supposed to be rigorous. To push your body to its potential don’t take long breaks between exercises. Either perform your exercises in back to back supersets or circuits or rest no more than 30 seconds after an exercise to keep your body challenged and developing.

Fat Loss Tip #13: Goodbye Sugary Sweet

Everyone needs a quick sweet on occasion. Make sure yours is natural, whole fruit rather than regular old processed, refined, white sugar. Every day, it seems more research is showing that refined sugars and high-fructose corn syrup increase your likelihood of weight gain more than anything else. And yes, artificial sweeteners may not have calories but they are up to 400x sweeter than natural or processed sugar which doesn’t help you with the cravings; in fact, it makes them worse. So get in the habit of having some berries, an orange, clementines, or other fruit you enjoy!

Fat Loss Tip #14: Walk The Fat Off

Maintaining a consistent, challenging exercise program is essential for your fat loss, but don’t let that be your only exercise. It is actually possible to workout 3-6x per week and still be considered sedentary. The key is walking. The goal should be a bare minimum of walking 10,000 steps per day which equates to about 5 miles depending on your stride. The solution to break this goal down into small chunks is to set an alarm on your phone or just schedule a break every 60-90 minutes throughout your day so you can take a brisk walk. You’ll be more alert at work, you’ll oxygenate your brain and body, relieve stress and the fat will slowly but consistently shave off your body.

Fat Loss Tip #15: Don’t Give Up

You may think it’s too easy a tip to list, but very few people have the will power necessary to keep with a program long enough to see the desired results. The key is frequency and consistency. Let me say that again FREQUENCY and CONSISTENCY. The main reason people fail is because they get impatient and they quit one of these two practices. Commit yourself today to being one of those few who stick with it.

And if you feel like all of this is just too overwhelming, you don’t know where to start, or you simply want some accountability, reach out to us here at Iron Allies Fitness! We are experts in this area and we are eager to help you!

Send us a text, email, or call today!

801-263-5336

ironalliesfitness@gmail.com

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Talk to you soon!

– Team Iron Allies Fitness

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