Fat-Loss Made Simple (Not Easy), Part 1: Set-Up to Slim Down

Everyone is looking for the magic bullet that will shoot the fat right off them.

Be sure to read Part 2 and Part 3 of this 3-part blog series.

Like most things in life, it is a consistent effort of balancing better behaviors that actually gets the job done. The sooner you accept this reality and start making the necessary changes, the sooner you will reach your desired goals! This is the first section of a 3 part series on some of the most important keys to fat loss.

Make a Plan!

If you’re carrying more fat than you would like to be, the behaviors that got you to this point are different from the behaviors that will get you to where you want to be. This is not permission to beat yourself up over decisions in the past. That negative dwelling is counterproductive and there are many factors that contribute to fat gain, some of which are in your control and some of which are out of your control. What I want you to do is focus on the factors that are IN your control. That being said, behavior change is hard. It’s much easier to do what you’ve been doing than to take the risk and make the effort to do something outside of your comfort zone. If fat loss is truly important to you, it is ESSENTIAL for you to make a plan. You won’t accidentally fall into new behaviors. You have to make a conscious effort. This means planning out meals for the week, scheduling time for sleep and exercise, and prioritizing stress management. This blog post will give you some practical tips to start making a plan today!

Get Healthy!

The first step to losing weight in a SUSTAINABLE fashion is to get super healthy. You can crash diet and lose WEIGHT for a short period of time, but there are some issues with this approach.

This type of diet usually very restrictive, which makes it impossible to sustain long term. You actually need nutrients from food to support your life. So when you inevitably stop to crash diet, the weight usually comes right back.
Usually the weight you lose with this type of diet is water or muscle weight, not fat. The number on the scale does not matter nearly as much as your body composition. When people say weight loss, what they REALLY want is fat loss. More muscle and less fat looks more aesthetically pleasing and help contribute to a much healthier body.

A healthy body is in a state that it WANTS to lose fat. Your hormone profile is the main thing that determines how much fat you carry. The balance of hormone production in a healthy body ENCOURAGES fat loss, while the balance of hormone production in an unhealthy body DISCOURAGES fat loss. It doesn’t matter how hard you workout or how many salads you eat, it your body doesn’t want to get rid of fat it won’t.

Sleep!

I actually would argue that prioritizing quality sleep is the MOST important behavior for fat loss. Sleep directly aids in fat loss by changing your hormone expression. Healthy hormone expression is crucial for sustainable fat loss. As I said above, you want your body to be in a state that it wants to BURN fat instead of STORE fat. You cannot have optimal hormone expression with out adequate sleep, and your attempts at fat loss will always be an uphill battle.

Sleep also indirectly aids in fat loss. When you’re sleep deprived you crave unhealthy food, get hungry more often, and have worse decision making abilities. All of these factors make it very difficult to implement the will power necessary for fat loss. Also, when you’re sleep deprived your tired. When you’re tired you have less motivation to workout, and when you do workout you can’t perform at the same intensity so you don’t get as much out of the workout.

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