So you got your diet checked, you keep going to the gym and working hard to get that long-awaited and hoped-for body. It has been weeks, even months, and you just can’t lose fat. The progress seems to have stalled or is way slower… Why? Think you’re destined for failure when it comes to fat loss? Is it really hard to lose weight?
Well, sometimes, it’s not just a problem of calories in versus calories out. Sometimes, you need to take a step back and have an overview at the whole lifestyle and system you created for your fat loss journey. Here are ten tips to get you back on track:
You Are Getting Too Much Fructose
Yes, fruits are good. I said it in multiple articles already. The problem often lies in things that appear to be healthy but ultimately aren’t like, mainly, fruit juices and smoothies. You see, it is way easier to drink a glass of apple juice than to eat an apple. Why? Because swallowing a liquid requires no effort and it is better and faster digested, while a whole apple needs to be bitten, chewed, swallowed, then the digestive system needs to reduce it down into pieces, and the fibers tend to slow down everything. Same with a smoothie: you can easily get 8 fruits like a glass of water. Had you eaten them whole, you could have barely got 5 of them. In this type of scenario, you get way too much fructose for your liver to metabolize and store or use it, so it ends up being converted to fat. The same applies to soda-addicted people who get fat by overloading their fructose intake. That is the one-way trip to type II diabetes.
⇒ Solution: stick to 2-5 fruits per day, depending on your goal and actual size.
You Are Getting Too Much Fat
Fat is a key macronutrient for your health. You need it to get your cholesterol levels in check, your cell membranes to be optimal for their exchanges function and also for hormonal health. Now, some people forget that fat is a very “heavy” macro, so they get too much of it -so too much kcal- and therefore can’t achieve the caloric deficit they are looking for. An easy way to overdo fat isn’t to consume too many fatty foods, such as whole eggs and fat fishes, but rather getting out of control with nuts consumption (be it almonds, cashews, peanuts; whole, grilled or in butter) and the oil used for cooking and seasoning (again, no matter which oil it is). Despite being very healthy for you, they are also very high in kcal, so you need to keep them in check.
⇒ Solution: stick to 1-1,5gr/kg of fat per day (except for a specific diet like keto) and prioritize whole eggs and fishes higher in Omega-3 fatty acids before adding in dark cocoa, avocado, nuts, etc. in the mix.
You Are Overdoing Cardio Work
Just like with everything: you need balance. Cardio is no exception. It’s actually possible to do it too much, and it can stall your signs of progress both in the gym and in the mirror. You need to realize that cardio is a very costly kcal activity, that can boost fat mobilization (and, therefore, fat loss) but is also a physical activity that have hormonal consequences.
Indeed, as a very catabolic activity, cardio raises the stress hormone cortisol in order to manage the overall inflammation and body chemistry caused by the cardio. Just the right dose of it, and you get a little boost that makes you recover / sleep / perform better in the gym, have a more regular appetite and also, of course, a boost in fat loss via a higher caloric deficit. But if you do too much of it, be it LISS, MISS or HIIT, you end up doing exactly the reverse of what I’ve just outlined. You’re exercising too often, so recovery is way slower. Your resting heart rate isn’t right, thus your sleep is of lower quality. You get no or very high appetite swings, sometimes with cravings and, of course, the chronically elevated cortisol level blunts the production of the anabolic hormones, like testosterone, growth hormone or insulin.
⇒ Solution: firstly, get your diet and training checked. Then, add in cardio accordingly to your needs, actual cardio level and fat loss results.
You Aren’t Doing Enough Strength-Training
A bodybuilding/strength training type workout itself won’t burn many calories, but it will break a lot of muscle fibers and force them to grow thicker and stronger. Muscle being a costly tissue to maintain alive, your body will naturally need more fuel only to maintain that newly acquired lean tissue. This means that during a fat loss phase, you will have an easier time burning fat and retaining muscles if you keep training for it. This should always be your #1 priority since this outlines the big difference between losing weight and losing fat: weight can be anything -muscle, fat, water, glycogen store, even bone- while fat… is fat. Also, it keeps your hormonal status to go full catabolic, as it would, were you doing endurance type workout only. Plus, muscle is what makes you look attractive, not just getting ultra skinny.
⇒ Solution: strength train 2-4 times per week before worrying about adding cardio.
You Don’t Sleep Enough
“Sleep is the cousin of Death” is a saying that is very relevant to its application. Too much sleep can be as harmful as not enough but, in most cases, the problem lies more on the “not enough” side. Sleep is the moment when your body can fully go in anabolic and resting mode to repair, building itself up and recovering from whatever you put it through. It is vital to have a long and healthy life, but also for a proper fitness lifestyle. If you train but don’t let your body recover, your hormones, brain, CNS and all your organs aren’t getting the necessary time to rest and function properly. After some time, it can make you stall in your fat loss just because the body doesn’t feel like it can just let his stock of fuel go, and will hold on to it, for survival purposes.
⇒ Solution: sleep 7-9h per night, as restful as possible. Quit the screens an hour before going to bed and relax!
You Drink Too Much
Alcohol can blunt fat loss in two ways: either getting you out of caloric deficit, or overloading you with so much sugar that you can’t bear it. Ethanol is 7kcal per gram. Given the fact that it’s often mixed with fruit juice, soft and sweet drinks in a cocktail, one glass can easily reach 200kcal. Can you imagine those people getting a load of it? Yup, a full meal worth of calories just with drinks. But there is more: alcohol is inflammatory, which gives your liver more work to do, and wrecks your immune system. If you are trying to lose fat, that will just make your job harder. Plain and simple. Also, concerning beers, they are highly estrogenic, meaning they also blunt your testosterone levels, amongst other things.
Wine is a bit of an exception, especially red wine since it contains a lot of polyphenols that help your body fight against inflammation and protect your heart against diseases. One or two glasses per day are actually good for you but, again, don’t forget to count it in your daily calories intake.
⇒ Solution: don’t drink at all. If you must, then limit it to once a week and just 1-2 glasses of strong alcohols like rum, whiskey or vodka.
You Aren’t Managing Stress
Today, we live in a stressful environment even if you don’t realize it. Loud and repetitive sounds everywhere, all day, music playing everywhere, bright lights, pollution, responsibilities, paperwork, work/family/relationship stuff, stress, boredom, elation… Sometimes, we are overwhelmed and get chronically stressed. This means that you never really relax, and the ways you try to relax (parties, binge-watching Netflix, food cravings) lead you off the right path of a good lifestyle (see above about drinks, sleep and sweet stuff). If you eat for the wrong reasons, you’re going to be wearing the wrong sizes. Plus, if your stress levels are high, so are your cortisol and inflammation levels. If the latter is high, your body is already trying to fight it to merely function properly, as it doesn’t want to lose its necessary fat stock required for survival, and is sensing that it needs to hold on to it.
⇒ Solution: start working out, do some yoga, fix your problems and don’t hesitate to spend time more alone and in a quiet place to relax.
You Are Getting Too Many Kcal
That might sound so simple but, sometimes, you can overlook your total quantity of food. That little protein bar wasn’t just 80kcal, and that mojito you got isn’t calorie-free. You need to assess and track things properly, or have a very precise diet plan. Multiple apps can help you track your caloric intake, use them. Remember: you can’t out-train a bad diet.
⇒ Solution: have a precise diet and track the quantities, either by weighting them or by being conscious of what you are eating.
You Aren’t Getting Enough Kcal
That one may sound strange but it actually happens frequently, especially with women. Reasonably, if you aren’t eating at all or not that much, your body will starve and use all its fat, so you’ll eventually get that body of your dreams, right? Well, no. Our body is built for survival and can really go a long way under a caloric restriction before giving up. With our modern lifestyle and all the appealing foods available, you’re most likely to give up and go rampage on very dense and rich foods before getting all your excess fat gone. Your metabolism is actually slowing down a bit when in caloric restriction, so increasingly reducing your calories intake will often lead to stalling, as your metabolism can’t function properly and will crash, along with all the hormones that can regulate fat loss, like thyroid ones, growth hormone and testosterone. This is called metabolic damage and can sometimes never go back to normal!
⇒ Solution: get into a 200-500kcal deficit, choose to up your activity level before further decreasing the food quantities. And don’t be afraid to do some refeeds to boost your metabolism and avoid any plateau.
You Aren’t Sticking To The Plan
Yes, fat loss can be hard. Sometimes, you get hungry and aren’t supposed to eat. Or you’ve just done eating, but you are still hungry. Or else you got a huge food craving coming up but you just can’t eat. That happens. But you shouldn’t give in, and you shouldn’t see your fat loss as a punishment or some sort. If you got serious about your health and body transformation, it is natural to get rid of the surplus fat that you carry. Notice the “surplus”. And if it’s for a photoshoot or a bodybuilding show, then I’m sorry but you need to switch to a mode that will make you think like a machine, and not like a human being that is emotionally attached to food. Keep your old habits old, and your new habits new. Period.
Doesn’t matter what your goal is, the amount of time you put in: you are just disregarding your own self if you can’t stick to a plan. And if you do a week of keto, then carb cycling the next, then all juices the next, well.. you are merely spinning your wheel and playing poker with your health. This website and even tons of other ones on Google have everything you need to help you get a proper diet plan. It just comes down to one thing: how bad do you want it, regardless of the ups and downs?
⇒ Solution: consider intermittent fasting to help with food cravings, and stick to a simple customized diet for 2-4 months before trying something else.
If you still can’t seem to keep off the pounds, you’re probably standing in your own way. You don’t need to struggle to melt fat and keep off the extra poundage: let me help you assess which of your everyday habits may be sabotaging your weight loss, and preventing you from leading a healthy lifestyle.
Your lightkeeper,
-Hersovyac.
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