How to Lose Fat Without Gaining it Back(or worse)
Losing weight isn’t anything easy but in my opinion, the hardest part isn’t losing the weight but keeping it off. I’m sure many of you have experienced yo-yo dieting where you constantly lose and gain weight over and over again. Or maybe you have lost the weight but find it hard to keep it off. These key steps I’m going to be talking about will help you lose weight and keep it off for good.
Cons of Losing Weight Fast
There are a lot of gimmicks out there stating something like “ this product will help you lose weight fast”. But in actuality losing weight takes time and a whole lot of effort.
Losing weight fast isn’t good for the body due to slowing down your metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is the calories you burn throughout the day. The heavier you are the higher metabolic rate you have versus someone who is smaller due to having more mass. When you lose weight fast, I’m talking eating less than 1200–1500 kcal or losing more than 1–2 pounds a week can mess up your metabolic rate. This is because your body doesn’t want to go into starvation mode. This ultimately is the reason yo-yo dieting occurs, or that you find it extremely hard to keep the weight off.
Lose weight Slowly( calorie cycling)
Calorie cycling is a great way to keep your metabolism as healthy as possible while losing weight. Calorie cycling is a method in which you cycle between low and high calories throughout the week. Most people, if not everyone, has down this due to being hungry more some days and less other days.
The majority of the week you will be eating in a deficit and you may have one or two days in which you would increase your calorie intake. The idea is to decrease the total amount of calories you eat in a week. For example, say you eat 2000kcal a week but decide to reduce it to 1700kcal, which would be a 15% reduction. You eat that five days a week and on the weekends you eat maintenance. That will be a total of 12500. Which is 1500 less than what you would get from eating 2000kcal a day. That means each week your losing half a pound of fat.
Slowly losing weight isn’t only good for your metabolism but also for the mind. Fast weight loss is harder to be consistent with due to the intensity of the calorie restriction.
Best Ways to burn Fat
There are a number of ways to burn fat, but these are the essential components in order to lose weight:
Calorie deficit
The only tip you need to follow in order to lose weight is this — “eat in a calorie deficit.” No matter what method you choose: intermittent fasting, keto diet, Mediterranean diet, high protein, etc… if you are not in a calorie deficit you will not lose weight.
Strength training and cardio
Strength training combined with cardio is also a great option in order to lose weight because the more muscle mass you have the higher your basal metabolic rate will be.
Cardio effects on a calorie deficit
Doing only cardio may lead to losing weight, but in the wrong way. It may cause you to become skinny fat due to losing muscle rather than fat. This is because large amounts of cardio on top of a calorie deficit will cause atrophy within the muscles. Your body doesn’t want to carry unnecessary weight that you don’t use.
Calorie tracking
Tracking your calories is very important when wanting to be in a calorie deficit. Eyeballing isn’t efficient because most people underestimate the calories they eat, and overestimate the calories they burn.
Sleep
Sleep is also very important for weight loss. Getting less than 5–6 hours of sleep can raise cortisol and insulin levels, which are two hormones that can promote fat storage.
Eat mindfully
There is a Japanese saying, “hara hachi bun me”. That means eating to your 80% full because eating to your 100% full constantly stretches the stomach receptors causing you to eat more food in order to feel full. Eating to 80% full allows you to be satisfied but not completely stuffed.
Be aware of portions and what you're doing when eating. When distracting yourself with tv, your phone, or your laptop can make it harder for your body to realize when it’s full. Leading you to eat more than you should.
Eating foods that are high quality in the different macro and micronutrients is a must when wanting to lose weight. Not will it help you keep the calories down, but it can help with satiety as well.
Walking
Walking is an underestimated way of losing weight. Unlike strength training or intense cardio, it doesn’t raise cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone that can play a role in weight gain. It is a low-impact exercise on the body that can help you burn calories if done correctly. I would recommend getting anywhere between 7000–10000 steps daily in order to see results.
Higher Protein and Fiber Foods
Eat higher fiber and high protein foods because they can you feel satisfied after eating a meal.
Increase NEAT
Another great way to lose fat is to increase your N.E.A.T.: Non-exercise activity thermogenesis. You only burn 20% of your daily calories from exercise, while it’s 70% for your basal metabolic rate and 10% for digesting foods. The easiest way to increase it is to walk or do chores.
Some foods are better than others when it comes to burning fat(such as):
Green Tea: Studies show that drinking green tea in large amounts can ignite fat burning process in the body due to having a phytochemical
Greek yogurt: Has almost twice as much protein as regular yogurt, which can help aid in the maintenance of muscle mass and satiety.
Oatmeal: Oatmeal is high in fiber and contains a lot of water, which is a perfect combination to keep you full.
Veggies: Low calories nutrition food that can provide the needed micronutrient. They're rich in water content so it will help keep your stomach full.
Popcorn: The thing about popcorn is that you can get a lot of it for a low amount of calories. Not the type of popcorn you get at a movie theater, but the regular air-popped popcorn.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon helps stabilize blood sugar levels, which can curb your appetite.
Coffee: Coffee can stimulate the metabolism a little. I’m not talking about an americano that you get from Starbucks, but regular black coffee.
Watermelon: Watermelon is high in water content taking up room in your stomach, which can help you feel full. Also a good source of antioxidants and vitamins C and A.
Potatoes: Potatoes are ranked the highest satiety food out there meaning it will keep you full for a longer period of time.
Eggs: High protein food with no carbohydrates. Can help maintain diet calories due to the high energy needed when digesting eggs.
The foods you should eat during a diet are the ones that you like and are good for your body so that it will be easier to stick to the diet. So if the foods I discussed weren’t the ideal type of foods you would eat on a diet, don’t.
Weight fluctuations
When you step on the scale the weight loss won’t be a linear process, generally, your weight will fluctuate between 1–5 pounds due to the amount of water within the body. If you notice that you have been on a calorie deficit for quite some time but haven’t been losing any weight, or in fact gaining weight, this may be due to an increase in muscle mass. As the old saying does” muscle weighs more than fat” meaning that if you are weight training as to lose weight you may gain some back in the form of muscle.
Conclusion
Losing weight isn’t a linear process, there may be some setbacks and that is okay. Implementing some type of fitness routine that involves both cardio and strength can help you lose more quickly than doing one or the other. Making sure you have a diet that works for you is crucial for long-term progress. Making sure your taking care of other factors of your life such as sleep is important in aiding weight loss as well.
