1) You’re Consuming Too Many
Calories
This should be a given without debate, but there are still many fitness
tribes out there who still profess that you can eat all you want as long as you
avoid the C-word, carbs.
That’s simply not true. At the end of the day you need to eat
less then what you are eating right now. It’s really simple.
If everyone was eating the right amount of healthy food right
now, it wouldn’t be so hard to lose fat. The problem is most people eat way
more than they think they do. I will confess I can find myself in this category
from time to time too. I’ve caught myself leaving off certain foods from my
online food tracker because I don’t like how it looks. I think many of us have
certain foods or drinks that we label “doesn’t count” when it comes to our
daily total calories. Fitness markets this crafty thinking as the hidden
calorie. But it’s really the hidden calories that keep the dress sizes from
shrinking. Eating less is challenging. That’s why most people look for other
answers.
2) You’re Not Consuming
Enough Calories
This may seem contrary to the previous reason but it is as true
as a coin having two sides. One side of the coin, some people eat way too much
and on the flip side, some people diet too hard and basically shut down their
metabolism.
When we take drastic measures and cut our daily calorie totals,
the body’s endocrine system which regulates and maintains normal hormone
function reacts in a “survivor-ish” way which disrupts the metabolism - making losing
fat very difficult. When our total calorie consumption is drastically reduced,
eating even the healthiest foods can still contribute to overall weight gain.
3) You’re Looking for the Quick
Fix or the Secret Diet
How long did it take to become over weight or fat? How many
years and effort went into eating unhealthy meals day-in and day-out, and how
many times did we keep driving past the gym thinking, next Monday?
When we add up the time, we can get an idea of how long it’s
going to take to get back into shape and lose that fat.
There are no quick fixes. We know deep down the quick fix doesn’t
work. We know when we try another secret diet, we will yo-yo again, and we will
spend our money and be right back where we were when the quick ride is done.
The only thing that works is consistency and a dedication to a lifestyle
change.
Eating healthy has to become habitual. And habits are behaviors
repeated over and over again. It’s something you do every day without thinking
about it or an unconscious competence. Our lifestyle starts with sitting down
and writing out a game plan from the moment you wake up to the moment you close
your eyes.
You have to accept that eating a balanced diet of protein, carbs
and fat is where it’s at. No single food is solely responsible for fat gain.
And there is no food that will magically make the fat fall of your body – sorry
paleo tribe.
4) You’re Drinking Too Many of
Your Meals
When you want to get lean it’s always better to chew as many of
your calories as possible. The very act of chewing and digesting solid food initiates
the calorie burning process than drinking shakes or liquid diets ever does. Majority
of your daily meals should be solid food choices and having a small shake after
a workout is your best bet.
5) You’re Going Nuts With Too
Many Nuts
Nuts have a lot of calories that can add up quickly. The
serving size of nuts is in ¼ cups measurements or the fitness world uses the
handful as a serving size. On average, depending on the nut, the calorie total
to a single serving or a handful is 200 calories. I don’t know about you but a
handful for me is the appetizer to my snack meal of nuts. Here again is the
“doesn’t count” food for me. I will input 1 serving of nuts into my food
tracker when I know I almost finished the entire Blue Diamond almond bag –
leaving a handful of course. When eating for fat loss you’re better off filling
up on nutritionally dense foods that don’t pack a lot of calories, like green
vegetables.
Did you know that 10 almonds are about the most you’d be allowed
per day on a fat loss diet? Most people eat ten handfuls of almonds. That can
easily put you over your daily calorie and fat limit.
The last tidbit about nuts is that they contain a lot of
polyunsaturated fat. You could get into trouble having too much Omega 6 in your
diet and not enough Omega 3 as you are making better food choices with nuts.
6) You’re Workouts Have Little Resistance
When people want to lose body fat the first thing that comes to
mind is to crank up the reps, lower the weight and cut the rest periods. That
can be Insane. It simply doesn’t work, no matter what the DVDs tell you. All
that happens is your weights start plummeting on every exercise and you get
weaker and smaller – by smaller I ‘m not referring to your body fat.
When we’re focused to lose fat, the
primary role of strength training is to maintain muscle mass. That is the
single most important thing for both men and women.
If you’re trying to lose 10-20 pounds of body fat without losing
muscle in the process you should use strength training as a way to maintain
size and strength. Simple truth, muscle burns calories – less muscle burns less
calories.
7) You’re Running Way Too Much
Traditional forms of cardio are largely inefficient for fat
loss. Steady-state cardio is not the best at burning body fat, for weight loss
– yes, but the weight you’re losing is mainly muscle not fat. Excessive amounts
of cardio can lead to an overproduction of cortisol which leads to more
abdominal fat, the exact area where we want fat to disappear. If you want to do
cardio that won’t actually hurt you and could do you some good, go for a long
walk.
8) You’re Not Balancing Stress Properly
When you get stressed out your body produces a hormone known as
cortisol. This hormone increases body fat storage if it’s not controlled
through proper stress management. Most people are stressed out all day long
which means their cortisol levels are always high. High stressed jobs, bosses,
family engagements, social media updates, fluctuating eating patterns and never
sleeping longer than 5 hours will rake havoc on your endocrine system, your
body and your mind. This constant state of anxiety leads to an increase in body
fat even if your diet and training are perfect.
Make sure to take the time for stress management every single
day. It has to be placed into your game plan the same way that brushing your
teeth and eating is. It’s that important.
Here are some good ways to manage your stress:
·
Pray or meditate
·
Keep a gratitude journal
·
Learn to say no
·
Don’t feel the need to reply to every text, email, phone call,
tweet
·
Cut out the negative people in your life
·
Spend more time outside
·
Make time for laughter every day
·
Volunteer
·
Listen to relaxing music
Stress management is an essential key to fat loss.
9) You’re Skipping Out On
Enough Sleep
When we short ourselves on sleep our body’s response to insulin
sensitivity decreases and the cortisol levels goes up. Both things lead to less
than optimal fat loss. In fact, sleep deprivation, meaning less than 6 straight
hours, can actually lead to fat gain. While we sleep this is the time the body
begins to heal itself from the damage created by stressors like working out
earlier in the day. When we can reduce our stress levels before laying down in
bed we can help add to the time of healing while sleeping. Basically, if you
want to lose more fat you have to get more sleep.
Some tips to improve your sleep are:
- Work
out earlier in the day.
- Don’t
have caffeine after 2pm.
- Turn
the lights down in your house after dark.
- Don’t
look at phone or computer screens two hours before bed.
- Remove
electronics from the bedroom.
- Use
the bed only for sleep.
- Make
your bedroom as dark as possible.
- Invest
in a really good bed.
10) You’re Not
Sticking to the Plan
In the age of information overload the biggest stumbling block
to fat loss is program ADD. One week you’re doing high intensity workouts, the
next week you’re doing 30 miles of cardio, then no cardio, followed by a
cleansing week, and on and on.
Fat loss is a simple science. There is a proven path that works;
it just takes you to stick with it long enough to see results. The most you can
lose is about one solid pound a week, two pounds at the most per week.
What to do each week:
·
Eat protein, vegetables, fruit and starch every day
·
Never go too low on carbs
·
Strength train 3-4 times
·
Sprint or high intensity strength interval training 1-3 times
·
Expend more calories than you consume
·
Manage stress
·
Sleep
Don’t sit when you can stand, and build functional movements
into your daily routine and remember a sedentary life equals death. Stick with a
simple plan, forget the quick fix and make it a lifestyle.
Coach Chris Brumley
Strength & Conditioning Professional
Baylor Tom Landry Health and Wellness Center
