(Disclaimers:

1. This blog is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of the guidelines herein is at the sole choice and risk of the reader.

2. I went to art camp in 6th & 7th grade. It obviously failed me. I apologize for the illustrations you're about to see.)

 

 

You’ve been trying for a long time to lose weight. You haven’t lost weight.

 

You probably feel like you literally have no control over your weight. It’s scary.

 

You feel like there’s not a solution out there for you.

 

You worry that maybe it really is just your genetics. Maybe you’re always gonna carry this weight.

 

Luckily, this isn’t the case.

 

You can regain control of your weight. You just need to change your approach.

 

First, let’s look at some things potentially sabotaging your weight loss.

 

 

Things You Don’t Think Affect Your Fat Loss... That Are Affecting Your Fat Loss

 

Marketing

You’re insecure about your weight.

 

You’re confused why diets don’t work for you like they do your friends.

 

Confused and insecure.

 

Know who loves confused and insecure people? Supplement companies. (And people trying to sell MLM supplements on Insta.)

 

They’re quick to convince you that since your weight loss attempt was futile, there’s something drastically wrong with your body. Something out of your control. (Something hormone related or “toxins” is normally the go to here.)

 

Lucky for you, X supplement is the solution.

 

Are your hormones really what’s keeping you from losing weight? Probably not. Is it the toxins? Absolutely not.

 

Anyone quick to convince you that there is something “wrong” with your body that’s out of your control is likely trying to sell you the “solution”.

 

*Spoiler alert: your answer isn’t a supplement

 

 

 

Emotional Aspects of Eating

 

A conversation I had while training a client is permanently burned in my brain.

 

I was scolding her for the umpteenth time after she admitted that she had another terrible weekend with her diet,

 

She kept blaming her husband.

 

“This has nothing to do with your husband. You’re 100% in control of your own life.”

 

I was irked.

 

She needs to take more ownership of her diet and her life. I mean c’mon. Why can’t you just see that and diet?

 

After several more minutes of me being more condescending than I should have...

 

“Our marriage is on the rocks. Yeah, he brings home shitty food for dinner. But when we all sit down together and eat, that’s the only time it feels like we’re a real family again. It’s comforting.”

 

Wow.

 

And here I was, accusing her of “not wanting it enough”.

 

It wasn’t at all that she didn’t want to take ownership. In a way, food was a comforting way to briefly escape the reality of her life.

 

Conclusions from this heartbreaking story:

1. Your environment is stronger than your willpower. If your environment isn’t conducive to positive dietary changes, you’re gonna fail. More on environment later.

 

2. The reasons we eat are a lot more complex than just “being hungry”. And everyone’s reasons are different. 

 

 

 

Environment

The environment around you plays a huge role in the foods you eat.

 

This is an oft-neglected aspect of nutrition and training.

 

Someday, I’m going to decide to get in shape. I’ll set my mind to it, my willpower will increase exponentially, and I’ll finally be able to follow through.

 

Guess what?

 

It’s highly unlikely you’re going to be able to increase your willpower that much, for that long.

 

The issue isn’t usually that you “don’t want it enough”, it’s that you’re looking to change internal factors (something very difficult to change) to force weight loss, when you should look externally. External factors are much easier to control than changing the essence of who you are as a person.

 

 

Personal example:

 

Six months ago, I was in much worse shape than I am today. I was still an extremely knowledgeable, and driven personal trainer. So why wasn’t I in tip-top shape? I wanted it just as bad as I do today. What was the issue?

 

1. The gym I trained clients at was also where I worked out. I would get stopped by some work-related issue at least a few times per workout. This drug my workouts out much longer than necessary. In fact, I usually had to cut ‘em short to get to my next training session.

 

“I’ll finish later, I do work at a gym after all.”

 

I rarely finished later.

 

2. I was having trouble sticking to my nutrition plan. I’d track the first half of the day... and then guesstimate that the second half was "close enough" to my calorie goals.

 

3. I was bored with my workouts. I pour hours into programming for clients. But for myself, I had a tendency to rely on my knowledge to allow me to “wing-it”. This resulted in my workouts being pretty similar for months.

 

Remedy:

1. I got a membership at another gym. I loved my gym and my clients. But segregating my workouts to another gym that I had to drive to, and giving my workouts a specific (distraction free) time block, made it much easier to complete my workouts.

 

2. I hired a coach to hold me accountable. I was required to enter my macro totals daily, which meant no more guesstimating. My training programs were laid out for me and required zero mental effort.

 

Nothing internal changed. I’m not any more motivated now than I was 6 months ago. I simply changed the environment by adding a new gym and bringing another person into my life that would make achieving my goals easier.

 

 

Ask yourself: Do I want this? Am working as hard as I can to achieve my goals?

 

If no: Ok, you do just need to try harder.

 

 

If yes, but you still are consistently failing, you need to look at changing external factors to make your success more likely.

 

For diet specifically, this comes down to looking at what, when, and why you’re eating.

 

 

Do specific people trigger you to want to eat, or encourage behaviors detrimental to your goals?

 

It’s time for a conversation.

 

 

If you’re constantly surrounded by food detrimental to your goals, or by people who encourage you to/make you want to eat food detrimental to your goals, you’re gonna eat said food.

 

To quote John Berardi: “If a food is in your possession or located in your residence, either you, someone you love, or someone you marginally tolerate will eventually eat it.”

 

Having food you have trouble controlling yourself around, or that often pushes you over your calorie goals, means eventually you’re gonna eat said food. The easiest solution here is to simply not get said food when you go shopping.

 

If completing eliminating said food from your house isn’t an option:

1. Put your healthier foods/foods you want to focus on in plain sight. On the counter, on your desk at work, even keep your car stocked if fast food stops are tempting on the commute home.

 

2. Put foods detrimental to your goals out of sight, in harder to reach places.

 

(*Note: The above IS NOT intended to encourage you to identify "good" or "bad" foods that you should or shouldn't eat. Rather, foods you have trouble controlling yourself around, hindering fat loss.)

 

 

Are there specific times where you tend to overeat?

 

One of my clients would stick to her diet all day, but had a tendency to start craving sweet foods around 9 pm. Most of the time she would give in to the cravings, and end up going over her calorie goal.

 

When “Just try harder” didn’t work, we instead figured out a low-calorie, sweet snack that she was required to eat nightly at 9 pm.

 

Suddenly, going over her calorie goal wasn’t an issue. We didn’t place any restrictions on her diet or tell her she couldn’t have the sweets she enjoyed. But by implementing the snack, she just had less desire to overindulge afterward.

 

 

Understanding the importance of environment is one of the biggest epiphanies I’ve had as a coach.

 

I used to constantly stress, because my client's success (and my own success as a coach) depended solely on their willpower to stick to the plan. My clients had to constantly stay motivated in order to get results.

 

Then it dawned on me: Why not just help clients change their environment to one that requires as little willpower as possible. External factors are much easier to change than internal.

 

A large part of my coaching service now is devoted to talking clients through the places they spend the most time: at work, at home, in the car, etc… And determine what things we can change.

 

If you’re always munching on the healthy snacks that you now stock your desk with, so those break room donuts are never as tempting. You still love donuts. But you’re usually full from your desk snacks. So you eat a lot fewer donuts than you used to.

 

 

Cheat Days

Cheat days: You diet all week, and then reward yourself for your week of good work with a “free day”, eating whatever you want.

 

The problem?

 

Most people look forward to/plan their cheat day all week. By the time 6 days has passed, their list of “have to eat” foods for the cheat day is pretty expansive, and it turns into a day of binge-like eating.

 

The amount of calories consumed on a cheat day is usually enough to completely erase the work you’ve done the last 6 days. Week after week you’re stuck in the same spot.

 

It’s like spending all week saving your money and living extremely frugally, only to buy a $5000 dollar apothecary table from Pottery Barn on Saturday.

Despite being miserable all week, your net gain is probably close to zero (at best).

 

If you’re craving a food, find a way to work it into your calories/diet, in a moderate amount. Don’t establish one specific cheat day. Just focus on keeping 80-90% of your intake whole, nutrient-dense foods. Do whatever your heart desires with the other 10-20%. Your progress will be much better.

 

 

 

Mindset

Again, it's too easy spend way to much time focusing on getting more motivated, when you should be focused on more easily changed external factors instead. So this is gonna be short.

 

But, if you want to lose weight, you can’t play the victim.

 

The scariest, but truest thing ever said is: everything is your fault.

 

Or rather, how you react to everything is your fault.

 

Maybe you weren’t blessed with the best genetics. Or kids made fun of you in high school.

 

But no one is coming to save you. No supplement, cleanse, or wrap is going to lose the weight for you.

 

Eventually, you’re going to have to put in months of consistent, hard work if you ever want to change.

 

K, ready to take ownership? Perfect, let’s move on.

 

Majoring In The Minors

Diets often fail due to people getting super caught up in stuff that makes very little difference to their fat loss. Things like:

• Supplements

• Meal timing

• Controlling sodium intake

• Eliminating artificial sweeteners

 

All this stuff matters. But in the big picture of your weight loss, it’s not nearly as important as:

• Adherence

• Being in a calorie deficit

• Moving a lot daily

• Consistency

 

If you don’t know how many calories you’re eating, don’t worry about when you’re eating, or taking a fat burner. You're "putting the cart in front of the horse".

 

There’s lots of noise in the fitness industry, trying to sell you on something that will make a minuscule difference for your weight loss. Stay focused on the important stuff.

 

 

 

The Important Stuff

 

 

 

1a. Adherence

Tied with calorie deficit for the most important factor of fat loss.

 

Your diet needs to be something you can stick to for a long time.

 

Even fast weight loss doesn’t happen that fast.

 

In one of the most dramatic transformations I’ve seen, a client lost a bit over 90 lbs of fat in a year. He’s literally a completely different person, physically and mentally.

 

But it took a whole year.

 

Remember that insanely long stretch of time between Stranger Things: Season One and Stranger Things: Season Two? Just a bit over a year.

 

So yeah. You need to find something you can stick to for a long time.

 

Trade-offs

To figure out what you can adhere to right now, you need to determine what trade-offs you’re willing to make. Fitness is all about the trade-off. Faster results always come with the trade-off of you giving more in return (time, energy, etc.)

 

Onboarding a new client, determining trade-offs looks something like:

 

“Are you willing to plan meals ahead, and track/meet specific macronutrient goals within 5 grams daily, in a trade-off for extremely fast progress?”

 

“Absolutely not.”

 

“Aight. Are you willing to track your calories + hit a daily calorie goal in exchange for a bit slower (but still good) progress?”

 

“I hate the idea of tracking TBH.”

 

“K, tracking’s out the window. Are you willing to follow the handful diet method? Good results, no tracking…. But with the trade-off of having to prep ahead and less flexibility with foods?”

 

“Meh.”

 

...And so on and so forth.

 

It could come all the way down to:

 

“Are you willing to drink 2 sodas a week instead of 4?”

 

“Yes. That I can do.”

 

Lit! That’s your starting point.

 

No need to feel guilty, or try to force yourself into something you’re not sure you’ll be able to stick to.

 

The beauty of this is, as you progress, the list of trade-offs you’re willing to make will continue to grow. But by asking yourself to do more than you want to, or can do right now, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

 

Constantly reassess what trade-offs you’re willing to make. If you’re not at least 90% confident you can stick to a trade-off, don’t attempt it.

 

1b. Calorie Deficit

 Why yes, I did draw that myself.

 

If adherence is 1a, this is 1b. You can’t lose weight without either.

 

When you take in fewer calories than you burn in a day, you’re in a calorie deficit. Your body doesn’t have enough external fuel to burn, so it finds internal fuel (your fat, and sometimes muscle).

 

Creating a calorie deficit is literally the only way to lose fat (outside liposuction).

 

You simply have to eat fewer calories than you burn in a day.

 

(Now, it’s much more complex than “Eating X amount of calories = continuous weight loss. As you eat less, hormonal changes and metabolic adaptation come into play. Check out this blog: Why Fat Loss Stalls (And What To Do))

 

But still, it all boils down to creating a calorie deficit. Literally, every diet in existence that works, is because, in some way, shape, or form, it puts you in a calorie deficit. Yes, that includes Keto, Paleo, Veganism, and Intermittent fasting.

 

The same principle applies to gaining fat.

 

Fat gain comes from eating in a calorie surplus. Eating more calories than you burn in a day. There are no specific foods, diets, etc., that cause you to gain fat.

 

You can get fat by overeating literally any food that puts you in a calorie surplus. You can lose weight while eating any food that allows a calorie deficit.

 

(*Note: dieting isn’t a lifestyle, and you don’t need to be scared of eating in a calorie surplus from time to time. For more about how to eat to maximize muscle growth and minimize fat gain, read this blog.)

 

 

2. Macronutrients

All foods contain some combination of the three macronutrients:

1. Protein (4 kcal per gram)

2. Carbohydrates (4 kcal per gram)

3. Fat (9 kcal per gram)

 

Understand the importance of each macro is crucial to maintaining a health as you diet. Let’s start with...

 

 

Protein

When it comes to weight loss, protein is the macronutrient that makes the process easiest. It’s also the one that most beginners are under-consuming.

 

...So, why do you need protein?

 

1. Protein and the accompanying amino acids it supplies are essential to a variety of bodily processes: building muscle, bone health, and producing hormones and antibodies, just to name a few.

 

If you under consume protein, looking AND feeling healthy will be extremely difficult.

 

2. Protein also has the highest thermic effect of all the macronutrients. It takes energy/calories for your body to digest any food, this is the thermic effect of food (TEF). Protein takes more energy/calories to digest than any of the other macros.

 

By increasing the percentage of your calories consumed as protein, you’re increasing the number of calories you burn of daily via TEF.

3. What’s the number one thing that makes dieting hard?

 

Uhhhh I'm hungry...

 

Exactly. Protein is the most satiating of all the macronutrients. It keeps you full the longest. Being full, longer makes dieting much easier.

 

 

How much protein should I eat?

 

Protein is an essential macronutrient. Under consuming protein can create serious health issues.

 

As a general recommendation, you’ll get the peak benefits of protein by eating .8-1 gram per lb of body weight, daily.

 

Past this point, more isn’t better.  You can eat quite a bit of protein without any negative effects, but you won’t get “extra gainz” for eating more.

(If you’re worried about potential negatives from increasing protein, put your mind at ease with these studies. (1)(2))

 

 

How do I eat that much protein?

 

Say you’re a 130 lbs woman. Following the typical Western diet, you’re likely eating around 50 grams of protein per day. Well below the recommended 100-130 grams per day.

 

Trying to go from eating 20-30 grams of protein/day to over 100 is a drastic change.

 

Some strategies to make it easier for ya:

 

1: Don’t try to do it all at once. Just gradually increase your daily protein intake by 20 grams per week, until you hit the mark. 

 

2: Spread your protein intake throughout the day. People tend to try to eat their protein in big chunks. Going for a 12 oz piece of chicken at lunch and then maybe a shake to do ‘em for the day.

 

There’s nothing wrong with this approach (it’s a myth that your body can only absorb 30 grams of protein at a time. Read this.). But if you’re the 130 lb woman from above, eating 12 oz of chicken in one sitting is gonna be extremely hard for ya.

 

Just spread it out.

 

 

Here’s a sample layout of a 130 gram day of protein.

 

Breakfast:

3 egg whites: 11 grams

1 whole egg: 7 grams

1.5 cups Fairlife skim milk: 20 grams

 

Lunch:

4 oz chicken breast: 26 grams

 

Snack:

Whey protein shake: 24 grams

1 cup Greek yogurt: 19 grams

 

Dinner:

4 oz beef patty: 23 grams

Slice of American cheese: 5 grams

 

For a grand total of 135 grams of protein. Doable, right?

 

Once you have a diet that you can adhere to, and know for a fact that you’re in a calorie deficit, the next logical step is to focus on protein consumption.

 

If you’re tracking:

Multiply bodyweight X .8-1. That’s your protein intake. If you’re very obese, this is going to give you a crazy high number. Use the below prescription instead.

 

If you’re not tracking:

Men: Eat 6-8 palm-sized portions of protein dense food per day

Women: Eat 4-6 palm-sized portions of protein dense food per day

 

Fat

Just like protein, fat is an essential macronutrient. Under consuming fat can create serious health issues. (Notably, Omega-3 deficiencies and hormone production issues.)

 

High-fat, low-carb diets are extremely popular lately. I encourage you not to think of any diets as “bad” or “good”, some just work better for specific populations than others.

 

The most important factor of your diet isn’t how it’s perceived by the public, but your ability to adhere to it.

 

The ketogenic diet is especially popular. Ketosis is the process of your body essentially “switching fuel sources” after being deprived of carbohydrates. Your body now runs off of ketones (basically, fat) as its main fuel source.

 

Sooo doesn’t running off fat mean I burn more fat?

 

Well, yes and no. You do burn lots of fat.

 

You’re also eating lots more fat.

 

And just like any other diet, the keto diet only causes you to lose fat if you’re in a calorie deficit. Not by any magical fat burning properties that allow you to eat everything you want.

 

Carbs

Despite what you’ve heard, carbs don’t make you fat. Overeating any food or macro makes you fat.

 

Carbs are non-essential. You’ll be perfectly fine without ‘em.

 

Does that mean you should go keto? Not necessarily.

 

From the adherence perspective; if you love carbs, attempting to go low-carb is likely going to make your diet much harder to sustain.

 

From the physiological perspective; carbs are your body’s preferred fuel source. Low carb intake means your ability to generate explosive force is much more limited. This impacts your ability to build muscle and strength in training sessions.

 

None of this is to say low-carb diets are “bad”. Again, it’s just about finding the diet you enjoy most and can stick to.

 

 

Takeaways from all this macro talk:

• None of the macronutrients are “bad”.

• None of the macros “make you fat” in isolation. Over consuming calories from any combination of macronutrients makes you fat.

• You need adequate protein and fat to be healthy.

• Generally, a diet that is fairly balanced between the macronutrients is easiest to adhere to. That being said, find what works best for you.

 

Micronutrients

Many foods also contain key vitamins and minerals essential to staying healthy. These include:

 

Vitamin A- Good sources include...

 

Ugh ok. You’re gonna skim this boring ass list (at best) and forget it all. And writing a list of vitamins and their benefits sounds mind-numbing.

 

Let’s not make this complicated.

 

Basically, fruits and veggies + all unprocessed foods have tons of nutrients in ‘em. Your body needs these nutrients to function optimally. If you don’t eat enough of ‘em, you’ll feel crappy.

 

To feel good, and for optimal health, trying to eat mostly whole, unprocessed food is a good idea.

 

Eat a diverse diet, full of lots of colors.

 

And seriously. Eat some vegetables. At least a few servings a day.

 

Simple enough? Good. Thank you for not making me write that list.

 

 

Thus concludes “The Important Stuff”.

 

Shorter list than you expected?

 

Past this point is all the little things people who can’t lose weight get caught up in, while forgetting “The Important Stuff”. We’re not gonna go there.

 

Just know “The not-so-important stuff” includes: supplements, meal timing, sodium intake, etc... Waist wraps, detoxes, and juice cleanses don’t make any list, as they have zero effect on fat loss.

 

If you have any questions about the above, feel free to email me: jeremiah@bairfit.com. I'm happy to help.

 

COMING NEXT WEEK: STRATEGIES FOR CREATING A CALORIE DEFICIT (working title).

•  

 

 

*This blog is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of the guidelines herein is at the sole choice and risk of the reader.

 

(I wrote this blog assuming you know how many calories you consume daily. If you don't, go here: The Best Diet For Rapid Weight Loss)

 

 

Are you stuck at a weight loss plateau?

 

Is it hard for you to lose more than 5-10 lbs? (Which you inevitably regain once you get sick of dieting without results.)

 

Stalled weight loss is incredibly frustrating, and incredibly common.

 

90% of dieters never get the results they want. It’s not that they’re dieting “wrong”. They just don’t know how to adjust when progress inevitably stops.

 

 

Understanding Metabolism

To understand why progress stalls, you need to understand what’s going on with your metabolism as you diet.

 

The components of metabolism can be divided into four categories:

 

1. BMR: Basal metabolic rate. This is just the basal processes to run your body. Energy expended at rest.

 

2. TEF: Thermic effect of food. Calories burned from digestion. Approximately 10% of daily calorie burn.

 

3. TEE: Thermic effect of exercise. Calories burned through exercise. Approximately 5% of daily calorie burn.

 

4. NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Calories burned through movement outside of exercise. (Fidgeting, walking around the house, etc.). Varies. Usually at least 15% of daily calorie burn.

These four components account for the calories you burn through the day.

 

 

Metabolic Adaptation

You start a diet. You’re losing weight. Your goals actually seem achievable.

 

Annnnnd everything stops…..

 

What’s going on here?

 

Have you *gasp* damaged your metabolism?

 

No. It’s been shown you can’t really “damage” your metabolism. (For more on the infamous Minnesota Starvation Experiment, and how it debunks metabolic damage: The Metabolic Damage Myth)

 

What’s happening is a very natural, and normal process calledmetabolic adaptation.

 

Basically, as your body changes with dieting, your metabolism changes as well.

 

1. Your BMR drops as you lose weight. A smaller body burns fewer calories. This also applies to TEE, a smaller person will burn fewer calories during exercise.

 

2. TEF drops, since you’re eating less food.

 

3. Calories burned via NEAT also drop. When dieting, you’re depriving the body of energy (calories). You’re more lethargic, resulting in less daily movement. Step goals and increasing exercise help, but a decrease in calories burned here is inevitable.

 

Your body is getting smaller as you diet down, and burns fewer calories as it shrinks. Thus, your metabolism slows. This is inevitable.

 

 

 

 

To look at it from another perspective, weight loss comes down to:

 

Calories in < calories out = weight loss*

 

Metabolic adaptation causes the “calories out” side of your equation to decrease. So something in the equation needs to change for progress to resume.

 

And that’s why fat loss stalls, even when you don’t change your diet.

 

*Note: Hormones, stress, and lots of other factors affect the weight loss equation. But the issue for the majority of people who can’t lose weight isn’t hormonal, just failure to make the proper adjustments.

 

 

Are You Really Plateaued?

Before making any changes, make sure that you’re really at a plateau.

 

First, you need to be measuring progress consistently.

 

When it comes to weight, fluctuations are normal. Your weight will be all over the place on a weekly basis, and won’t give you accurate picture of your fat loss. Don’t change anything based on a week worth of data.

 

For weight, the monthly trend should be downwards. This is more grounds to make adjustments.

 

But, in some cases weight can be a pretty inaccurate measure of progress:

 

1. If you’re already pretty lean, or don’t weigh very much

 

2. If your main focus is body recomposition/you’re building a lot of muscle

 

This is why I also like clients to take body measurements: Chest, navel, hips, thighs.

 

If your weight is stuck, and measurements aren’t changing for 2+ weeks, it’s likely time to make a change.

 

Finally, make sure you’re measuring food accurately.

 

Your Myfitnesspal diary might look like:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

1 steak: 460 kcal ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

1 bowl of rice: 204 kcal ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Total calories: 664 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

When it should look like: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

8 oz ribeye (raw): 658 kcal ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

2 cups rice (cooked): 340 kcal

Total calories: 998 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

 

That’s a difference of 334 calories, for just one meal.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

 

If you’re aiming to eat 500 calories below maintenance levels, that essentially makes your fat loss efforts a wash.

 

Things you should be measuring: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

1. Fat sources. Avocados, nuts, cooking oils, etc. High fat foods are also the most calorie dense, and can easily add a sneaky couple hundred calories to your daily total.

2. Meats. Again, there’s a lot of difference between “1 steak” and “4 oz of ribeye. Like, hundreds of calories difference.

3. Stuff you’re eating in bowls. “One bowl of oatmeal”..“½ bowl of rice”.. “6 bowls of cereal”. You’re potentially leaving hundreds of calories unaccounted for. Whip out the measuring cups.

4. Anything currently tracked as: small, medium, or large. One medium banana. One large avocado. Lots of room for error here. Weigh ‘em.

 

Grab a cheap food scale and some measuring cups. A bit of measuring goes a long ways towards your fat loss.

 

 

 

 

Implementing Changes

Now that you’re sure you’re at a plateau, time to adjust.

 

A couple options here:

 

#1: Decrease calories.

When weight loss inevitably stalls, the first step is usually to decrease calories by 5-10%.

 

Why not just drop everyone into a huge deficit?

 

Well, you could.

 

But for most, losing .5-1% of your bodyweight per week is the ideal speed of weight loss.

 

Psychologically. Losing more than 1% of your body weight is straight up hard mentally. You’re gonna be super hungry. You’ll feel tired, cranky, and just not all there. It negatively affects your personal and work life.

 

From the ultra-important adherence aspect: you’re more likely to binge/fall of the wagon entirely due to being ultra-restrictive.

 

Physiologically: Losing faster than 1% of bodyweight weekly is much more likely to lead to muscle loss. If you want to look great at the end of your diet, prioritize holding onto as much muscle as possible. (For a free plan to help you build muscle, go here: Free Program )

 

So when you plateau, I always recommend you lower calories just enough to get back to losing .5-1% of bodyweight per week (again, look at monthly weight loss, not weekly).

 

It may take a few weeks longer, but it’ll be easier to stick it out, and you’re less likely to binge/rebound after the diet ends.

 

 

How To Decrease Calories

When reducing calories, the most important factor is overall calorie intake.

 

But, it’s super helpful to understand the benefits of each macronutrient: Protein, carbs, and fat.

 

All your foods are made up of some combination (or at least one) of these “macros”.

 

The calories per gram varies a bit by macro:

Protein: 4 kcal/gram

Carbohydrate: 4 kcal/gram

Fat: 9 kcal/gram

 

Sooo which ones do I reduce?

 

Protein intake: Try to avoid reducing protein intake below  .8-1 gram per lb of bodyweight daily. Keeping protein high is crucial because:

• Protein is essential to maintaining muscle mass as you diet.

• Protein has the highest TEF of all the macros. Eating a larger percentage of protein daily means more of the calories you eat are burned off through TEF.

• Protein is the most satiating of the macronutrients (it keeps ya full longer). The hardest thing about diets? You’re hungry. More protein helps.

 

Fat intake: in general, the lowest you want to take fat intake is 15% of calories. Much lower than this, and you start running the risk of EPA (Omega-3 fats) deficiencies.

 

 

Carb intake: Not really a floor here, you’ll survive just fine without carbs. However, you probably love carbs. Cutting ‘em too low will make your diet harder to adhere to. Higher carbs improve training performance.

 

Basically, always keep you protein higher. Carbs and fats are going to have to take a hit. Try to keep carbs as high as possible, as long as possible. But due to them being the only macro without a “floor”, they’re usually the one that takes the biggest hit.

 

 

 

 

Got it? Let’s look at a hypothetical client- Gerald.

 

Gerald’s stats:

• Weight: 200 lbs

• Calories: 2505 per day

  • 200 grams protein

  • 280 grams carbs

  • 65 grams fat

Gerald has plateaued, and wants to drop calories by 10%.

 

2505 X .1 = 250 kcal

 

We wanna keep Gerald’s protein as is (BW X 1).

 

Gerald enjoys a high fat diet, so we want to keep his fat a bit higher if possible.

 

That being said, we know Gerald’s training performance will take a hit if we drop carbs too low.

 

So, we’ll pull the 250 calories evenly from carbs and fat.

-14 grams fat or 126 kcal (14 x 9)

-31 grams carbs or 124 kcal (31 x 4)

For a total deduction of 250 calories.

 

Gerald’s new intake:

• Calories: 2255 per day

  • 200 grams protein

  • 249 grams carbs

  • 51 grams fat

 

 

#2: Increase activity.

Your second option is to simply move more.

 

This is much less practical than controlling calories.

 

If you don’t know how many calories you’re eating, figure that out before you focus on increasing movement.

 

Movement can only increased so much. To prevent mental burnout, and to give your body enough time to recover enough to perform at a adequate level next week, I never prescribe more than 6 training sessions per week (cardio + resistance training sessions combined)

 

At first glance, pushing exercise + cardio makes sense. But going too hard here is detrimental to your fat loss.

 

Know what happens when you push it really hard in the gym, while also restricting food? You constantly feel run down and under-recovered. You feel lethargic, resulting in your daily movement outside of the gym decreasing. This lowers total calories burned, and you’re more or less where you started, but exercising a lot more.

 

So don’t overdo this one. The best approach is generally: slightly increasing activity and slightly decreasing calories when you plateau.

 

To  implement more exercise, you have a few options.

 

1. Add another resistance training day.

• Going from 3-4 days strength training is a good option for most. I start most new clients resistance training 3 times per week. Adding another training day is a natural part of the progression of increasing training volume. Plus, most are ready and excited to take on more. Most are willing to make this trade-off.

• The jump from 4 to 5 training days is much less realistic, as most don’t want to be in the gym 5 times a week. More than 5x/week is unrealistic for most, and leads to burnout.Add more cardio/another cardio day.  

 

2. LISS. Low intensity steady state cardio.

• Start here when adding cardio. It’s the easiest (adherence) + promotes quicker recovery.

• Increase your step goal, and focus on moving more throughout the day. For most, around the 10K mark is doable without significantly taking from your life.

3. MISS. Moderate intensity steady state cardio.

• This is normally the second option, used to add a cardio day after implementing NEAT increases and more training.

• The rowing machine, stairmill, and elliptical, and bike are solid options here. They’re all relatively low stress on the body.

• Running beats up most people’s joints, and creates a lot of additional stress you have to recover from (with your already very limited recovery resources). I don’t recommend most people run for MISS.

• Start by implementing 1-2, 20-30 minutes MISS sessions per week.

4. HIIT. High-intensity interval training.

• HIIT type training is much more stressful on the body, and takes more time to recover from. Limit this to 2-3 sessions per week.

• I like HIIT after resistance training sessions, when you’re already in a “stressed” state. Doing HIIT on off days creates another day where your body has to recover from a huge amount of stressful activity.

• Choose an exercise like: battle ropes, med ball slams, rowing machine, kettlebell swings, bike sprints, etc. (Choose moves without much of a “negative” or you’ll be incredibly sore.)

• 4-8 rounds: 30 seconds all out effort/60-90 seconds rest.

 

 

 

Implementation

Again, the goal here is to do as little as possible to keep you losing .5-1% of bodyweight per week (on a monthly basis).

For a new client, we would start somewhere like:

 

 

Stage 1:

3x/week gull body workouts

2500 calories

7k steps per day

 

With good compliance, this will get results within the parameters we want for at least 1-2 months.

 

When progress stalls, we discuss the trade-offs the client is willing to make. Normally, it’s a calorie drop + increased steps

 

 

Stage 2:

2250 calories/day

3x/week full body workouts

8k steps/day

 

When progress stalls again, the client is likely hungrier, and not as will to drop calories as much. But they are feeling ready to take on more work in the gym.

 

Stage 3:

2100 calories/day

4x/week upper/lower workouts

8k steps per day.

 

This should buy us quite a bit of progress. Past this point, we’re really starting to push.

 

 

Stage 4:

1900 calories/day

4x/week upper/lower training workouts

10k steps per day

 

 

Stage 5:

1800 calories per day

4x/week upper/lower workouts

MISS Cardio 2 30-minute sessions/week

10k steps per day

 

….And so on and so forth.

 

 

If we just jumped from Stage 1 to Stage 5, the client would have been overwhelmed, and likely not have been able to stick to the plan, making them conclude that once again, they just can’t succeed at fitness. Which is the last thing we want.

 

Prioritizing adherence always leads to more sustainable results.

 

If you have questions about any of this, I'd love to help. Email me at: jeremiah@bairfit.com

 

 

Every dude wants bigger arms.

 

Straight up, for most all of us, the first movement we gravitated to in the gym was probably the bicep curl.

 

Takes me back to my early training days. My training partner and I were on a strict “chest + arms daily” routine.

 

“Lol you’re doing squats?? Girls aren’t gonna look at your legs.” I laughed at a friend that had the audacity to train legs.

 

I’ve come a long ways, ok?

 

 

But anyways. You want bigger arms.

 

Here’s how to do it:

 

#1: Don’t neglect the compound movements.

You work your biceps any time you do a pull movement. You work your triceps any time you push. So you’re still getting an “arm workout” in, even if you’re targeting your chest or back.

 

Now, some people preach that you can build a great pair of arms from strictly getting extremely strong at the compound movements.

 

This is true. Somebody that can bench and row 300+ lbs will likely have big arms.

 

But… building up to a 300+ lb bench and row takes a really long time. Years. If big arms are a priority, focusing strictly on compound movements is far from the most effective/efficient way to get big arms quickly.

 

That being said, it’s crucial that you don’t neglect compound movements.

 

The compound moves are a great way to add volume to your biceps and triceps. Just not the only method you should use if arms are a priority.

 

Plus, if you only focus on arms, without building the rest of your body, you’ll look ridiculous.

 

 

#2: Lots of direct arm work.

Your goal is to hypertrophy (a.k.a grow) the muscles of the arms. The main driver of hypertrophy is volume (sets X reps X weight). So, to a certain extent more volume equals more growth. (Again, to a certain extent. There’s a point of diminishing returns here.)

 

How to increase arm volume:

Per #1, don’t do your direct arm work before your compound movements. It’ll significantly hinder the effectiveness you’re able to train the rest of your body with afterwards. Arms come after compound moves.

 

Honestly, the easiest way to track your volume is just thinking of it as number of hard sets per muscle. Increase this, and you’re increasing the growth stimulus your arms are receiving weekly. (For an awesome article on volume, check out: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/the-new-approach-to-training-volume/ )

 

Figure out the total number of sets you’re doing for your biceps and triceps each week currently. Increase it by 3-6.

 

I’d start by adding in your extra sets to days where you previously weren’t training arms. For most, this means tacking on 3-4 sets of direct arm work after leg days. This also increases the frequency you’re hitting your arms with.

 

 

#3: Find the mind-muscle connection.

Ever notice how your weakest muscle groups are also the ones that are hardest to “feel” working? That’s not a coincidence.

 

To build a muscle to its full potential, you need to be able to fully activate and fatigue its muscle fibers.

 

If you can’t feel your biceps or triceps working, you’re probably doing some combination of the following:

 

1. Lifting too heavy.Go to heavy on isolation movements and form gets sloppy. You start recruiting other muscle groups, which do the work you want done by your biceps or triceps.

 

2. No quality contraction. At the “top” of every rep (top of the curl for biceps, elbows fully extended for triceps) focus on really squeezing the desired muscle. Do this every rep. Practicing squeezing/flexing the muscle while loaded builds the mind-muscle connection. It also helps the muscle pump.

 

3. Lifting too fast. Tying into a and b, if you’re performing your isolation movements too quickly, the mind-muscle connection will be poor, and you’re likely recruiting other muscle groups along with the arms.

 

Slow down. Focus on creating lots of tension in the desired muscle. Incorporate a 2-3 count in both the concentric and eccentric of the lift.

 

 

#4: Don’t neglect the triceps

When we think big arms, we automatically picture big biceps. But the triceps are just as important to making your arms look big. Lagging triceps will make your arms look unbalanced and unimpressive. Train ‘em with the same number of sets you train your biceps with.

 

 

 

“Get ripped in two weeks with the SuperShred-69 fat burner!... And don’t forget to use my promo code.”

-J. Swollzz, Instagram Fitness Model

 

Ever tried a fat burner?

 

How’d that work for ya?

 

Most everyone has tried some type of fat burner, detox, etc. expecting dramatic results...and…..nothing.

 

The problem is, supplement industry is crazy good at selling on the idea that “the thing” is out there somewhere.

 

The thing?

 

You know, "the thing" that’s finally gonna get you the body you want, without having to put in years of hard work and consistency.

 

 

Does “the thing” really exist?

Truth is, most supplements do little to nothing.

 

Really, any legal supplement isn’t going to make a big difference in your physique.

 

As far as order of importance for changing your body, supplements are the last thing you should worry about. The change you’ll get from a supplement is miniscule, at best.

 

Important stuff:

1. Calorie intake in alignment with your goals

2. Training consistently

3. Sleeping 7-9 hours per night

4. Lots of daily movement

5. Managing stress

6. Proper macronutrient intake

…….

   99. Supplements

 

 

That being said, are there any supplements that are worth the money?

 

*A Note On Proprietary Blends:

Supplement labels often include “proprietary blends”. This allows for the total amount of ingredients in the blend to be listed, while leaving the exact amount of each individual ingredient unspecified.

 

Taking supplements containing proprietary blends is much more likely to be a health hazard.

 

Finally, do your own research. The following is purely informative, not a recommendation. It’s up to you to determine if a supplement is safe to take.

 

 

Supplements that are potentially worth your money:

 

Creatine Monohydrate:

Creatine is an extremely well researched supplement, with the most effective form being creatine monohydrate.

 

Our bodies use creatine phosphate for as a fuel source for the first few seconds of intense or explosive movement/exercise. Think of supplementing with creatine as “topping off the tank”. It allows you to maintain high-intensity exercise for slightly longer.

 

This means an increase in strength, and overall workload you’re able to handle in the gym, equating to building more muscle. (1)

 

That being said, the effects of creatine are far from “steroid-like”, but it is a proven supplement to aid building muscle and strength.

 

Recommended dose:

3-5g/day

 

 

Caffeine

We’re all well-versed in/potentially addicted to this one.

 

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant. Although considered a psychoactive drug, its use is extremely common and mostly unregulated.

 

Of all the supplements on this list, caffeine has by far the most noticeable effects. Not only does caffeine boost mood, alertness and mental clarity, it also has some real benefits to your workouts.

 

Research shows that caffeine decreases perceived effort, increases power output, and improves endurance. (2)(3)(4)

 

Not that you needed an excuse for more caffeine, but it’s a real performance booster.

 

Recommended Dose:

200-400mg/day

 

Protein Powders

If you’re able to hit your daily protein requirements entirely from whole foods, there’s no need to use a protein powder. Protein powders are lacking many of the micronutrients that quality, whole food protein sources will have.

 

But, if you’re struggling to meet your daily protein requirements, supplementing with a protein powder can be helpful.

 

Whey protein and casein proteins have the best amino acid profiles of available protein powders. They're the easiest for your body to absorb and use. It’s debatable which is superior. The body digests whey protein quicker than casein protein.

 

Whey and casein protein are derivatives of milk. So if animal products are a no-go for you: pea or rice proteins have the best amino acid profiles.

 

Recommended Dose:

Varies

 

 

Multi-vitamin

Getting all of your micronutrients from whole foods is ideal.

 

Ideal, but not always realistic. Taking a multivitamin is a good way to ensure your daily micronutrient needs are met.

 

Recommended Dose:

Varies. Follow daily recommendation for your multivitamin

 

 

Vitamin D

We obtain vitamin D naturally through food and sunlight.

 

The issue? Most of us don’t get enough time in the sun, and the amount of vitamin D is negligible in most foods outside of fatty fish. As a result, vitamin D deficiency is extremely common

 

Taking a vitamin D or Cod liver oil supplement can be extremely helpful in preventing this deficiency.

 

Recommended Dose:

1,000-2,000 IU per day

 

 

Beta-alanine

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid. Supplementing with it has been shown to improve muscular endurance for exercise lasting longer than 1-minute, and less than 4 minutes.

 

It’s not super common that your straight sets in the gym will hit this timeframe, so beta-alanine will have the most carryover to high-rep sets, supersets, and even high-intensity interval type training.

 

This was a fringe pick. The effect beta-alanine has is pretty small. Nonetheless, it’s been proven to make a slight difference in performance.

 

Recommended Dose:

4g/day

 

 

Some supplements really can help increase performance, or be beneficial in hitting your nutrient needs. Just don’t get caught up in the minutiae of things like supplements, and forget to focus on the things that really make a difference when it comes to changing your body.

 

Sources:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10449017

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15773860

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26890974

4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28409508

 

 

Ok, so this is a touchy one.

 

Do you need to eat all organic food?

 

Your intuition would say yes. Right?

 

Organic should = healthier.

 

Organic foods are just the way mother nature intended ‘em to be. They have to be more… just.. better for you.. right?

 

 

Admittedly, I’m no expert on this topic. And I’m honestly surprised with how much controversy there is when it comes to the importance of eating organic foods.

 

 

Nutritional Value

I love this excerpt from "10 Essential Characteristics of a Healthy Diet":

 

“One way to overpay for food is by subscribing to the organic label, which often doubles the price. But is it worth it? Thus far, a substantial body of research evidence says no. Consecutive systematic reviews have recently concluded that there’s no difference in nutrient quality or nutrition-related health advantages between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs.” (1)

 

Links to said studies:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19640946

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22944875

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20463045

 

Basically, we perceive organic foods to be much more nutritious, and therefore worth the hefty price tag. In reality, the nutritional difference between organically and conventionally produced foods seems to be fairly negligible.

 

 

What About Pesticides?

Ok, so maybe not a big difference in nutritional value. But what about pesticides?

 

From The American Academy Of Pediatrics:

“In terms of health advantages, organic diets have been convincingly demonstrated to expose consumers to fewer pesticides associated with human disease…….current evidence does not support any meaningful nutritional benefits or deficits from eating organic compared with conventionally grown foods, and there are no well-powered human studies that directly demonstrate health benefits or disease protection as a result of consuming an organic diet.” (2)

 

Eating an organic diet definitely reduces your exposure to potentially disease causing pesticides. The problem is, the question: “How much pesticide exposure is too much/when do I need to worry?” doesn’t have a definitive answer. But pesticide exposure definitely merits concerns.

 

 

So, should you eat an all organic diet?

My two cents: get your other “healthy lifestyle factors” in alignment first.

 

Despite the added nutritional benefits of organic foods being small at best, pesticide exposure is still concerning.

 

But, there’s honestly a lot of other things that’ll kill ya before eating non-organic produce.

 

If you’re smoking, overweight, undersleeping, not exercising regularly, or even overstressed; get that figured out first.

 

 

Sources:

1. http://www.alanaragonblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/10-Essential-Characteristics-of-a-Healthy-Diet.pdf

2. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2012/10/15/peds.2012-2579.full.pdf

 

 

 

Low reps vs. high reps. Which is better?

 

 

Honestly, it depends on your goals: strength or size?

 

 

Specificity For Strength

To an extent, getting stronger means you’re building muscle. And getting bigger muscles means you're probably building a bit of strength as well.

 

A big part of getting stronger with extremely heavy loads is neurological adaptation.

 

Basically, your central nervous system gets better at firing motor neurons, to produce movement. The more your practice lifting heavy loads, the more efficient your body gets at the process, allowing you to lift more weight, without necessarily building more muscle.

 

So if your goal is purely to get strong/lift heavy weight, lift lots of heavy weights for low reps.

 

 

Hypertrophy

Training for hypertrophy means your main focus is on increasing the size of your muscles.

 

If hypertrophy is your goal, your rep ranges don’t need to be near as specific.

 

You can build muscle in a wide variety of rep ranges, if effort is similar. The effort put into the set is key.

 

Essentially, if you’re lifting light weight, you need to be able to push it to 1-3 reps of failure to force muscle adaptation. This is the concept of effective reps.

 

 

Effective reps

As you fatigue a muscle, you must continuously recruit more muscle fibers to finish the set. As you get closer to failure, reps become more effective at stimulating muscle growth, because you’re fatiguing more muscle fibers.

 

Reps closer to failure stimulate more muscle growth than reps further from failure. “Effective reps”.

 

Let’s say you’re squatting. You do 12 reps with a weight you could do for 30. Not gonna create much change. You’re simply not recruiting very many muscle fibers at this point.

 

Now say you do 5 reps with a weight you could only do for 7. Despite doing fewer reps, this set will still elicit more change. The set was taken much closer to failure, and more muscle fibers were fatigued during the process.

 

Anywhere in the 3-30 rep range can give you similar muscle gain, but you need to be able to push the weight to 1-3 reps from failure.

 

 

Exercise Specific Considerations

All that considered, some exercises lend themselves better to the low-moderate rep ranges.

 

Imagine yourself doing a 30 rep sets of barbell squats, with the 30th rep bringing you to the brink of failure. Do you feel sick yet? I do. At the least, you’ll be sucking wind by the end of the set.

 

To muster a similar effort the next set, you’re going to need a lot of recovery time between sets. Compare to a set of 10 to near failure, where 2-3 minutes rest is plenty. For the sake of time, the compound movements generally are more efficient in the low to moderate rep ranges.

 

Isolation exercises are a different story. The goal is to isolate a specific muscle group. Loading isolation exercises too heavy forces other muscle groups to compensate. Ever try to test your 3 rep max on lateral raises?

 

Isolation exercises lend themselves better to higher reps. The goal of isolation exercises isn’t to overload a muscle group with as much weight as possible. Compound exercises do that much more effectively.

 

Your focus on isolation exercises should be creating more “metabolic stress” (creating a pump, feeling the desired muscle burn). This is beneficial to hypertrophy, and much easier to achieve in the higher rep ranges.

 

 

If your goals are purely strength based, lift mostly in the low rep ranges.

 

If your goals are a mix of strength and aesthetics, train in a variety of rep ranges for the best results.

 

 

 

Are artificial sweeteners going to kill you?

 

The thing with artificial sweeteners- do they have any health benefits? No.

 

But there isn’t really a case yet that they’re detrimental to your health.

 

 

The two most common artificial sweeteners are Aspartame and Sucralose.

 

Aspartame in particular has gotten a bad rap.

 

Is it warranted?

 

Ehhh.. no well done studies have shown any negative effect from aspartame or sucralose, unless consumed in absolutely absurd amounts.

 

Now, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners have been alter gut flora. But it’s not known if the effect they have on the gut is negative.

 

 

Know what else wreaks havoc on the gut flora? Highly processed foods.

 

If you’re consuming tons of processed foods, your gut flora is going to be wrecked, artificial sweetener or no.

 

 

If swapping a higher calorie food/drink for a lower calorie food/drink containing artificial sweeteners helps you get healthier, it’s probably worth the “not yet established, but maybe there- risk” of eating artificial sweeteners.

 

If Splenda + black coffee allows you to quit drinking 400+ calorie frappes, it’s probably the healthier choice, right?

 

 

Now, like most everything else, it’s probably wise to consume artificial sweeteners in moderation. We’re not really sure the long-term effects they’ll have.

 

Realistically, could long-term studies 30 years from now prove that artificial sweeteners are a potential health risk? Sure.

 

But, how many people will already be dead in 30 years due to never getting healthy in the first place?

 

So many people never get healthy. Usually because they get caught up in minutiae, like eliminating artificial sweeteners, and neglect the stuff that really makes a difference for your health: energy balance, resistance training, sleep, daily movement.

 

Point is: if you’re worried about artificial sweeteners, but don’t know how many calories you’re eating in a day, your priorities are backwards.

 

Artificial sweeteners aren’t the biggest thing when it comes to your health.

 

 

If it’s something that allows you to break an unhealthy habit; consuming artificial sweeteners is probably gonna be a lot less unhealthy/less likely to kill you than being overweight.

 

 

Why is it that everyone’s solution to losing a few lbs is to start running?

 

There’s a common misconception: Cardio is the main catalyst of fat loss.

 

How many times have you heard: “You have to do cardio to lose weight”?

 

Thankfully, this is untrue. The cardio-fat loss relationship is greatly misunderstood.

 

 

Truth is, your diet is the main catalyst of fat loss. You gotta be in a calorie deficit to lose body fat.

 

After diet, prioritize weightlifting. Just like cardio, you burn calories lifting weights (albeit not as many as with cardio, but more on that later.) You also build lots of muscle. Muscle speeds up your metabolism.The more muscle you have, the easier it is to get lean.

 

Finally, we have cardio. It also burns calories, so it’s a helpful tool in creating a larger calorie deficit.

 

 

Buuut there’s a few issues:

 

Cardio is easy to adapt to.  An intense weightlifting or cardio session is a stress on your body, that leaves you sore and hurting. Your body wants to adapt to the stress, so it can better handle it next time around. This leads to adaptations such as better cardiovascular endurance, stronger muscles, etc.

 

Once you’re fully adapted to a stressor, that stress must change or increase to continue to force adaptation. With weightlifting, this is as easy as adding a bit of weight to the bar, or a rep or two, and viola, new stimulus.

 

With cardio, basically your only option is continuously doing more and more cardio. A lot harder to scale than lifting a bit more weight. Plus, as you adapt to cardio, the amount of calories you burn drop.

 

Cardio can also actually slow your metabolism. Exercise is basically sending your body a “signal” to adapt to, dependent on the activity. Get stronger. Get faster. You get the point.

 

Lots of cardio sends your body the signal endurance is its biggest priority. To be better at endurance, your body needs to be sparing with calories. So it slows the metabolism. Makes fat loss a bit harder.

 

The exception to this is HIIT training, which has been shown to speed up your metabolism a bit. But again, HIIT won’t change your body like weightlifting will.

 

This seems like a lot of trash talk on cardio. But it does have its place in your routine.

 

 

When to use cardio:

Think of cardio as a tool to use sparingly when necessary, not as the main driver of fat loss. Say you’ve hit a plateau. You have all of the following on point.

 

*Lift weights 3-5 times per week.

*Diet is on point. Consistent tracking, mostly whole foods, sufficient protein.

*Walking 8,000-10,000 steps per day

 

Got all those down? Probably time to add a bit of cardio. If not, get all your other ducks in a row first, and progress will resume. Re-evaluate at your next plateau.

 

 

Honestly, sometimes in a fat loss phase you’ll need the extra calorie burn cardio provides. Cardio can also be helpful in improving your aerobic capacity, allowing you to recover quicker between sets. It also decreases your risk of heart disease.

 

If your goals are simply to look better, feel better, move better: Prioritize weight training.

 

 

Where to even start with weight loss?

 

Honestly, weight loss is simple.

 

 

It all comes down to energy balance:

calories/energy in < calories/energy out = fat loss.

 

 

That being said, it’s way too easy to over complicate your weight loss plan. The more complex your plan is, the harder it’ll be to stick too.

 

Let’s make it simple. Just master one step at a time. Once you have a step mastered, move on to the next.

 

 

Step 1: Eat more nutrient dense foods

 

A sucky part of weight loss? You’re going to be hungry. And often.

 

The hungrier you are, the harder it is to stay on track.

 

One of the easiest ways to fight the hunger? Eat more whole foods, foods that have been processed of refined as little as possible.

 

Whole foods are generally less calorie dense than processed foods, so they have more volume per calorie. More food volume means ya feel full, longer. Makes your diet easier.

 

Processed foods are designed to be hyperpalatable. Basically, engineered to make you want to eat more. Not quite ideal for your calorie count.

 

Whole foods are also packed with nutrients, essential to helping you perform and feel amazing.

 

Action step: Focus on eating primarily whole, unprocessed foods.

 

 

Step 2: Move more

 

Go for a walk.

 

Think about the “calories out” side of the energy balance equation. The more you move, the more energy you burn. More movement means more weight loss.

 

First, resistance training is huge. Focusing on getting strong in the gym 2-4 times a week will make a massive difference in your weight loss. Don’t worry too much about traditional cardio right now.

 

Outside of the gym, focus on increasing non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT for short. NEAT is everything you do outside the gym that burns calories.

 

As you diet down, your body subconsciously reduces the amount of “fidgeting” type movements you make. This helps conserve energy/calories. It also slows fat loss. A daily movement goal helps counteract this.

 

Action step: Set a daily step goal. 8,000-10,000 steps a day is a great place to start.

 

 

Step 3: Sleep

 

Lack of sleep will kill your fat loss dreams.

 

Too little sleep leads to increased levels of cortisol, A.K.A “The Stress Hormone”. High cortisol levels have lots of negative effects on your body.

Notably for fat loss, when cortisol is released, ghrelin “the hunger hormone” is released with it. Ghrelin in turn stimulates your appetite. (The cortisol-ghrelin relationship is also part of why you want to eat when you’re stressed.)

 

Under-sleeping also means your training sessions will be harder to recover from, and will make it harder to hold on to as much muscle as you lose weight.

 

When you don’t sleep enough: you’re hungrier, you’re more stressed, you have trouble building muscle and recovering, and less energy to devote to your life.

 

Action step: Make sleeping 7-8 hours a night a priority.

 

 

Step 4: Eat more protein

 

Protein is crucial to keep your body functioning properly. It helps your body build more muscle, keeps bones healthy, helps with hormone production, and many other processes.

 

Without enough protein, your body starts breaking down it’s own proteins, often from muscle, to keep functioning.

 

A decent amount of muscle and balanced hormones will help tremendously in dropping body fat.

 

Protein takes more energy for your body to digest than the other macronutrients. So basically, eating more calories from protein adds less to the “calories in” side of the energy balance equation than eating the same caloric amount in another macronutrient.

 

Action step: Focus on eating more protein. But don’t forget about the other macronutrients, they’re important too. When you start tracking: .8-1 grams of protein per lb of bodyweight, daily, is a good target.

 

 

Step 5: Start tracking calories

 

Now that everything else is on point, time to start tracking your calories.

 

Back to energy balance. When energy in is less than energy out you’ve created a calorie deficit. Gotta have a calorie deficit for weight loss.

 

All the previous steps have helped ya create a deficit without tracking. You have all those on lock now. Time to ensure your calories are exactly where they need to be.

 

To establish what’s a deficit for you, you first need to know what calorie intake you maintain your current body composition at.

 

 

Finding maintenance calorie intake:

 

Track everything you eat for the next week in MyFitnessPal or FatSecret.

 

At the start of the week, weigh yourself daily first thing in the morning, before eating or drinking. At the end of the week, weigh yourself again, under the same circumstances.

 

If at the end of the week:

 

You maintained weight: you’ve found your maintenance calories. Add up the total of every calorie you ate the last seven days, then divide by seven. This is your daily maintenance calorie intake.

 

You lost weight: You’re already in a deficit. If weight loss was in the 1-2 lb range, stay at this intake. If weight loss was 3 lbs or more (unless you have a large amount of weight to lose), you’re probably not eating enough.

 

You gained weight: Try dropping calories by 10% for the next week.

Also keep in mind the different factors that could be causing weight: (time of the month, lots of sodium yesterday, need to use the bathroom, etc.)

 

The lowest healthy calorie intake for weight loss is around 10 X bodyweight for most. (200 lbs X 10 = 2000 kcal). If you’re maintaining or gaining below this mark, consider reverse dieting. Check this out: THE DAMAGE: Reverse Dieting Made Easy

 

 

Weight loss doesn’t have to be complicated. Consistency with these steps + time will get ya the results you want.