Losing weight is no easy task.
It doesn’t matter if you have 20, 50, or 100+ pounds to lose, dropping fat and building a fit body takes hard work and consistency. I know this to be true from my own experiences battling obesity.
Over the past few years, I have lost over 140 pounds. I have slowly but surely built the lean and fit body that I’ve always wanted.
It may seem like I had all of the right answers and “best” tactics for dropping weight. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is that I struggled…BADLY. First off, it took me years of starting and failing to finally begin making a consistent change with my body. When I did start losing weight consistently, it was through chronic cardio and extremely low-calorie dieting. My excessive approach towards diet and exercise eventually caused me to developed low testosterone, hypothyroidism, and a slowed metabolism. I also sacrificed my social life in my pursuit of the “perfect” body. I avoided going out with friends in fear of overeating, and I regularly made up excuses as to why I couldn’t hang out. These are just a few of the mistakes I made. The list of screw ups I went through during my journey is far too long to try and fit into this one blog post. I was one of the lucky ones who fought through all of the mistakes and pains of losing weight, and I eventually reached my goal. It could have been much easier. If I had just known about a few fundamental truths regarding weight loss and getting fit, I could have achieved my results in half the time. And it would have been far less stressful. I can’t go back in time and change what I did. I can share the experience and strategies I learned with others who are trying to lose weight. Implementing these strategies will make losing weight easier and get you to your dream body faster than you thought possible!
Strategy #1 – Be Prepared
Most people wanting to lose weight simply jump into exercising and eating healthier with no clear plan in mind.
While moving more and eating less can work in the short-term, it’s only a matter of time before you hit a plateau in progress. Obtaining a lean, muscular physique requires that you pay close attention to your calorie intake and a properly designed resistance training regimen.
Before you begin losing weight, make sure that you do your homework. Find a diet and exercise plan that is proven to work and get results. I suggest you find a routine that is designed using science-based research. Also, reach out to other people who have followed the same program and ask them if they found it effective. Another suggestion I have is to remove any tempting foods from your house. Building healthy habits and momentum is extremely important in the early stages of losing weight. Throwing out foods like ice cream, cookies, or anything else that may tempt you to overeat is an excellent way to ensure you stick to your plan. You don’t have to eliminate these foods forever. However, it’s imperative to create a healthy environment early on so that you don’t give in before you start seeing results. Once the scale weight begins to drop and you start looking slimmer in the mirror, you will probably have enough motivation and willpower to allow for a few treats here and there.
Before you worry about supplements and all the “little rocks,” make sure you’re taking care of the “big rocks.”
Strategy #2 – Know What the Heck You’re Eating!
While having a weight loss plan is better than nothing, the best plans are those that involve tracking calories and macronutrients.
No matter what diet you follow, it always comes back to the law of thermodynamics.
Energy In – Energy Out = Weight Gain/Loss
You must consume LESS energy than your body expends to lose weight. This creates the calorie deficit necessary for weight loss. But why do people lose weight when they follow a Paleo or Vegan diet? The reason that people lose weight when they switch to a particular diet style like paleo or vegan has nothing to do with the actual diet itself. Rather it is the fact they are “accidently” falling into a calorie deficit. When someone switches from eating a diet of mostly processed sugar and liquid calories to a diet consisting of fruit, vegetables, and lean meats, it only makes sense that they will eat fewer calories. This can work, but your results will be inconsistent. Your weight loss will be unpredictable. Instead of “accidentally” eating in a calorie deficit, why not track your intake from the start? A lot of people like to hate on tracking calories and macros and say that it takes too much time and effort. I disagree. While it takes some time up front to learn about calories, macros, and tracking portion sizes, the benefits you’ll get from will aid you during your weight loss journey. This will make sustaining a lean, healthy physique easier than ever. Tracking food will help you become a master of estimating and eyeballing portion sizes even when you can’t accurately track your food using a scale or measuring cups.
Strategy #3 – Avoid Eating Extremely Low Calories
A common mistake I see people making (and one I made myself) is creating too large of a calorie deficit from the beginning.
I can understand why this is an appealing approach. It can be incredibly motivating to see a drastic drop in scale weight early on.
The problem is that the “5-pound swooshes” won’t last forever. You’ll likely find that eating extremely low calories is unsustainable and unenjoyable after a few weeks (duh!). Along with having an immediate drop in energy and excessive hunger, going too low in calories from the start can set you up for problems later. Weight loss plateaus are a part of losing weight. You’ll eventually hit one during your journey. If you are extremely restrictive with calories from the start, you’ll quickly reach a point where you can’t reduce your calories any more. You will have to implement more exercise to create a calorie deficit. Keep your calorie deficit moderate (no more than a 20-25% reduction in calories from the start). This way you can lose weight and have room to drop calories when your progress begins to slow down.
Eat the oat bowls. Eat all of them. Well, maybe not ALL.
Strategy #4 – Pick Things Up and Put Things Down!
One weight loss mistake that really upsets me is when people don’t utilize weight lifting.
I know from personal experience that avoiding weight lifting will result in less than desirable results. Weight lifting is incredibly important during a diet because it helps to retain muscle mass while you’re eating in a calorie deficit.
I’m sure you’ve seen someone who has lost weight and appears lean in the upper body and lower body but still has fat around their midsection. This look is referred to as skinny fat. It is typically the result of neglecting proper strength training during a diet. It’s not that most people don’t want to lift weights. Rather they are simply unaware of the amazing benefits of proper strength training while dieting. Most people think of weight loss and only associate it with fat loss. The truth is that losing weight will result in both fat loss AND muscle loss. Weightlifting is one of the best ways to ensure that you retain muscle during a diet. Then the majority of the weight you do lose is coming from fat. It’s even possible to gain small amounts of muscle from lifting while in a calorie deficit, though this is typically only seen in beginners. There is also a psychological benefit for lifting weights. Losing weight is a slow process. A commonly recommended rate of weight loss is somewhere around 2 pounds a week. If you have more than 30 pounds to lose, you can do the math and realize that it’s going to take more than a few months to get the excess weight off. Because of this slow change, relying on weight loss progress as motivation each day can start to run thin. By lifting weights, you can fill this void and have another form of progress to work towards. Lifting weights can provide new motivation through weekly strength gains. You’ll also see quicker changes in the mirror as you build muscle and lose fat.
That’s it. Lift the heavy stuff.
Strategy #5 – Don’t Be a Cardio Bunny
While some take calorie restriction way too far, there is another camp of people who completely ignore their diet and rely on cardio alone to lose weight.
The problem is that cardio is not very effective for long-term weight loss success (source). While cardio can aid in your weight loss endeavors, relying on it alone is only going to result in disappointment.
When it comes to cardio, only use it as much as you have to. Similar to how you should start with a moderately aggressive calorie deficit, start with no more than 1-2 cardio sessions a week. This way you can add more in later when you hit a plateau. Also, make sure that you are using the right kinds of cardio. Your performance during your strength training workouts should be your highest priority while losing weight. Trying to run half-marathons alongside this will likely lead to overtraining. Instead, use a less taxing form of cardio. An example would be to go for 30-45 minute walks on your off days from the gym. Walking will allow you to be active and burn a few hundred calories extra without causing unnecessary stress. If you do opt for a more intense form of cardio, I recommend using HIIT cardio. HIIT is a great way to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. Just be sure that you are only doing a few sessions a week at the most.
Strategy #6 – Embrace the Journey
Far too often people treat weight loss and fitness as a destination rather than a life long journey.
This mindset can only lead to failure in the long-term. Whether your goal is to lose 20 pounds or 100 pounds, you should focus on both short-term and long-term success.
The best way to go about doing this is to choose an exercise and nutrition regimen that you actually enjoy doing. Remember – the best fitness program is the one you can stick with for the long haul. If you like CrossFit, do CrossFit, If you like strength training, lift some heavy @#$ weights! What’s important is that you stay consistent with your routine. You could have the best workout program and diet plan in the world, but if you don’t follow it, results will never come.
Use these Strategies to Boost your Fitness Results
There is a lot of conflicting advice out there about losing weight and getting fit.
It can get overwhelming, to say the least. If you just want to lose weight, then any old approach will work if you stay consistent.
However, if your goal is to maximize fat loss, retain or even build muscle, and get to your goal physique as quickly as possible, follow the strategies above to choose a plan that will get you there!
About the Author
Carter Good is a personal trainer, weight loss coach and blogger. He has lost over 140 pounds and has made it his life goal to help others achieve the same physical and mental transformation towards better health.
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