At some point, everyone wants to shift a few pounds or feel a bit more confident on the beach. At Quay Fitness all of our Personal Trainers are even busier than normal right now for this exact reason. Everyone is starting to look forward to their summer plans and many people decide that they want to start to feel a little bit leaner.
Here are some of my top fat loss tips to get you the results you want and get you ready for those summer plans:
- Set a realistic goal: It is so easy to want dramatic fat loss overnight. But sadly fat loss takes time and true fat loss only works from slow sustainable dieting. It is easy to lose 10 pounds in a week if you starve yourself and exercise intensely. But a lot of this will be water weight, some will be muscle and you won’t truly be cutting fat. To truly see a body composition change you need to reduce fat over a long period whilst keeping muscle mass as high as possible.
- Track your food: Try tracking or recording your food and any calories from drinks. This will mean you can ensure that you are burning more calories than you are eating. Invest in a coach or a Personal Trainer to learn how to best track your food intake and set a realistic goal. All of the PTs at Quay Fitness are experts in nutrition and can advise you on your diet and what is a good amount for you to be eating.
- Resistance train: You want to keep your muscle mass as high as possible and minimise losing weight from muscle to ensure a lean physique. To do this you need to resistance train. Don’t be afraid to still train with heavy weights and push those muscles even whilst you are in a calorie deficit. Ensure that you are eating enough protein in your diet so that you are able to recover from the training! If you want to be pushed more in the gym or are not confident with resistance training then it may well be worth investing in a PT to push you to get the best out of your workouts.
- Fill up on low-calorie items: To sustainably lose fat you will need to be in a calorie deficit for a sustained period of time. To do this you want to try to stay as full as possible so that you can stay in a deficit for a prolonged period of time and not end up binging when you get too hungry. So fill up on fruit and vegetables to keep yourself full. It is very difficult to overeat if you are full of lots of leafy green veg!
- Stay hydrated: Drink 2-3L a day (or more depending on your body composition and activity level.) You need to stay hydrated to prevent yourself from overeating. Try drinking diet fizzy drinks, black coffee or tea or sugar-free squash to help fill you up!
- Break up your goal: Break down the end goal into small chunks. Reward yourself with non-food related items as you go e.g. a new pair of leggings or a sports massage. This will keep your momentum and determination up so you will get to that final end goal in no time at all.
- Try different macronutrient breakdowns: Some people get on eating higher fat and lower carbohydrate food. Some people find a higher carbohydrate, lower fat breakdown of food works better for them. Whatever your preference- try a few different macronutrient breakdowns and hopefully within no time at all you will find what works best for you.
- Keep NEAT up: NEAT stands for non-exercise activity. This means the little things you do each day like the number of steps. Keep steps high, stand up more, and move more and your daily calorie expenditure will go through the roof and you will be losing fat in no time at all.
- Take measurements in different ways: Don’t rely on the scale alone. If you are training right then the scale may not shift dramatically as you should be maintaining/ gaining some muscle as you lose fat. Try to use a scale that also reads body fat percentages. Take body measurements and use photos as a more reliable way of seeing your body fat dropping.
- Have some pressure or accountability: Invest in a personal trainer, have a photoshoot, a holiday or a competition and you are bound to up your game and stick to your diet. If not, maybe try using Instagram or social media for some accountability. The reason why Personal Training works is because of the accountability, guidance and support. So put some outward pressure or accountability on yourself and you are bound to actually stick to your deficit and start losing fat.
I hope these top tips and ideas will help you reach your fat loss goals. Remember it is, sadly, a slow process. Remember that you will feel a difference in 4 weeks, you will see a difference in 6 but it takes 8 weeks for others to really notice changes. Stay consistent, work hard and don’t give up- and those are the main things that create a successful fat loss plan to get you ready for those summer plans! If you want some further guidance or support on your fat loss then get in contact now!
