Fat Loss

Contrary to what many fancy programs would have you believe, weight loss really isn’t rocket science. And if that scale needle has crept up up up, barring a medical condition, you know how it got there: too many burgers and fries and not enough burpees and flys. Ready to turn it around? Here’s the no-nonsense skinny on getting that way. Put bluntly, if you’re a fat guy, here’s how to lose weight.

1. Get motivated

It’s not enough to say, “I want to lose weight.” Not-so-newsflash: The majority of people are overweight and more than a third are obese—a lot of those folks no doubt profess a desire to drop a few, too. Need a nudge? You can gain an inch of penis length for every 5 kilograms you lose. OK, not really, but as the gut shrinks, the prominence of the member grows. Seriously, though: You need to find your own “come to Jesus” moment for weight-loss motivation, or even consider working with a fat loss coach for guidance, whether it’s some scary health test results, a frustration with huffing and puffing at the top of every flight of stairs, or a vanity-driven desire to get back to your college weight.

2. Set a goal

In most cases, your primary goal will be related to the scale. But be realistic: Know that a half to one-kilo loss per week is what experts consider healthy and sustainable. Be specific. Not just, ‘I want to lose weight,’ or ‘I want to lose 15 kilograms,’ but ‘I want to lose 15 kilograms in the next six months.” Dr Michael Pickert, an internal medicine physician who himself dropped 120 pounds, suggests this calendar-based strategy: Select a date by which you would like to have a measurable loss. Count the number of weeks between then and now and multiply by 1.25 (a conservative per-week loss). Then do it again, until you’ve reached your final target.

3. Don’t go on a diet

That’s right—Banish that four-letter word from your weight-loss vocabulary. “Diets don’t work,” Pickert says. “They have an end.” Diets are also synonymous with deprivation, which generally isn’t sustainable. Cutting out foods or entire food groups that you love, and that you’ve loved your whole life, isn’t realistic for most people. Still, 80 percent of losing weight is controlling what you eat. So you’ll need to develop an “eating strategy” that can work for you for the long haul, says Pickert. Brock concurs: “If you want permanent weight-loss, you must make permanent lifestyle changes.”

4. Do some math

Half a kilo of fat equals 3,500 calories. So if you’re a fat guy to lose weight at half a kilogram of fat per week, you need to cut 500 calories per day from what you eat. Take your current weight and multiply it by 11. That’s a rough estimate of the calories your body needs to maintain status quo. Your new aim: To subtract 500 calories from that number, by making eating and exercise changes.

5. Develop your strategy

No, this doesn’t necessarily mean overhauling your entire refrigerator overnight. And it doesn’t mean putting foods on the no-never list, either (remember: deprivation doesn’t work). It means figuring out what swaps and compromises you can make without feeling totally compromised. Then start small. For example, Pickert says, let’s say you have ice cream or chips every night. How about cutting that back to every other day? Or you have to have your french fries. Fine, but maybe sub them once per week with a baked potato.

6. Do your homework

One of the biggest issues is misinformation. Pickert uses olive oil as his example. Ask most people, “is it good for you?” They’ll say yes. But it has the exact same number of calories per tablespoon as any other type of pure fat (butter and lard included): 120. So by cutting down on ALL oil, you cut calories out. (Pickert is a big fan of measuring the oil you use, and blotting foods of excess oil before eating.) Brock recommends meeting with a nutritionist to learn more about developing healthier ways to modify your meals—even if you end up deviating from it some, you’ll be better off than going into it blindly.

7. Get with the program

Most people fail at weight loss because they don’t have a plan, says Brock. She recommends plotting out your menus for the week, and sticking to them as closely as you can. “When you plan your meals, you’re much more likely to shop for only those foods on the plan,” she says. “It not only saves calories, it saves money, too!” Another part of the plan is learning about portion size and how many calories are in what you’re eating. Logging your food in an app that does the calculating for you (such as MyFitnessPal) is the easiest way to gauge your intake—and keep yourself honest. Not sure what a portion size is? Measure it out until you can reliably eyeball it, Brock says.

8. Change how you eat

You eat your food (especially snacks) right from the container? How about divvying out a portion into a bowl—and when it’s gone, there’s no going back for seconds. Another issue is eating too quickly. Pickert calls it the “batter up” mentality: putting a bite in your mouth, and shoveling the next bite in before you’ve swallowed the last one. His solution is to actually put the fork down and cross his arms until he’s swallowed. “You don’t need to chew every bite 30 times,” he says.

9. Add in exercise…

Yes, there is another way to control your calories: by moving more to burn them off and by building muscle, which boosts your metabolism overall. “Exercise will help you reach your goals quicker without starving yourself,” says Eric Emig, personal trainer and founder of Evolution Fitness. “You can burn several hundred calories, and eat a little more. Or, you can keep the calories the same and be 200 to 300 calories closer to your goal.” If you only make changes to what you eat, your body will lose both fat and muscle. Which is why strength training is also important to reduce muscle loss. “Every pound of muscle helps you burn an extra seven to 10 calories per day,” Emig says. “It doesn’t sound like a lot until you gain or lose 20 pounds of muscle.” If you’re a fat guy, and want to lose weight, start lifting.

10. …but don’t become a gym rat overnight

If you haven’t been exercising, start small. Swimming, deep-water running, or water aerobics are the most joint-friendly for someone who is obese. Then, graduate to a walking program, slowly increasing the amount of time walked, without worrying about the distance, until you’re up to a half hour. Then, Emig says, resistance training can be added in 30 minutes sessions twice a week. “With resistance training, supersets of opposite muscle groups with short intense bursts of cardio are the best,” per Emig.

11. Don’t go it alone

Pickert can’t emphasise enough how valuable “the role of the spouse” is in meeting goals. His wife still has responsibilities, such as making sure he eats slowly, even five years after his weight loss. It’s all about accountability, Emig says: “Sign an exercise contract in front of friends. Get an exercise partner who is more motivated than you, or already exercises. Sign up for exercise classes. Hire a trainer that you have to meet at least once a month to keep you on track.”

12. Don’t let plateaus derail you

They happen. The body gets used to everything, so it will adapt to your new eating and moving routine. That means when you see things stalling, mix up your routine. That said, consistency is key, in terms of your commitment to the program. Pickert cautions against weighing yourself too often—the number on the scale doesn’t mean that things aren’t happening in your body. (He points out that when you start a calorie-deficit eating plan, your body can lose eight pounds in water weight, which means it has several weeks of actual fat loss at the one-to-two-pounds-per-week rate to catch up.)  “But if you realise you’re not making it, circle a new date on the calendar and adjust your math,” Pickert says. “Don’t give up.”

13. Measure success without the scale, too

How your clothing fits (or no longer fits) is an awesome indicator of progress, especially if you’ve added strength training into the mix—while you shouldn’t be gaining from muscle training a fat guy may not lose weight as quickly as you lose centimetres. And then there are the unexpected physical benefits of shrinking body size. “I vividly recall feeling that I had more of a spring in my step after losing just 10kgs on my eventual 50kg-pound-trek,” Pickert says. “Later on, after 25 kay-gees, I noticed one night how much easier it was to roll over in bed; I didn’t have to make a plan with a leg kick and a flip anymore!”

It’s possible to lose the fat day in, day out, every day, every week. Adopt these habits, and integrate them into your life and you’ll start to see a healthier and leaner body.

if you make these habits a permanent part of your diet, they will take you all the way to optimal health. Here are the 12 strategies to help you achieve your weight-loss goals:

Start the day with breakfast (or not)

According to studies published a few years ago, people who eat breakfast every morning were more likely to lose weight and keep it off. The thinking was that a nutritious breakfast helps jumpstart your metabolism, reduces the risk of overeating, and sets you up for healthy food choices throughout the day. Now a new study said that’s basically bullshit. “This study,” the paper said, “provides minimal evidence that breakfast skipping might lead to weight gain and the onset of overweight and obesity.” So if you’re not a breakfast person, skip it. If not, eat clean.

Focus on food efficiency

To shed weight, it’s important to get more nutrition per calorie consumed. Eating a balanced diet that includes protein, healthy fats, unprocessed carbohydrates, fresh fruits, and non-starchy vegetables will help you feel full, and satisfied, and provide you with all the nutrients you need, even when eating fewer calories. Try to include these types of foods in your meals and snacks.

Reduce Stress to Lose Fat

Stress can cause weight gain just as fast food can. Chronic stress leads to the release of cortisol, which causes your body to hold fat, especially around the waistline. To reduce stress, try engaging in activities such as brisk walks, resistance training, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and stretching.

Keep track of your Progress

To be successful in losing weight, it’s important to keep track of your progress. Self-monitoring through keeping food and exercise logs will help you stay on track. Note periods of high and low energy, and make adjustments to your eating and training accordingly. Assess your progress with scales, a tape measure, or a body-fat monitor. But, take a break from measuring every second or third day to avoid obsessing over minor weight fluctuations.

Plan ahead for snacks

When hunger strikes while you’re away from home, junk food is often the most readily available option. To avoid unhealthy snacking, plan ahead and carry nutritious snacks, such as dried fruit and whole-grain cereal bars. To maximize hunger-busting power, include a little fat, which is the slowest-digesting macronutrient. By following these tips, you’ll be on your way to losing weight in a healthy and sustainable way. Say goodbye to fad diets and hello to a healthier you!

Crawl before you walk

If you’ve been eating poorly, not exercising, and burning your candle at both ends, don’t try to transform your entire lifestyle overnight. It’s a recipe for failure. “People who have lived this way for a number of years – thereby damaging their metabolisms – will change all their habits and feel terrible, because the new habits unmask the damage,” says Schwarzbein. “Then they go running back to their old habits.”  Instead, change your diet first, and do it step-by-step. Find a way to manage stress (walking, yoga, meditation), then wean yourself off any chemical dependencies, including sugar. Finally, build yourself a workout routine. If you start backsliding because your new lifestyle doesn’t feel like you, keep the following proverb in mind: “All new behaviours cause anxiety. That’s normal. This discomfort will pass in three minutes.” Then drink cold water.

Gain Muscle; Lose Fat

Muscle weight, that is. Gaining lean muscle mass – which you probably want to do anyway because it speeds up your metabolism and, oh, by the way, it looks good – is also an excellent way to lose fat. “Muscle requires more energy to maintain itself,” says Kleiner. “Each kilo of muscle you add to your body burns an extra 60 to 100 calories a day.”  Therefore, it’s important that your program incorporate both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training. Schwarzbein advises her clients to do an hour of resistance exercise three times a week, half an hour of cardio on three alternate days, and daily stretching, which will keep your tendons, ligaments and muscles flexible and your body stress-free.  Still, studies show that 90 percent of weight loss comes from diet changes. So don’t expect putting in marathon sessions on the elliptical machine to make up for that stuffed-crust pizza.

Drop the fat bombs

Your body needs – and can burn – every kind of fat except one: trans fats, those mutant pseudo-nutrients created through the refining of healthy oils. They’re found in most fried foods and processed baked goods; the red flag on the ingredient list is “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil”. Stay away from this crap if you’re serious about weight loss and heart health.  While successful weight loss can’t be based solely on denial, fat grenades such as fast-food fries simply must be renounced if you’re going to succeed. “If you want to treat yourself, you’re much better off having one piece of chocolate [which contains healthy anti-oxidants] than making an entire meal out of foods that have no redeeming value whatsoever,” recommends Kleiner.

Learn how to cook a little

Adults who eat out frequently are significantly fatter than those who dine in, according to a university study. This is the result of the tendency to eat larger portions and less balanced meals in restaurants.For busy guys who don’t enjoy cooking – show of hands? – this habit can be hard to change. But by taking it slow and learning simple recipes that are healthy and taste good, you can achieve great results in time. To begin: slice up chicken breasts, capsicum and zucchini; sauté them in olive oil and teriyaki sauce; throw it over some boiled rice. You just cooked.  For more ideas, get yourself to a bookstore, which is teeming with variations on the “Cooking for People Who Aren’t Sure Where Their Kitchen Is” franchise. Other good sources for simple recipes are manufacturer and food-board web sites. Mystified by avocados? Decipher them at avocado.org.au. Confounded by that carton of eggs? Crack on to eggs.org.au for recipes galore.

Find another loser

Losing weight on your own is harder than doing it with a buddy or significant other, or so says a university study. Individuals who enrolled in a clinical weight-loss program with family or friends were 19 percent more likely to complete the program, lost more weight and were three times as likely to maintain their weight loss than those who enrolled alone.

Hoof It to Lose Fat

Formal exercise isn’t the only way to burn extra calories. You can also torch a few more each day by walking to the post office instead of driving, climbing the stairs instead of taking the lift, and otherwise relying on your body instead of a machine to get you from here to there.Y ou’ve probably heard this advice before. And you’re probably still driving to the corner shop. “It’s because everybody’s always late,” says Kleiner. “The key to putting this advice into practice is better planning and setting it as a priority.” It’s important to realise how quickly these minor activities can add up. They may seem insignificant, but people who are consistently on the go can add 20 percent to their energy expenditure. Just staying still for 5 minutes burns 6 calories, but you can burn twice as many by making your bed, four times as many by walking, six times as many by gardening and nine times as many climbing stairs.

Drink to your Health

Be mindful of what’s in your glass! Don’t let juicy temptations, alcohol and soft drink sabotage your hard work. Indulge in delicious solid foods and quench your thirst with the ultimate diet drink- water. If you crave the taste of a cold beer, go for a lighter option or stick to just a couple. Just remember, being a three-can man can add a whopping 12,600 calories to your 6-week weight-loss journey. Stay on track and make every sip count!