Can you lose fat without restrictive dieting or endless cardio?
How often have you heard a friend say, "I’m on a diet"? Then what happens is your friend would lose a couple of pounds for a while before putting them all back on again.
I'll bet you’ve also heard someone say that "Running is the best form of exercise for losing weight." Of course, this person would religiously pound the pavement, but the results are agonizingly slow. Inevitably, they give up and gain back all the weight they had lost, sometimes even gaining some extra pounds!
You thought you'd found the answer to permanently losing weight. You went on a strict diet and trained your heart out. You dropped weight quickly. But you still don’t like your birthday suit. Your weight refuses to settle no matter how rigorous your diet or cardio workouts are. Then you start to gain weight! Disillusion sets in because of the lack of real direction. You begin watching Amazon Prime, scrolling through Instagram, and succumbing to 'guilt eating.' The weight comes back up again. This time, faster, and it brought friends. The Program failed from the start, and you blame it on your bad genes, hormones, or age.
But why did it fail?
Firstly, take a good look at the title of this article. It's to "lose fat."
and not "weight loss.” If we focus on losing weight, we might miss that you will lose muscle mass. Thus your metabolic rate won’t be as effective at burning calories at rest. That means it’s essential to build bigger muscles and get as strong as possible while burning body fat. You may even gain some weight because muscles and bones will increase in density. But don’t worry, that is a fair trade after all. You want more muscle and less fat. And since energy cannot be destroyed but only exchanged, we have to replace one (fat) for the other (increased muscle and bone). Trust me when I say that if you swapped 10lbs more muscle in exchange for 10lbs of fat but weighed what you weigh now, you would probably agree that you like the way you look and probably feel.
The most effective method is to combine healthy eating habits, cardio training, bodyweight exercises, and lifting weights to build muscle. You will burn extra calories per day even while not working out. Think about how your body will use fats for fuel more efficiently with power. If you laze around, you’ll burn 350 to 500 extra calories a day. That’s a Big Mac every day! You'll also look good, healthy, and have more muscle definition too! Is it any wonder why people who exercise eat so much but do not put on fat as quickly Everyone knows that intensive cardio and strict diets cause you to lose muscle mass along with fat. So while you will lose some weight initially, you will look like just a smaller version of yourself without any muscle tone.
That's not what we want, is it?
So, as you lose more and more muscle, your metabolism begins to slow down.
Your body will eventually start conserving fat and 'eat' your muscles for energy
because it reacts to your strict diet. You will hit a plateau, and no matter what you do, you will not reduce any more weight.
This, in a nutshell, is the 'yo-yo' dieting effect that we hear so much about it. Losing fat is simple. And notice that I said 'simple' but did not say that it is 'easy.' My pointers will be simple to understand, but the execution will take determination and discipline on your part. It is a lifestyle change to keep the fat off permanently, and you will be glad you did because you will get used to the
changes in only a few weeks. After that, it will become a cultivated habit for you,
especially when you are rewarded with a better, healthier, more attractive you,
with a glowing complexion to boot!
Here is how you do it.
Simply, losing fats means you must burn more calories than you consume. Period. Lift weights with compound exercises - Forget those puny biceps curls and triceps pushdowns for now. Go for big muscle groups like legs, back, and chest routines. Why? Because you are working with more significant parts with more mass, more body parts are working, translating into more calories being expended.
Here's an example. This is a what we call a circuit. A circuit is a number of exercises performed in succession, one after another, in order to a specific set of rules. For this circuit I want you to do each exercise one time without resting until you get to the end.
I want you to use a pair of Dumbbells for this. Kettle bells would be fine as well. Get a pair that is light enough that you could do 15-20 reps with. The whole routine should not take you more than 40 minutes. Let's call it Starter DB Circuit. Let me break it down for you. I'll write it out exactly the same way I write workouts for my friends.
Perform each movement in order for reps, with no rest between. A block is your warm up, B block is your workout and C block is your finisher. So if we would look at Block B1, I need you to do 15-20 Goblet Squats, then 15-20 DB Triceps Extensions and then DB Chest Press for 15-20 reps and DB Bent Over Row and then DB Shoulder Press. If you did 20 reps of each movement that would be 100 reps. That's pretty good for one round. After you do each exercise you can rest and that is 1 round. I want you to do 5 rounds. Block C is a Full Push-up style Plank. This exercise works your entire soul. The military does it. Gymnasts do it. You should do it too. You simply get on the floor in Push-up position, push you hands into the ground, suck in your stomach and focus. I've added a time element. There is no rush, but we want to record the speed in which you complete this workout and the weights used on each set. This way you can establish a basis for your improvement. If you don't keep records. Remember, if you're not sweating profusely or breathing hard your weights aren't heavy enough or you aren't challenging yourself. So be true to your intensity levels. Don't over do it.
Starter DB Circuit - 5 rounds for time
A Warm Up 10 minutes
B1 Goblet Squats x 15-20 reps
B2 DB Triceps Extensions x 15-20 reps
B3 DB Chest Press x 15-20 reps
B4 DB Bent Over Row x 15-20 reps
B5 DB Shoulder Press x 15-20 reps
rest 1 min, repeat
C Full Plank 3 x 30 seconds
rest 30 seconds, repeat
Sounds simple? Not so. You will be huffing, puffing and sweating profusely. What is achieved? You will have combined a cardio workout with a lifting activity.
Your metabolism will burn for the next several hours. Do this three times a week with at least a day's rest between lifting days.
After 4-8 weeks, change the sequence of the exercises. So if you were usually squat first, then squat last. Then after another 4-8 weeks, change some of the activities, like
substituting squats with the deadlift or barbell rows with Deadlift. This is to create a new stimuli to your nervous system so your muscles to continue to adapt and grow.
What about Cardio?
For cardio, go for a run first thing in the morning before breakfast. If you are
jogging at average speed, sustain the jog for at least 45 minutes. However, suppose you are running at 65% to 80% of your maximum heart rate (you will be panting and unable to sing or complete a sentence while running). In that case, 20-30 minutes will be enough. Anything more than that may cause muscle breakdown.
You may intersperse the speed with slower jogs to catch your breath. Do this 5-6 times a week. Or go on one really log run like Forrest Gump. LOL
And Diet?
Eating habits? Just eat less of what you usually eat. For example, if you have 2
slices of bread with two eggs in the morning, now take just one piece and an egg.
Just eat half of what you eat but eat more regularly. Have 5 to 6 meals a day if you possible or maybe it would be more beneficial for you to skip breakfast. Ultimately you have to find a way to create a small enough deficit in your calories that you continue to lose weight without being to restrictive. Remember, we just want to eat a bit less and move a lot more. Stop all soft drinks and sugary drinks and stop adding sugar to your coffee and tea. You don't think about how many calories you drink in a day but this is a huge culprit for people. This is critical. Also avoid added sugar if possible. You want to try to stick to natural sources like fruit. By abstaining from sugary drinks, you may already have gotten rid of 200 calories per day.
Drink plenty of water instead and double the amount if you can.
Oh, all work and no play make Jack a dull (and exhausted) boy. Do choose a day to relax a week. No exercise on that day. It's okay to indulge for a week but honestly I wouldn't recommend having a cheat day. It will only side track you and will be used as an excuse to binge eat. Maybe if you have to indulge in your favorite food once a month. I really like Ice Cream, but I don't have it every Sunday on my more relaxed diet days. I might have an extra serving of Spaghetti on that day. Or twice as much steak. I still have goals even though I eat more.
If you don't cheat though, hey, pat yourself on the back and reward yourself for passing another grueling week. You're getting tougher and gaining control of your appetite and body once again.
As you reach your fat loss goals and are happy with your muscular
development, you can take things a little easier. Hit the gym less frequently,
have shorter runs and even relax a little in your diet. Because of your more excellent
musculature, your body is now a fat-burning machine. You have earned that
luxury.
Simple? Sure. But do you have enough determination to permanently lose those fats and keep them off? Who said you must go on a strict diet to lose weight
and keep the fat off forever? It's your call, folks!