The Secret To Losing Fat And Keeping It Off.

[IceDragon]

The secret to losing fat, and keeping it off...

You want to know the secret to getting rid of the flab? There isn't one.

Now, before you start on about all that stuff that promises instant results, that promises how you can lose 14 pounds in seven days, or drop a dress size or two within a week, or stay sitting on your fat arse while doing nothing more than a quick "eight minute workout" when you can be bothered, let me tell you something.

It's all crap. Every. Stinking. Word. Of. It.

NOTHING will make you lose weight without changing your lifestyle habits, and that's the whole point. It isn't a diet where you have to restrict what you eat, where you obsessively exercise for six hours a day. Nothing of the sort, it's a lifestyle change.

That's it, that's the big secret: change your lifestyle, change your habits, and you'll change YOU.



Surprised? Possibly.



Intrigued? Hopefully.



Follow these sure-fire ways to increase fat loss and improve your health. I know they work because I've used them all myself.


PORTION SIZES AND MEAL FREQUENCY
Reduce your portion sizes to suit you - one portion of lean proteins should be about the size of your palm, one portion of carbs should be about the size of your loosely-clenched fist. Fill up on fruit or vegetables.

Try to eat every three to four hours - any longer than this and your metabolism will begin to dip again, and you need it revved up.



VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
Increase the variety of foods you eat - choose lean proteins (oily fish, seafood, chicken breast, steak and lean mince, lean cuts of pork and lamb, turkey breast), unrefined carbs (wholemeal pasta and bread, brown rice, oatmeal, etc: wholegrain varieties if you can), nuts and seeds, and as many varieties of fruit and vegetables as you can (the wider the colour range, the better), and dairy produce (low-fat cheese, cottage cheese, natural or non-fat yogurt and semi-skim or skim milk - studies have shown that those who consume three portions of dairy produce a day increase the fat the lose by up to 57%!). For fats, choose groundnut, EV olive oil, flaxseed or safflower oil.

If drinking fruit or vegetable juices, go for those not made from concentrate and are labelled as "cold-pressed", as these contain the most nutrients.


NUTRIENT DENSE NOT CALORIFIC DENSE
Go for foods that are high in nutrients rather than counting calories.

For example:

Jam doughnut: It's high in calories (289), fat (15.9g saturated), sugar (33.2g), low in protein (5.0g) and contains no viable nutrients.

Compare that, then, to a 4oz steak: Calories are about right (228), it's low in fat (3.5g), has no carb content at all, very high in protein (34.4g) and also contains not only iron (21.2%), but most of the B complex vitamins, Calcium, Copper and Zinc among with other trace elements.



GET OFF YOUR BUTT!
It's true, and it works. Cardio is the best fat burner there is. Studies show that women and men burn fat at different levels, so men would do better at 40 to 60 minutes of moderate intensity, whereas women would be better at 20 to 30 minutes of high intensity. Other studies show that splitting the cardio throughout the day is even more beneficial - say 15 minutes in the morning, half an hour during the afternoon and 10 minutes at night will keep you burning fat for longer.

Make sure it's something you really enjoy doing, or you won't want to do it. It could be anything from walking, to cycling, to tae-bo or rock-climbing, as long as you're enjoying it and you;re off your butt, all the better.

Weight-lifting also helps with fat loss, and offers a lot of other benefits you won't get with hardly anything else - plus I adore it, so I'm biased. It will take a lot longer for the fat to come off by weights alone, but it'll still shift.


NOT JUST PHYSICAL
A change of lifestyle isn't just a shift in focus physically, it's a mental one too. Write down your goals, something to aspire to that isn't completely unattainable - even if it's losing a couple of pounds. It'll give you a focus, something to work towards.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, try to figure out why - is food some kind of emotional crutch for you? Or are you just stuffing your face for no reason?


Lastly, take measurements and photos at the beginning and every few weeks to track your progress - it will help keep you motivated. Don't expect it to come off overnight - it'll take roughly the same amount of time to lose that it took you to put on.

Just remember one thing - it isn't the destination that counts so much as the journey you take to get there.

Good luck.




//IceDragon.

[body sculpter]

nice work putting this toghether bro...........

[IceDragon]

Originally Posted by body sculpter

nice work putting this toghether bro...........

Thanks. It's quite weird how much you pick up when you're looking into it to learn enough to use it.

[1quick1]

wow thats a good article!

[IceDragon]

I thought I'd go for quality rather than quantity, which is why it took me so long.

More on the way...

[Abyss]

Originally Posted by body sculpter

nice work putting this toghether bro...........

Its a women.

[Ali]

Originally Posted by Abyss

Its a women.

i was about to post the exact thing

[JellyBeans]

Great post! :th_guitar:

[OKCDUDE]

nice post.

[SemiShred]

Great reading material for newbie's .... I realy like the way you write, well... I have to do this stuff to get rid of the bad side of bulking.

[Pfabrizi1]

Great post, excellent for someone new to cutting and losing bodyfat. I should send this to my mom's friends who are trying to lose weight :th_icon_thumbup:

[backer]

Great post.I have lost a lot of weight in the last 8 months(92lbs)using the methods you outlined.Perhaps the most important thing is the mental aspect.Once I got it threw my thick head that eating is not an activity or hobbie,and it does not make good company,cheer me up or do anything else for my emotional state,the rest is not so hard.Once I learned to see food as a source or nourishent and no more (or less)the battle was won.

[hjayss]

nice post you have been doing your research...a lot of posts heer in the cutting sectin....

[IceDragon]

Damn...I'd forgotten I wrote this...