Quick
links to Rhino Fitness Articles on diet and exercise relating
to fat loss
What
is the best way to lose fat?
That
is by far the number one question I get so I've put together
this page dedicated to information on safe effective fat loss.
The
three most significant variables concerning increasing or
decreasing body fat:
1)
Calories in; How much you eat in a day
2)
Calories out; How much energy you expend in a day
3)
Your emotions, personal values, and concept of reward in regards
to eating
Things
you need to know:
On
the day you eat too much, you gain fat; not enough to notice,
but it's there.
Fat
gain typically occurs in small amounts over long periods,
although we can pack on pounds quickly if we pound back extra
servings of food daily. Fat gain is generally not considered
a health risk until our waist line exceeds about 34 inches
(86cm) for most males and 31.5 inches (80cm) for most females.
But
why wait until we become a statistical risk? We don't suddenly
wake up one day to discover that we gained weight. We gain
fat slowly over months and years. The habits that cause excess
body fat are overeating and lack of exercise; if we have these
habits on most days, we gain fat on most days. Stop the cycle
by starting to eat less and getting more active today.
The
good news:
As
soon as you have a regular caloric deficit fat loss occurs
without failure. No one is immune to loosing fat, however
the degree of caloric deficit is individual because of variability
in genetics between people. A 300 calorie per day deficit
may get significant results for one person, whereas another
may need a 500 calorie deficit.
The
single most important factor in maintaining permanent leanness:
You
must permanently change your lifestyle. Altering your
food intake and storming ahead with exercise as part of a
short term weight loss goal will most likely fail in the long
run. It's important to do a critical self analyses and call
your self to task. Learn to associate healthy eating with
reward and unhealthy eating with health risk. Exercise does
not interfere with other items on your schedule, rather other
items interfere with exercise.
It's
not about following a special program for a few weeks to "get
your butt in shape". It's about developing new values
that enable you to feel internally motivated to make healthy
choices.
Once
you have made positive changes to your waist line and health,
you must continue the habits that caused those healthy changes
for the rest of your life. Returning to previous habits means
gaining body fat back. Reducing body fat is not a temporary
measure, it's the beginning of living a healthier life for
the rest of your life.
This
isn't about sulking around eating tiny amounts of bland food,
it's about enjoying great tasting healthy food every day and
actually feeling happy about the food you eat instead of feeling
guilty.
Can't
Lose Despite Trying
I've
known people to claim to"try" to lose fat for years
and years, and where they may achieve a degree of fat loss,
they never lose the weight they need to and they typically
gain back the weight they lost and then some. When we get
to the bottom of exactly what is it that they have been "trying"
for these years it becomes clear that in fact they do not
stick to any plan. There is always a lack of dedication to
either exercise or diet or both. However, from the individuals
perspective they will swear wholeheartedly that they are indeed
doing absolutely everything possible.
This
is the disconnect between choosing to live a healthy life
and consistently attempting to lose fat fast for superficial
reasons or doing the quick fix. Consistently being preoccupied
with fat loss and consistently trying and retrying fat loss
schemes gives the illusion of dedication and trying hard.
Worse though is the false impression that one cannot lose
fat despite trying, or that once initial fat loss is accomplished,
one can return to overeating.
It's
important to understand that however rewarding overeating
may feel, this connection must be permanently erased and replaced
with a sense of reward from healthy eating and regular exercise,
and this takes some mental and physical practice- consistent
practice.
Having a good diet for two or three weeks then falling off
the wagon for a few days or weeks, coupled with the same pattern
for exercise can add up to months and years of inconsistency
that can only provide inconsistent results. The people stuck
in this pattern often come to saying to themselves, "what
does it take to do this?! I've been trying for so long, what
am I doing wrong?" - They can't perceive their inconsistency
or the impact of their inconsistency and therefore cannot
see where in fact they are going astray. Others do see their
inconsistency, but have great difficulty overcoming it.
For
certain, no individual could achieve the ideal caloric deficit
and not lose fat - that is not humanly possible. Make a conscience
effort to really change your life priorities: healthy food
and exercise cannot take a back seat to anything. You have
to truly embrace the purpose of healthy living - it isn't
just to lose a few pounds or achieve a physical look, it's
to improve and protect your health. This
outlook makes all the difference in the world because it helps
you to truly change the way you think and feel about food
and exercise, about your self, and about what healthy priorities
really mean to you. Take head; seeing this as too much or
too complicated and deciding to "just do the simplest
diet and exercise right now" while ignoring the personal
growth part of the equation will probably end in failure to
lose fat permanently. If this is the one thing you know you
haven't changed, your personal value and reward system that
involves eating and exercise, you can bet it is the reason
you're not a successful loser.
The
above graph shows average daily fat loss with a 500 calorie
per day deficit. After 10 days of eating 2000 calories and
burning off 2500 through daily living and modest exercise
this graph shows a realistic 1 pound weight loss over 10 days.
We also gain and lose weight daily through hydration/ dehydration,
eating, and elimination which can add up to an average fluctuation
in weight from morning to night of 2 to 4 pounds. This makes
it impossible to practically measure fat loss day to day since
daily fat loss is only about 0.2 lb. - You may be losing fat,
but in such a small amount each day it doesn't show up on
the scale: wait for it though - those small daily losses add
up after a week.
Don't
interpret daily weight fluctuations as and indication to your
success or failure in losing fat. Watch for short term weight
loss trends over 7 to 21 days, and long term trends over many
months. Back this up with also measuring your waist girth
and watching for a reduction. Be careful with interpreting
"failure", as we can be our own worst enemy by judging
our selves negatively and suffering emotionally as a result.
If you don't lose weight, be objective; simply adjust your
food intake and physical activity to compensate. This example
of a 500 calorie per day deficit with 2000 consumed and 2500
expended is for illustration purposes - each individual needs
to find the daily totals and caloric deficit that produces
a result. Go
here to find out how to do this.
Typically
the deficit is between 300 and 500 calories per day. If you
lose more than 2 pounds per week you are likely losing muscle
and water as well. Safe fat loss is 1 to 2 pounds per week.
Don't get bent out of shape thinking that you have to be perfect
every day. While it's true you need consistency for success,
losing fat means changing your old habits. Make your mistakes,
but get over them. Keep at it and you will succeed.
Fat loss really is this simple, but those selling fads make
it sound complicated so they can sell you their special cure.
In
order to reduce your fat "reserves", you need to
burn off more calories than you take in.
Eat less, exercise more. Note: There
are no pills or supplements that directly cause permanent
fat loss - one cannot maintain overeating, take pills and
supplements, and lose fat.
LINKS:
The
National Weight Control Registry has some important information
on the habits of people who have lost 30 lb. fat and kept
it off for more than one year. I consider this web site essential
reading if you are trying to lose fat.
National
Weight Control Registry home page
National
Weight Control Registry Research findings - The habits
of those who lost fat and kept it off
Organizations
dealing with obesity: Each has important fact based articles
on fat loss/ gain as well as additional web site links.
Canadian
Medical Association Journal - Journal de l'Association médicale
canadienne
Obesity
Canada
NAASO,
The Obesity Society
American
Obesity Association
Essential
Tools For Fat Loss:
Details
on determining daily caloric needs and fat loss/ exercise
Daily
Exercise
Measuring
Tape
Long
Term Commitment To Lifestyle Change
Consumer
Products That Make Fat Loss Easier To Manage
Heart
Rate Monitor
Body
Fat Scale
Fat
Calipers
Computer
Software
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