4 Keys to Fat Loss Beyond “Eat Less and Move More”

https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/

Diet and exercise get all of the attention when it comes to fat loss. While they both do play a major role in the process, it’s not quite as simple as the outdated “eat less and move more” mantra that so many people repeat with full conviction. That approach can work for a while, there’s more to it than that.

Uh… there’s a little more to it than this.

I’m going to share with you the four things that I emphasize with my clients to make sure that they continue to make progress. I’ll also give you some troubleshooting questions to ask yourself if your fat loss progress has stalled.

1. Less Zzzzz’s = More Pastries

I know what you’re thinking— “More sleep talk? Borrrrrring!” I understand. Sleep isn’t an exciting topic. However, if you’re serious about optimizing your health, and/or losing fat, there are some things about sleep that you must to know.

If my client’s fat loss stalls, I don’t start analyzing her food intake, or increasing her exercise frequency or intensity. Instead, I look at her sleep quality and quantity, and her chronic stress level. Really. It’s that important.

We are a chronically sleep-deprived, over-stressed society. Each of these on their own can cause health problems and hinder fat loss. Combine them, and it’s a double-whammy.

Have you noticed that when you are exhausted you feel hungrier than usual? This is not your imagination. Not getting enough sleep affects leptin and ghrelin, which are (to oversimplify) two hormones that regulate hunger.

If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re more likely to reach for one of these at times when you otherwise wouldn’t.

A sleep deficit will make you hungrier and more impulsive, and you’ll have a strong craving for high-carbohydrate foods. This makes the muffins and pastries at the coffee shop, or donuts at the office nearly impossible to avoid.

Being chronically under-slept can also mean elevated cortisol and insulin resistance. This doesn’t bode well for fat loss, much less your overall health.

If this isn’t enough reason to turn in a bit earlier, let me remind you that adequate sleep is also imperative for cognitive function, maintaining a sunny disposition, and having a steady supply of energy so that you can keep up with your kids on the playground, run around with your dog, lift heavier weights, and all the other active things you love to do.

Ask:

• Am I averaging at least seven hours of sleep per night?

• If I’m not, am I willing to make concessions to ensure I get a little more shut-eye? (For example: can you record your favorite show rather than stay up to watch it? Can you turn your phone off earlier to avoid the temptation to stay up perusing social media?)

2. Out-Training Your Diet… Or Trying To

Back when I was the reigning Cardio Queen, I felt like I could never get enough food. I used to love a particular 90-minute, high-intensity cardio kickboxing class. It was a blast, the music was awesome, and all of my friends went. The problem was that it revved up my appetite so much that I would race home to eat… and eat, and eat.

Whether it’s running or intense strength training—or even a cardio kickboxing class, as it was in my case—it’s important to pay attention to how your fitness activities affect your hunger.

It took me many years to realize that high-intensity, steady-state exercise is not the best approach for me, because it makes me insatiably hungry. It was far too easy for me to “out-eat” my training, which meant I was forever spinning my wheels and not seeing the results I was expecting to see.

We always recommend applying the Minimum Effective Dose to your training. While we appreciate that you love exercise, it’s important that you do just enough to elicit the desired results, while keeping your hormones happy and your appetite in check.

For most women, this typically means two or three heavy strength training days, one or two short-duration HIIT (high-intensity interval training) sessions, and no more than a couple of moderate-intensity, steady-state cardio sessions per week.

Getting too aggressive with exercise and doing an unreasonably high amount of cardio, spending hours in the weight room each day, or doing two-a-day training sessions, can wreak havoc with your hormones and lead to a voracious appetite—which is probably not in line with the goals for which you’re training so hard to begin with.

Ask:

• Is any type exercise that I’m doing increasing my appetite to the point that it may be sabotaging, instead of supporting, my goals?

• What kind of exercise can I do instead to dial down my appetite a bit? (Example: instead of running for 45 minutes, how about trying a 15-minute session of intervals? Instead of that 60-minute Spin class, how about breaking it up into two 30-minute moderate-intensity cardio sessions throughout the week?)

3. Satiation Instead of Deprivation

When people think of fat loss, most think this means you have to follow a very strict diet with a short list of what’s “allowed” and a long list of what’s “forbidden.” You know what gets old very fast? Dry chicken breast, soggy broccoli, egg whites, oats, and protein powder day in and day out, like it’s Groundhog Day.

Eating well does not have to be boring and unsatisfying.

This can work, sure. There’s nothing nutritionally wrong with it. But I can promise you one thing: it won’t work for long, unless you actually love to eat like this and truly feel satisfied. A person can only tolerate so much bland, unsatisfying food. It’s not long before she’ll wave the white flag and run toward some more exciting food—and quite often, it’s food that is neither very nutritious nor in alignment with her fat loss goals.

The key to being able to stick with your nutrition approach is to ensure that you love what you’re eating. You have to enjoy your food in order to be satisfied. If you choke down a meal that you hate, the likelihood that you’ll be foraging through your pantry afterwards for something to please your palate is extremely high.

Thanks to the Internet, there are millions of recipes right at your fingertips. While it may take you 20 minutes to bake a week’s worth of bland chicken breasts, it would only take you an additional few minutes to whip up a tasty sauce for them, try a new seasoning blend, or another way of cooking them. You can bake, broil, roast, crockpot, grill, steam, or sauté your food. Just a tiny bit more effort can make a huge difference. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Better tasting food means you have an enjoyable eating experience, which leaves you satisfied and happy.

Ask:

• Am I currently eating foods I can’t stand, but I eat them because I feel like I’m “supposed” to?

• What can I do to those foods, or what can I substitute, to enjoy my eating experience?

• Can I spare an extra 10 – 20 minutes per day to improve the taste of my food?

4. Cardio

Cardio is a funny thing. For a few decades, it’s all many women wanted to do. Thankfully, things are evolving, and a growing number of women have embraced the empowering feeling of slinging some heavy iron. The only downside to that is that cardio has started to get lambasted. Cardio, like most other things, can be a useful tool in your toolbox when it’s used correctly.

Be smart about doing cardio. While some is often beneficial, more isn’t always better.

Is cardio necessary for everyone who wants to get leaner? Not really. But if you find that you’re a bit stuck, incorporating a couple of sessions per week could help.

Moderate-intensity steady-state cardio is a way to burn calories, sure. More importantly, it improves work capacity, which can mean improved training. It can also aid in recovery from your strength workouts.

This is not a pass for cardio overload. Whatever form of cardio you choose, please make sure that you’re doing the type that keeps stress low, and your hunger levels under control.

Ask:

• What kind of cardio do I enjoy most? Brisk walking, biking, riding the elliptical?

• Can I spare 20 minutes twice a week to incorporate some low/moderate-intensity cardio?

• How did that cardio make me feel? Do I feel in control of my appetite? Do I feel energized? If the answer to those questions is yes, stick with it for a few weeks and see what changes you notice.

As you can see, when it comes to fat loss, there is more to the equation that simply restricting food intake, and doing more exercise. If you find yourself stuck and not making any progress, take a look at these four things, and see if making a few changes can help push things forward. One last, but important note: Once you make a change, stick with it for a few weeks, and then evaluate your progress.

What’s Next?

If you want to:

• Feel empowered by your training – not held hostage by it
• Heal your relationship with food and your body image
• Rock a healthy lifestyle

… and you want some support as you work your way there, our Strongest You Coaching program is perfect for you.

This is a 9-month coaching program that we only open up to new clients a few times a year. Strongest You Coaching includes customized training programs and habit-based nutrition coaching from your Girls Gone Strong Coach, to whom you have direct access six days a week.

Strongest You Coaching is about more than physical change. It’s about changing your inner dialogue, and finally healing your relationship with food and your body, all with the help of your personal Girls Gone Strong Coach, and your fellow Strongest You Coaching clients.

If you’re interested in our Strongest You Coaching program, make sure you get on the pre-registration list here. These limited spots fill up quickly when we open up, and if you’re on the list, you’ll have the chance to register 24 hours before registration opens to the general public.

This entirely online program is for any woman who wants to become the strongest, healthiest, most gorgeous person she can be – inside and out. The women who enroll in this program are busy moms and professionals. Some have never worked out before. Some are women who have worked out hardcore all their lives. Others are simply trying to get back to feeling healthy and fit.

Pre-Register here today.

Filed under: Fitness