3 Tips For Weight Loss

The market for the weight loss industry is huge! Every second company is out there with the intent on selling whatever diet it is they have on hand that will help you ‘LOSE 10KG IN 5 WEEKS!’, or a thousand personal trainers trying to convince you to weigh and measure every miniscule gram of your food in order to take in the ‘perfect’ amount of macronutrients. Most of these methods are outrageously overcomplicated and unsustainable for the average joe. So, it is about time we simplify the whole damn thing. It doesn’t need to be this overwhelming nightmare of a task, it needs to be simple, it needs to be sustainable and your need to realise NOW that you are in it for the long haul.

LOSE WEIGHT FAST!

The ‘lose weight fast!’ method is all BS, it doesn’t work in the long run and it doesn’t focus on helping you improve your lifestyle. The intent is purely to get you to lose ‘weight’ as quickly as possible, with absolutely no care for what that weight includes (muscle mass, fat, water… we still need the muscle mass and water!!). The aim is to drastically limit your calories to get it done fast.

COUNTING AND WEIGHING

Intensely counting your macronutrients, weighing your broccoli and virtually never being able to go out for dinner with your friends… is actually a far healthier and more effective method for burning fat while maintaining muscle mass. BUT it is completely inconceivable for almost everybody except elite athletes. Why? Do you, the average joe/jane, honestly believe you can stick to weighing and counting your food EVERY DAY and STILL maintain a healthy relationship with 1/ your food, 2/ your friends and family, 3/ your own mental state? Day in day out we see people on social media go HARD on their diet with the intent on growing abs and looking as ‘skinny’ as possible. So many of these people reach that goal… but far far more often than not, we see them a few months later struggling with rapid weight gain, discussing their mental battle with body image and food, and generally ready to put themselves through it all over again. And I personally am shattered that this is happening to so many people, and that so many trainers out there are pushing this on their weight loss clients. It is UNSUSTAINABLE and COMPLETELY DANGEROUS, psychologically far more than physically.

PART 1

We discuss some methods to just keep it simple. Weight loss, or a better term, fat loss, doesn’t need to be that hard. Lastly, remember these rules: 1/ THE LONG GAME is the ONLY WAY to a healthy fat % 2/ STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF, how you feel and how your clothes fit are 100x the better indicator. An accurate fat % is the next best measure. Total kg is IRRELEVANT. 3/ STOP TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A FITNESS MODEL ON INSTAGRAM. Not even they look like that 90% of the time. #alwaysfilter 4/ ABS ON FEMALES IS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE for 90%+ of you. Chase a new goal… like looking fit and healthy, feeling fit and healthy, and enjoying what good health and strength feels like. Ladies, you all look fantastic without abs, + in the end, no one actually cares about your abs.

PART 2

Taking Tip one a little further… All diet programs have the same process to help you lose weight. They limit your calories. They are all effective in helping you lose weight. It is up to you to chose the one that you can sustain. They all work. Whether your diet is high fat or high carb, whether it involves no gluten or no dairy, whether it is about having a balanced diet of whatever you like as long as it is under XXXX calories, here is the most important thing you must make sure of… MAKE SURE IT IS NUTRIENT DENSE You must include a healthy amount of vitamins and minerals in your diet or else you are going to feel terrible and your body isn’t going to function poorly. You must include some vegetables and small amount of quality fruit. When it comes to your macro-nutrients. Make sure you are getting a good amount of protein in to help maintain, repair and build muscle tissue (and all bodily tissue), and have a moderate amount of fats and carbs. You can lose weight eating Mars Bars every day if you stick to your calorie limit. But we both know your body is going to feel horrendous if you choose to do so. If you follow these important rules, you are more likely to not only just ‘lose weight’ but actually burn fat, you will maintain or grow muscle (if you are exercising), and you will feel good. Restrict yourself of these things (especially quality nutrients) and you will less likely succeed.

PART 3

Obviously we love CrossFit. We love it for so many reasons. But picking an exercise program because their marketing states that it will ‘burn fat better than the rest’ is absolute BS. ALL EXERCISE CONTRIBUTES TO BURNING FAT It is so so SO much more important to eat correctly in order to burn fat than it is to exercise. You don’t actually have to exercise at all to burn fat. Exercise just helps a little (10-30%). We love CrossFit because it contributes to fat loss, it builds lean sexy muscle, it builds self esteem, we learn new skills, we achieve tasks we never thought we could prior, daily life becomes easier, we have more energy to play with our kids, our community is so supportive and an incredible atmosphere to exercise in, most CrossFit coaches are incredibly knowledgeable, we feel strong, we feel fit, we feel capable, we regain our mobility, we fix long term injuries, everybody can do it. It is an awesome program! But again, all exercise contributes to fat loss. So pick one you will enjoy, don’t pick the next ridiculous fad because the ad says you can follow your calories burnt in real time. Do the one that is fun for you (even if it is fad one). – Stuart Cunningham