Here is the only explanation you will need when it comes to how to lose weight. Lucky for us, it is simple: it will only take me two words to explain weight loss, and I don’t even have to mention working out.
So here it is in big and bold letters:
CALORIE DEFICIT.
Just so you see it, here it is again:
CALORIE DEFICIT.
And one more time for good measure:
CALORIE DEFICIT.
A calorie deficit is a state where a person consumes less calories than they are expending (burn) on a daily basis. Being in a calorie deficit will allow you to start losing weight. There is no special workout, group of exercises, or types of food, for that matter, that will help you lose weight quicker than calorie deficit. If a professional within the fitness industry or someone online is telling you that their type of specific workout or product is for ‘’fat burning’’, then stay as far away from them as possible. Why? 1) It is all for marketing and 2) they have no clue what they are talking about or don’t have your best intentions at heart.
As a Personal Trainer, a very recurring conversation with people is about weight loss, and I hear something along the lines of ‘’I want/need to lose 5, 10, 15, 20kg,’’ and I do this myself, too. While I’m all for big long term goals, I think a new approach to how we measure our weight loss and how we talk to others about it needs to be explored, so here it is.
If you are wanting to lose weight, say this to yourself and others.
“I need to lose 1kg.”
Bayley, why only 1kg? Surely, we can agree that no one struggles to lose 1kg. If you don’t believe me, weigh yourself at night and then the next morning, you will notice you are lighter, and that’s just a natural habit of your body. So is 1kg hard to lose? The answer is no. Weight loss can be a daunting task for anyone. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous and slightly daunted by the fact of losing the amount of weight I need to for my bodybuilding show in October, but by breaking it down into 1kg increments, it feels much more achievable. We need to do everything to put into place what it takes to lose 1kg and then repeat that when it’s time to lose the next kilo. By breaking down the long term target into smaller achievable goals, I believe the process becomes much less daunting and much more enjoyable because you are constantly feeling a sense of accomplishment as you mentally or physically tick off those 1kg goals.
What drastically goes down must also come drastically up.
An interesting statement I made there, but here is what I’m trying to say. With weight loss, if you go for a hard and fast approach eg: trying to lose 5-10kg in two months, best believe that when you come off that and back into a normal diet and workout routine, you will not sustain that weight loss. Your weight will increase back up to what the body will see as a healthy normal weight. So, how do we go about losing weight and maintaining it when we have achieved the target? FOCUS ON 1kg AT A TIME!
To lose 1kg does not mean you need to make drastic changes to your routine. It allows you to take your time in going about changing pre-existing habits and creating new ones. It is said on average it takes two months to create new habits, so I don’t want to hear you doing a challenge to see how much weight you can lose in one month, because those habits are not yet developed and autonomous to you.
While I must admit patience is not one of my strengths when it comes to losing weight, patience is a virtue. The best sustainable long-term results will come from being patient and taking the long way around. Naturally, when anyone goes on a weight loss journey, we looks for compliments from others to keep us motivated. This is just personal opinion, but the quicker we lose weight, we believe the more impressed others will be. If this is the case, I want to reinforce the fact that weight loss should not be about trying to impress and get praise from others, but should be a personal definition where you can praise and impress yourself when you look in the mirror.
Conclusion
The only way to start losing weight is by putting yourself in a calorie deficit, and if anyone tells you otherwise, please get them to come to me, and I will give them the same rant that you have just read at the beginning of this. The key to sustainable weight loss and maintenance of weight once it’s lost is to be patient and focus on doing everything you can to lose the first kilo, and from there, repeat that same process.
