Lose 20lbs Without Being Miserable.
Yes! It is possible (for most people) to lose 20 lbs of fat without making yourself miserable.
Many of you have asked me about how to lose body fat efficiently and without that constant hunger feeling. Oddly enough, starting a new exercise plan might actually interfere with your body’s ability to shed fat due to significant elevations in the stress hormone, Cortisol.
Cortisol can actually function to promote fat storage when it is activated. Stressful states can elevate this hormone and make fat loss more challenging. Many people have actually lost weight by focusing on their diet and lowering their exercise output.
Losing body fat can happen with hormone optimization and a solid plan. Hormone optimization can allow your metabolism work more efficiently and allow for muscle mass retention during fat loss. Muscle mass retention is one of the keys to maintaining your metabolism after you initially start to lose weight.
Without getting into the enormous amount of minutia of dietary options(zone, keto, paleo, primal, cyclical, carnivorous, etc.), listed below are a few general rules when your goal is primarily body fat loss.
Rule #1 Eat Planned Meals.
No matter if your lifestyle allows you to eat 1 meal or 6 meals per day, having planned meals will put you well ahead of the pack.
Having the discipline to plan your meals will also prevent bad food choices when you are hungry (or hangry). Here are a few easy meal prep container options. If you have trouble difficulty preparing your food consider a meal prep company like this.
Rule #2 You Cannot "Out-Run" The Fork.
Basically you can not exercise away enough calories on a consistent basis in order to prevent body fat gain when you are eating too many calories. Here is a meal tracking app that many patients have found to be helpful.
Yes- exercise is important, however too much focus on activity can be counterproductive. For example a few studies have shown that too much cardio may interfere with being able to stay to a low calorie diet.
Rule #3 Break The Rules.
You must know the rules before breaking them. To lose weight you must have a calorie deficit. In the beginning you must accurately know your calorie intake.
Knowing Is Half Of The Battle.
All to often people are counting macros and then suddenly their portion sizes become too large, or snacks go uncounted leading to increased body fat (stored energy).
If you are having a desert, then simply count your desert in order to stay on track. Obviously, you must count the numbers for macros to work.
The Other Details...
There are 3 basic levels of complexity regarding meal planning:
Level 1 Counting Calories.
Level 2 Tracking Macros (proteins/carbs/fat)
Level 3 Both of the above along with tracking micro-nutrients, proper fatty acids, sodium, etc.
If you or someone that you know would like to learn more, please click the convenient scheduling link below.
We would love to assist you with calorie calculations, macros, and exercise recommendations. We also have specialized lab testing that can check your essential micro-nutrient levels.
Contact us to learn more! (904) 874-5775
*Disclaimer: Please speak with your healthcare provider before starting or stopping and diet or program. The information is this post is not to be used as formal medical advice.