Fat Loss Tip - Never Shop Hungry

Fat Loss Tip - Never Shop Hungry

That escalated quickly! 

Yes, I folded to the dreaded festive treats!

This was not one of those well-planned treats that fitted into my macro and calorie goals, this was simply me eating junk because I was hungry.

This all came down to me shopping on an empty stomach, I don’t usually allow myself to get hungry, I like food too much, but today I allowed myself to get extremely hungry and then went shopping……….big fail!

When you’re hungry your blood sugar levels are lower, to increase your blood sugar levels you’ll want to eat, and nothing gets your sugar levels up faster than sugar! Your body knows this, this is why it craves junk food when you’re hungry.

Best way to avoid this is to eat regularly (small meals for fat loss), this will stop you from feeling hungry and never, never, NEVER shop when you’re hungry.

[Fat Loss] Do I need to track calories?

Do I need to track calories?

10 Immutable Fat Loss Tips

10 Immutable Fat Loss Tips

The Internet is full of conflicting information, so here I'm providing you with 10 Immutable Fat Loss Tips, tips that have stood the test of time and are backed up by plenty of research. I believe that most fitness professionals, no matter what their background would all agree with these tips. Don't waste your time with the latest trends and meal replacements shake, just master the basics and start with these immutable tips.

What is the perfect rep range for fat loss?

How do I calculate my rep range for fat loss?

This is a very common question, and it’s not the first time I’ve touched on this subject.

Let’s get straight into it.

High Reps (12-15):

Burn more calories 

Medium Reps (8-12):

Optimise muscle building 

Low Reps (4-8):

Strength

Okay, so if my goal is fat loss, then it makes sense for me to perform a higher amount of reps to burn more calories, correct? Well, not really!

If you want to lose fat, you should be trying to develop a decent amount of muscle tissue (in the gym), the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolic rate. 8-12 reps are gold when it comes to hypertrophy (muscle development). You can very effectively hit all three mechanisms of hypertrophy (three mechanisms of developing muscle):

- Mechanical tension (high resistance)

- Metabolic stress (pump/cell swelling) 

- Muscle damage (stretch)

Okay, so if my goal is fat loss, then it makes sense for me to perform between 8-12 reps, correct? Well, not really!

Possibly the biggest factor when it comes to muscle building is mechanical tension, putting enough resistance through your muscles to force them to develop. You will need to use heavyweight; therefore, you’ll need to perform fewer reps (4-8 reps) to optimise this mechanism.

Okay, so if my goal is fat loss, then it makes sense for me to between 4-8 reps and lifts heavier, correct? Well, not really!

You’ll need to have plenty of rest between sets when lifting very heavy, so you won’t be burning a high amount of calories.

I can hear the shouts....”Andy……I’m confused…..How many reps will help me to lose fat??’

 

Well, you need an element of all three. You can include each element in each of your gym sessions e.g heavier at the start, or a more effective plan would be to incorporate this through phases /cycles. 

Example: 

- Month one mainly higher reps with the odd strength session

- Month two mostly medium reps with the odd bit of strength work

- Month three should be strength-focused, I don’t mean spending the full session training between 4-8 reps, instead start the session with heavy compound exercises like squats or deadlifts (after your warm-up of course), then increase the reps through the session. Once you come to the end of this phase you should have increased strength, that would be the goal of this phase.

Here is an example of how you could structure these sessions:

Month one full body example session:

A1 - Leg press - 12 reps x 3

B1 - Cable row - 12 reps x 3

C1 - 45 degree hip extension - 12 reps x 3

D1 - Seated shoulder press - 15 reps x 3

E1 - Lateral raises - 15 reps x 3

Month two full body example session:

A1 - Front squat - 10 reps x 3

B1 - Bent over row - 10 reps x 3

C1 - Lying leg curls - 10 reps x 3

D1 - Military press - 10 reps x 3

E1- Horizontal cable pull - 12 reps x 3

F1 - Dead bugs - 15 (each side) x 3

Month three full body example session:

A1 - Barbell back squat - 6 reps x 5

B1 - Cable pull down - 8 reps x 4

C1 - RDL’s - 8 reps x 4

D1 - Barbell bench press - 10 reps x 4

E1 - Cable tricep push down 12 reps x 3

F1 - Rowing machine 200m x 5

Now, a big thing you need to consider when putting your training plan together is how likely you are to stick with that plan, if you do the same session every single day then this will be completely soul destroying. You need to consistently mix it up (month by month) allow every workout to take you one step closer to where you want to be.

How do I set myself specific calories for fat loss?

How do I set myself specific calories for fat loss?

Someone emailed this question today, but it’s not as straight forward as some simple maths.

First of all…. what is a calorie?

Calories are tiny creatures that live in your wardrobe and sew your clothes a little bit tighter every night……or specifically, a calorie is the amount of energy, or heat, it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.…… So basically its a unit of measurable energy.

Here is what you need to do to set your specific calorie requirements for fat loss.

Track food for one week (include the weekend)

Find your average amount of calories (Use My fitness Pal to track this)

Example week: 

Monday - 1600 Calories 

Tuesday - 1800 Calories

Wednesday - 1750 Calories

Thursday - 1900 Calories

Friday - 2200 Calories

Saturday - 2500 Calories

Sunday - 2400 Calories

Now this gives us an average of calories, in this case it’s 2021. Ask yourself how you feel on this amount of calories, full, satisfied, normal or hungry?

I imagine most of you would feel satisfied, unless you are already on a fat loss programme or are one of these insane people that ‘forget to eat’!!

If you’re gaining fat by eating this amount of food then it’s obviously too much, there is more fuel going into your body than is actually needed, in this case you’ll need to drop your daily calories by about 200-300 calories (dependant on current size and current intake), then assess changes in body composition and weight.

If you’re maintaining your body fat on this amount, then again it’s likely too much if your goal is to lose fat. You’ll need to drop your daily calories by about 100-200 calories then assess changes in body composition and weight (if the goal is in fact fat loss).

If you’re dropping fat on this amount then it’s about right. Keep doing what you’re doing!

One big thing to consider is how hungry you are, if you are feeling really hungry then you have obviously dropped your calories too far and you need to up them or you will lose muscle tissue along with the fat, this will obviously inhibit your performance and potential in the gym.

Simple Macros - Make sure you have a decent amount of Protein (1.3 grams per kg of body weight or more…..lots more), a respectable amount of healthy Fats and don’t kick the ass out of the Carbohydrates, you’re trying to lose fat not carb loading to run the London marathon.

Also, you can use online calorie calculators to work out your calories, but these base the calculations on your height, weight, age, gender and don’t take into consideration your current muscle tissue or the fact that everyone is different, but they can give us an idea of about how much food we should be eating, it’s a good tool.

Alternatively, sometimes you just need to add in an extra conditioning session to give you that slight caloric deficit your body needs to drop fat.

Here is an example of a quick conditioning workout you can utilise:

——————

Treadmill - 1.5km x 1

Cross Trainer - 4min

Bike - 40 seconds x 4 sets (20 seconds rest between each set)

Rowing machine - 250m x 4 sets (30 seconds rest between each set)

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If you found this useful then please like and share.

Fat Loss Tip - Eat Plenty of fibrous vegetables

Fat Loss Tip #5 - Eat Plenty of fibrous vegetables

F- Fullness
I- Insulin control
B- Beneficial bacteria
E- Expectancy
R- Regulation

I’m not going to go into any great deal about the science of vegetables, I’m not that boring. Just eat your damn vegetables!