By Body fat can creep up on you when you least expect it – even though it’s your own doing.
Weight loss is usually the incentive for anyone that wants to get their health back in order – or perhaps realises they have overextended their eating for a long period.
As a result, body fat starts to creep up on you when you least expect it. For example, you put on a pair of jeans one day and notice they have suddenly become a lot tighter! Hasn’t that happened to all of us at some stage in our life?
Despite my knowledge and skills in health, fitness, and nutrition, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve come across this in my own life. It can happen to the best of us, and it’s because we –
Slowly begin to eat more calories than we burn.
Unfortunately, exercise can only go so far. When you feed your body excess fuel regularly and keep adding more fuel to the fire, nothing solves your weight gain problem unless some changes start occurring with your choices in nutrition.
Everyone wants to eat more than they should – it’s only natural. But the reality is if your body doesn’t burn it as fuel – it will store it as fat cells for future use.
I don’t know many people who are happy with being overweight, mainly because it can lead to health issues now or in the future. But, on the other hand, being too thin isn’t ideal either. So it’s all about balancing what we want and what we can realistically achieve.
What happens when you lose body fat.
We will always have a certain amount of fat in our cells. When we burn the fat in our cells, they shrink – but do not disappear.
People may come up with many theories regarding fat loss, but the most accurate one you should know is that consuming fewer calories than you burn (caloric deficit) is the number one way to lose weight. Out training, a lousy diet will never work – and lead to frustration as well as injury.
Our body shape starts with the fuel we feed our body.
The exact amount of calories you would cut back on varies from person to person. It’s also not a linear process either. It’s not always about eating less and exercising more. This confuses many people because we have mistakenly taken that path, leading to a lack of fat loss and even an increase in weight. Weight loss results from a nutrient-rich diet filled with various types of protein, vegetables, fruit, and carb sources. Coupling this with a solid exercise plan of weight training and cardio will amplify the process.
Don’t fall under the impression that a 1200 calories per day diet is the key.
The key is first to plan out your eating plan, making sure you eat the macro variety as above in a controlled way. It also means not sneaking food into your daily schedule that has no purpose for weight loss.
I know all too well the excuses people give me when a diet doesn’t work for them. But, unfortunately, these people usually resort to the cookie jar at 3 pm and somehow dismiss this action right out of their minds. It’s an unconscious habit that one is required to realise and resolved – or weight loss will always be a problem.
Our bodies love comfort food if we allow ourselves to have this during times of stress, tiredness or when a craving starts to take possession of our minds.
It took me nine months to eliminate my obsessive sugar habit, and I know how challenging it is to make the transition. It takes a lot of motivation and positive self-talk to get through the first few months. But, after that, the control switch is in your hands once and for all. This can be a reality for you, too – but it takes work.
Why do we lose fat off the places we need it most
Our fat cells are distributed over our bodies due to genetics.
As a result, some people lose weight straight off their legs, and others will find their upper bodies start to shrink (as in us ladies, boobs tend to disappear!).
What’s surprising is that our fat can be distributed to different cells over time (1). This situation takes place if you have a history of weight loss and regain.
Unfortunately, this situation has happened to me!
Beware – it takes constant effort not to regain the weight.
Our fat cells are always there, ready to distribute extra energy into storage for later use.
As a result, the temptations to overeat and eat the wrong things will regularly appear in front of us. It does take effort and self-discipline to stay in control of your eating. One meal per week won’t harm your goals – but regular over indulgences will have negative consequences.
How to bypass the stress of weight loss and regain
This strategy may not work well for everyone, but it’s proven to be an effective way to lose weight and keep it off. I want to discuss it, as it’s been one of my most successful weight loss and health tools.
With this strategy alone, you can bypass the stress and anxiety of monitoring each meal and wondering if you will ever get and maintain your fat loss results.
Let me introduce you to intermittent fasting. All it takes is to skip one meal per day – that’s it. Skip breakfast or dinner—no supplements, no extra meal prep and no worries at all.
Yes, it is that easy, and it’s effective. When you start, the best and most effective step forward is to do the above.
Once you master that, introducing new and more effective tools will keep the momentum and results progressing. I find that using a fasting app helps me a lot. During my first few months, I struggled to work out if I was doing the right thing. The following recommendation is my favourite fasting app on the market – mainly because I can monitor my caloric, step and water intake, get recipe and exercise ideas, as well as get prompts when I suddenly forgot to log in for the day. I like to have everything in one app rather than having to switch over endlessly.
If you want to tap into your fat cells all the time, then fasting is the perfect lifestyle plan for you. If you follow a healthy nutritional plan, exercise and fast, then your results will become effortless. I know this sounds too good to be true, and it can become your reality if you try it out.
Ask anyone that has been fasting for long periods, and they will tell you the same thing – this is the easiest and best plan they’ve done for weight loss.
Take away
The fat gain will only become an issue when we stop paying attention to our health.
It’s important to notice any changes happening in our lives and watch how our eating habits change. For example, when I get stressed or there is a significant change in my psychology. Then, I am bound to eat less or more; it depends on the situation and stressor.
If you can catch yourself out before the damage starts to accumulate, you will have a better chance at bypassing the uncomfortable weight gain trend that’s plagued you for years—cheers to your success.