More exercise, less food and less stress are the best way to lose fat fast. Create a negative energy balance (more calories burned than eaten) and you trigger fat mobilisation from the body.
Potential Problem
When food intake is lowered so that the body has to rely on its own sources, not only fat and glycogen (carbohydrates stored in muscle and liver) but also protein are used for energy. The protein will come from the break down of muscle tissue as the body begins to catabolise itself. Avoiding muscle loss is important.
Losing muscle is counter productive. The more muscle the better higher your resting metabolic rate. Some muscle mass may be lost as a natural process of slimming but it is important to minimise the amount of lean tissue lost when loosing fat.
There are a couple of ways to ensure this:
- Make sure that the weight loss is gradual and consistent. If the reduction in weight is gradual you are less likely to be correcting energy balance from muscle tissue alone and the muscle loss is minimised.
- Do resistance workouts. Exercises involving weighted training – bodyweight, free weights or machines – are one of the best ways to minimise muscle loss during fat loss regimes. Stimulated muscles are pushed into metabolic phase where the body works to repair itself helping to slow down the break down of muscle mass.
- Have regularly intake of high quality protein.
- Protein has a satiating effect on the appetite. Increasing protein intake ( for example at breakfast) has been shown to reduce the hunger but is also associated with reduced muscle loss during fat loss regimes.
- Go for protein of high bio-availability found in most animal sources. But stick to high quality white meats and oily fish with occasional portions of red meat. If you are a vegetarian, increase intake of high protein food sources such as chick peas, lentils, tofu, nuts etc.
- Majority of modern diets already contain more protein than is necessary. Having more more protein may not be necessary for you if you already have a protein rich diet. In this case you will benefit with regulating the intake through the day. So instead of eating large protions of meat/fish at particular times of the day try to spread it out through the 24 hour period.
- On a fat loss regime aim for 1.6g/kg of protein per body weight/day. (Keep in mind that 100g of chicken is not 100g of protein. Most meats and fish have 18-24g of proteins per 100g of food) For example: Breakfast – slice of turkey, 10-11am some nuts, lunch baked salmon, 3pm yoghurt, dinner ( e.g. a high protein veg option) a chickpeas and lentil salad. Each meal will also include fresh fruit and vegetables and still keep the carbohydrate content lower than normal.
- Protein has a satiating effect on the appetite. Increasing protein intake ( for example at breakfast) has been shown to reduce the hunger but is also associated with reduced muscle loss during fat loss regimes.
Keep the metabolism at its peak by keeping the muscle losses to a minimum.
With healthy wishes,
Dmitri Tkatchev
Read on:
Introduction to the 31 Day Fitness Kickstart
Day 1 – Water
Day 2 – Protein at breakfast
Day 3 – Meal frequency
Day 4 – Sugar
Day 5 – Lifestyle
Day 6 – Carbohydrates
Day 7 – Sleep
Day 8 – Start easy with Cardio – frequency not the quantity.
Day 9 – Get clever with your fats!
Day 10 – Find or become a role model
Day 11 – Coffee
Day 12 – Exercise improves your appetite response.
Day 13 – Consistency over intensity
Day 14 – Add cinnamon to your diet
Day 15 – Energising morning fix
Day 16 – Active rest
Day 17 – Holistic fitness.
Day 19 – Don’t forget steady paced cardio
Day 20 – Eat plenty of fibre
Day 21 – Take up a physically demanding hobby.
Day 22 – Hire a qualified and an experienced Personal Trainer
Day 23 – Eat Cake
Day 24 – Don’t forget that the feeling of hunger is the best cue for when to eat
Day 25 – Tune in to your training
Day 26 – Sort out the calorie density of your meals.
Day 27 – Eat more grapefruit
Day 28 – Eat within an hour after your workout!
Day 29 – Stay in the low range of Glycaemic Index and Glycaemic Load
Day 30 – Cycle crunches.
Day 31 – Learn to listen to your body