There is nothing worse than opening up your bottom drawer with excitement about that first 80-degree sun-shiny day to grab a pair of shorts, only to get them to your knees before they’re stuck!!
UGH. We’ve all been there. So let’s get a headstart on dropping some body fat before all of our joy is snatched by a pair of shorts we can’t wiggle into anymore.
You’re a smart woman and you know that exercising is a must and that kale is good for you, so WHY does dropping weight [and keeping it off] feel like trying to win the lottery?
Today is your lucky day! As a 15+ year Nutritionist & former IFBB Figure Pro, it just so happens that achieving “single-digit body fat” happens to be my domain of excellence.
I am going to share with you MY PERSONAL TOP 5 Do’s and Dont’s of burning extra body fat, without starving, or logging 3 hrs a day at the gym!
Burning body fat is as hard or as simple as we make it.
The “simple” side of the formula looks like this…
- increase energy output (exercise)
- decrease energy input (food)
- do both of those with ‘balance & consistency’
Basic fundamental healthy habits tend to fall by the wayside when life gets busy. Yet these simple tasks, repeated daily, make magic happen!
If you were hoping for wild or complicated suggestions like ingesting a magic mushroom or rubbing snake oil on your body fat so it poof disappears, welp, wrong blog. What I will say is, don’t underestimate the simplicity, this list is biblical on busting thru stubborn fat.
Since ‘checklists’ are life… I’ve designed a top 5 DO’s and DON’Ts
5 DO’s
- Water
- Eat Real Food
- Fasted Cardio or HIIT training
- Do cut out Complex Carbohydrates after 2pm
- Lift Weights
5 DON’Ts
- Drink fru-fru drinks
- Juice Cleanse
- Overdo Cardio
- Over restrict calories
- Skip Sleep
Let’s Dive Deeper…
WATER:
Water is the primary essence of life! Most of our bodies are made of water. Think of water as your body’s cleaning agent. Water helps to move food, blood, hormones, etc. through our system. Not drinking enough clean high-quality H20 can result in weight gain as ‘sludge’ builds up in our systems.
How much water should you drink? The easy rule is to aim for 2/3 your body weight in ounces. However, if you’re 300 lbs, that’s unrealistic. Start with 2-3 liters and work your way up to a gallon to a gallon and a half, depending on your size.
EAT REAL FOOD:
Eat real food, not food-like substances. One downfall I troubleshoot frequently with my clients is the amount of ‘processed healthy snacks’ they consume. Human-made food is low in nutrients. Also, as a general rule, if you can’t pronounce the ingredient, your body doesn’t easily process it!
FASTED CARDIO OR HIIT TRAINING:
Make your cardio minutes count! Research shows that fasted cardio is ideal because exercising in a fasted state increases both lipolysis and fat oxidation. This means your body is breaking down fat cells to use them for energy. HIIT training stands for high-intensity interval training. I like to tell my clients, it’s hard, it’s fast, and then it’s done! HIIT has many benefits which include increasing your metabolism, lowering your resting heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and also lowering your body fat!
CUT OUT COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES AROUND 2 PM:
Unless your workout is late in the day, go ahead and eat your last complex carbohydrate around 2 pm. Veggies are fine of course, but nothing complex after 2. This allows your body the opportunity to use up the carbs you’ve eaten so far that day so that nothing is left to store at the end of the day when you lay down to sleep.
LIFT WEIGHTS:
Don’t make the mistake of becoming a cardio queen. Here’s how this works. Cardio workouts typically burn more calories than weight lifting, BUT your metabolism will stay elevated longer after lifting. Also, building muscle tone or mass helps your body burn 4x more calories at rest than body fat does.
DON'Ts
FRU-FRU DRINKS:
If you’re focused on fat loss then stop it already with the fun drinks. Lemme explain, the sugar-free fat-free latte from Starbucks still has plenty of calories and loads of chemicals. Your favorite kombucha or adaptogenic herbal ashwagandha drink from your local health store is also loaded in sugar and calories. While yes, they may have their health benefits, they don’t help with your fat loss journey.
JUICE CLEANSE:
Oh, me, oh my. While juice cleanses have nutritional value for sure, they’re high in fructose/sugar. No one ever sits down and eats 5 oranges, 2 apples, 10 stalks of celery, and 2 lemons in one sitting. It’s too much, and so is the sugar from that juice. Eat fruits and veggies, this ensures that you won’t overdose on the sugar and calorie intake and you will benefit from the fiber.
OVERDO CARDIO:
Cardio does help burn fat; however, our metabolisms quickly go back to normal. Too much cardio actually leads to muscle loss. The more muscle you lose the slower your metabolism goes.
OVER-RESTRICT CALORIES:
Too few calories won’t help you burn body fat, and has actually been proven to slow thyroid function. If you aren’t giving yourself the macronutrients that your body needs, it will steal them from your muscle tissue, and your body will downgrade your metabolism.
SKIP SLEEP:
If you’re trying to burn body fat then you better take your sleep schedule seriously. The hormones leptin and ghrelin that control hunger and stress regulate themselves while we sleep. Pay attention to the nights you don’t get enough sleep, you will see that you are hungrier the following day.
Setting your schedule and environment up to win is vital.
Toss out naughty tempting foods that live in your pantry.
Plan your week. Prep your food for the week on Sunday. Know what days/times you’re hitting the gym. Once you start to see and feel a change, [it only takes 5-10 days for this to happen if you’re eating/exercising correctly] you will find it so easy to continue!
Want to be told exactly what to eat, and exactly how to train and have expert-level coaches support you?
Jump with both feet into our 28-day Bikini Bod Blitz. We start soon! Details here: https://www.whollyfueled.com/bbb-registration/