Most of us know that over consumption of alcohol, sugar and inactivity is going to prevent fat loss, however there are some common mistakes that we often make that prevent us from getting the results we want.
Firstly cutting out fat thinking that fat must make us fat. Yes eating trans fats which can be found in cakes and biscuits will make us fat but saturated and unsaturated fat do provide many benefits such as;
helping control our appetite, stimulating production of hormones and improving insulin sensitivity (which helps lower our blood glucose levels using less amount of insulin).
Good sources of fat include:
- walnuts
- flax-seeds
- fish oils
- oily fish such as salmon and mackerel
- coconut oil
- avocado
Another factor we need to consider is “yo yo” dieting which may be skipping meals, cutting certain essential food groups or drastically reducing calories. This may initially cause weight loss but when we return to our normal eating patterns we tend to regain the weight first loss and in some cases gain even more weight. This happens as the body starts to use muscle as an energy source when it is nutrient deprived, slowing our metabolism, causing us to gain weight again, which can then turn into a cycle of losing and regaining it again over and over!!
We can prevent this by eating little and often, starting with a protein based breakfast such as an omelette with veg, lunch an dinner should consist of a source of protein (chicken, fish, eggs, quinoa), healthy fats (as previously discussed) and slow releasing carbohydrate (sweet potato, wholemeal wraps or rice). Snacking on small pieces of fruit and nuts for example.
By eating this way will cause our blood glucose and insulin levels to remain steady throughout the day, preventing us to gain weight over time.
For fat loss the best way for us to train is to do a combination of resistance and interval training. If we just do steady state cardio based training (running at the same pace for 30mins) our bodies may continue burning calories for up to an hour after we finish our session. However if we do a combination of resistance training and interval training (whereby we combine our cardio training with high intensity quick bursts) we can continue burning calories for 6 hours plus after our session. This occurs as this way of training requires more energy for us to recover from causing our metabolism to remain higher for longer.
For best results eat little and often, with a variety of foods that are natural, unprocessed, with little to no sugar, staying as active as you can combining resistance and interval training. Set realistic achievable goals to give you the motivation to get the results you want.