ShareFat loss is a hardcore battle. Anyone who tells you losing body fat is simple is full of shit.
If you mentally prepare yourself and physically fight hard, fat loss will not be a long-term process. Drag it out, and you’re wasting time going around in circles while you could be kicking butt achieving your next goal.
Sure, you can take the slow and steady approach. I understand why this would work for some people, however it’s not my thing. It is far more effective to treat fat loss as a single goal, focus all your energy on sticking to the plan then briskly move to the next endeavor.
Before we talk in-depth about fat loss acceleration, you need to understand how this fat loss business works. You’ve been training for a while so you kind of know the deal. However, there is a ton of conflicting information circling in the media and on the Internet that is overwhelming and confusing as hell.
To keep it simple, let’s clarify a few fundamentals. I won’t geek you out too much with the science. Just a quick overview on how fat loss works to give you the whole picture.
Fat Loss vs Weight Loss
These terms get interchanged frequently, which is even more confusing.
Fat loss is not the same as weight loss.
Weight loss is a very general term. Your body composition is divided into two separate types of mass:
- Fat free mass (bone, muscle, water and tissues)
- Body fat
To make it clear, the numbers on the scale don’t take this into consideration.
Losing weight does not necessary mean reducing your total body fat. Fat loss is the reduction in stored body fat.
So here’s a bonus tip: Use a tape measure to track your girths instead of the scale.
There are plenty of wacked out ways to quickly knock off 10 pounds. If this blog were about fast weight loss, I would be trying to sell you expensive supplements, detoxes and total insanity products that would totally get the weight off fast AND without any hard work.
Newsflash: Your slim body may be short-lived. Here is the real deal on permanent fat loss.
The Big Players in the Fat Loss Game
There are three major factors influencing your fat loss:
- Hormones
- Exercise
- Nutrition
1. Hormones
Fat loss is a hormonal event. Many people focus solely on the nutrition and training – trying for the life of them to create the optimal calorie deficit.
Of course that’s important, however you need to understand fat loss hormones are the controllers in the process. Keep these guys on your side and voila, fat be gone.
Fat Loss Hormones
Hormones are chemical messengers, which are sent by a gland or cell to affect another part of the body.
The major fat loss hormones we need to pay attention to include:
- Insulin
- Glucagon
- Growth Hormone (GH)
- Cortisol
These hormones are triggered by different food, drink, sleep, stress (including perceived stress) and most importantly, exercise.
Why Is This So Important?
The right hormones will tell the body to release energy from stored energy in fat cells. This also works in the opposite direction – there are hormones, which tell the body to store energy in fat cells for future use. To stabilize your weight, it’s a balancing act.
The Hormone Lowdown:
- Glucagon and GH are fat releasing hormones, so maintaining a high circulation is important for fat loss.
- Insulin is the fat storing hormone. It’s badass and reacts to high blood sugar, looking for somewhere to store it. Yep, it’s heading to your fat cells. You want to keep it stable throughout the day.
Warning: if insulin is elevated and circulating, this automatically lowers glucagon and GH.
Fundamental #1: Hormones rule your fat loss world. To promote fat loss you need to:
Minimize Insulin Levels – keep it low. Avoiding spiking throughout the day
Maximize Glucagon – aim high. Remember this is inversely proportional to insulin
Maximize GH – aim even higher! Controlled by insulin, sleep and exercise.
Cortisol – stay cool, calm and collected. It’s healthy to have some cortisol circulating, however excess will lead to muscle loss.
2. Exercise: Train Like A Champion
With a goal for a lean, defined body – training is not a walk in the park. I’ll warn you – this component is challenging. Just because other people spend 45-60 minutes on the elliptical or hamster wheel doesn’t mean it’s effective for fat loss OR even necessary at all. Plus, you’ve seen the latest treadmill look. It’s not pretty.
Like I said, intensity is key for effective, accelerated fat loss. A smart program with a combination of strength training, metabolic intervals and high intensity interval training (HIIT) is essential to build a strong, healthy body without endless hours working out.
The reason behind this is excess post oxygen consumption (EPOC). It means when you stop training, your body uses oxygen (and energy) to restore itself to a resting state and adapt to the exercise just completed. It’s like an afterburn effect, your metabolism keeps pumping post workout. Blood is flowing, heart rate remains elevated and hormones are working to replenish fuel stores.
On a hormonal level, these short bursts of exercise maximize your growth hormone response. Plus, insulin sensitivity will improve with resistance training. Awesome news!
Fundamental #2: You need to train with intensity. High intensity metabolic training is the ONLY way you can build the athletic look.
3. Nutrition: Please note you are not a human trash can.
The purpose of healthy eating is to feed your body optimal, high quality nutrients to fuel your activity and optimize your energy. Too many people these days treat their stomach like a trash collector. They pour trash down their throats; sugars, trans fat, artificial sweeteners, chemicals and alcohol. I know first hand, I used to be one of them.
Here are simple ways to optimize your hormones:
- Keep insulin levels low by not eating sugar that is quickly released into your bloodstream (bread, processed foods, cereal, pasta, rice, potatoes). You will be stopping your body from burning fat for the next 3-4 hours while it is utilized for energy.
- Protein is key at every meal, including breakfast. This stimulates the release of glucagon.
Implement the right fat loss strategies and you will be protecting yourself against cravings and unplanned splurges.
Fundamental #3: Eat clean, get lean. Fat loss nutrition is an essential piece of the puzzle.
Feeling sleepy? Ever felt so exhausted and depleted, you couldn’t possibly muster up the energy to do a kickass workout? This is your body screaming at you to rest. Start listening.
Value your recovery. Sleep and quality rest is key to fat loss. Most of your daily growth hormone (75%) is released in the first couple of hours sleep at night, so do your time. Shorting yourself will hinder your fat loss efforts, leading to cravings and potential weight gain.
The Last Word: If you want to accelerate fat loss, you need to take action. A combination of strategic, smart moves will maximize your ability to get fast results.
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Looking forward to your success.
Kate Vidulich
BS, ACSM HFS
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