Consistency, adherence and time will be the determining factors in fat loss. It will take a few weeks to get noticeable results so allow for that time. The opening 3-4 weeks may see a dramatic reduction of scale weight while everything visually looks the same. There is a snowball like effect. Once things pick up, you will look better week on week providing the plan has been stuck to.
Set yourself up for success
When going into a fat loss phase, you must consider where you are starting from and whether this is an ideal place. Ideally, we would be looking for a low expenditure and high food intake to ensure we have as many variables as possible to play with. Going in with these factors the opposing way around will lead to the fat loss phase being cut short due to exhausting all avenues. The factors to look into are: NEAT/general daily movement, cardiovascular work, caloric modifications & resistance training.
Many people are still under the belief that you don’t need to be in a caloric deficit to lose fat and factually they’re incorrect. The laws of thermodynamics can’t be ignored here. You need to burn the excess energy in order to reduce body fat otherwise it will remain. The two ways to do this are to either move more which brings your caloric output up for the day or eat less and this will allow the caloric output to remain the same but instead using the fat stores as energy.
Expenditure tracking
Why track expenditure? Tracking expenditure simply allows you to keep tabs on what has been done and monitoring these metrics ensures you hit your baseline numbers to ensure minimum activity levels for the day have been achieved. As you get deeper into the diet, fatigue will drive up and these trackers help to keep you accountable and consistent. Without tracking these metrics, you’re going in blind and risking not even being in the calorie deficit, which as you’ve probably guessed, won’t yield the fat burning results you’re after. As diet fatigue drives up and general energy levels drop, the desire to be active will dissipate so look at cardiovascular work and steps as non-negotiable minimum activity requirements.
So here is what you can track to get you started:
- CV: minutes done and if you want to go further, heart rate, watts and calories
- Steps: amount done and if you want to go further, the time taken to get them done
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Expenditure types
Make sure that your expenditure is something that can be sustained over the duration of the fat loss phase. For example, attending a 45-minute HIIT class isn’t the best idea because they’re not consistent from week to week and are excessively high fatiguing for the calorie burn, not to mention to compensatory effect later in the day whereby a lack of movement takes place to make up for the excessive calorie burn. Instead we can opt for LISS (low intensity steady state) cardio which can be performed over much longer duration’s due to the lower energy demands and the reduced build up of fatigue. Because of this, the compensatory effect is very low meaning you end up with a very consistent energy output from day to day.
We can then look at exactly what forms of cardio may work for you:
- Running: very locally fatiguing to the calves but high calorie output
- Stair master: locally fatiguing to the calves and quads but high calorie output
- Bike: locally fatiguing to the calves and quads but with lower impact and high calorie output
- Incline walk: Low levels of local fatigue to the calves with a lower calorie output
- Cross trainer: low levels of local fatigue to the calves, lower impact and a lower calorie output
Ultimately, choose the form that you can sustain, but be aware of the drawbacks that each one possesses. The aim of the game is longevity so picking the one that you can imagine doing for 45-60 minutes will be the best bet.
Continue training as you were
Entering the fat loss phase is the exact worst time to alter your training programme. When output is higher and food is lower, the last thing we need is to start adapting to new stimulus and suffering long bouts of soreness and fatigue.
Rep ranges should also remain the same. Your current training has built the muscle underneath the body fat so if you’d like to keep it then don’t change a thing.
There may be certain circumstances where something does need changing and below I’ll give three examples:
- If the movement requires high levels of stability and this takes away from your ability to do the lift then changing this may be a smart decision. If you find movements such as barbell squats are becoming exhausting from the perspective of managing stability, co-ordination, balance then this may be the time to switch to a stable environment such as a hack squat.
- If you have certain intensity techniques such as drop sets, rest pauses etc… then these may be sapping energy that may be better off going into a standard straight set. At this point, dropping the intensifier is acceptable and will result in better recovery for the future sessions.
- If recovery is taking a hit. When we look at movements with a high fatigue ration, we may benefit in the latter stages by removing sets of highly exerting movements and either placing them into lesser fatiguing movements or removing them altogether to ensure better recovery and less of an impact on the remainder of the days activity levels.
Tracking your progression metrics
Its important to use as many metrics for progression as possible as one metric on its own doesn’t always paint the full picture. For example, body weight on its own can be impacted by hydration levels, food in the digestive system, time of the day and so many other factors meaning your morning weigh in, isn’t the be all and end all. Using as many metrics as possible will provide the necessary context for knowing when to make a change to the plan rather than making changes emotionally or for the sake of it.
What can you track? I’d recommended tracking all of the below. Some of these such as body weight will need measuring more frequently than others:
- Fasted Body weight (as close to daily as possible)
- Body measurements (roughly 1-2 weeks apart)
- Progress pictures with tensed muscles (ideally 1-2 times per week)
Tracking these at this rate will give you the best insight as to the direction your are heading in. It doesn’t mean you have to do it this way, but it will help achieve the fastest results.
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How long should your fat loss phase be
There is no set answer to this question. You must consider though, a shorter time spent in the diet may result in a more aggressive approach and may result in an inability maintain results where as a longer duration diet will give you much more of an adaptation period and will result in a less aggressive approach. This therefore gives you a higher chance to maintain results after the diet has finished.
The duration can also be impacted on your current condition and ideal goal. The more body fat there is to lose, the longer you should spend in there. It sounds like a long period of time, but I’d recommend no less than 12 weeks (3 months) and up to 20-24 weeks. This ensures a slow approach allowing your body to properly adapt along the way while giving you flexibility to still enjoy the process.
Know when to end the fat loss phase
Setting a marker gives you a goal and a cut off point. Ideally the marker would be a certain look or a specified time frame rather than a set body weight, as you can’t know how you will look or feel at that body weight and should instead focus on the factors below:
- Sleep
- Mood
- Stress
- Hunger
- Energy levels
- Desire to continue
If all of these factors heavily deteriorate then you are in a good position to cut the fat loss phase short. A well planned and realistic time frame should see deterioration only towards the latter end of the fat loss phase.
The key to this is knowing this is your choice and you can back out at any stage. You must also look at this process factually and make the decision when needed rather than letting emotion take over.
If all is successful, then achieving your goal is the biggest reason to cut the fat loss phase short. Even if you achieve this earlier than expected then you are still in the right place to end the fat loss phase.
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Acceptance & expectations
Do your due diligence and research what you can expect to come. Fat loss isn’t a fun process and in certain cases can be gruelling. You need to know what to expect so that you don’t feel like you been crushed by the weight of the diet. Knowing what to expect will give you the edge in terms of knowing what is normal/abnormal.
When going into a fat loss phase, the deterioration of mood, sleep, energy levels, hunger, stress, desire, irritability and so many more are normal. Your body is in a permanent state of stress due to the loss of bodily reserves and reduced food intake so expect the above. This may mean you need to conduct yourself in a different manner and take additional time with tasks in order to achieve the same outcomes as before. Accepting this means you can put things in place to reduce the impact these factors have on your daily activities and life. Sad reality is you can’t prevent these factors but you can reduce the effects.
Remember, unless you have been prescribed to lose body fat, this is a choice and you can back out at any time.
Food tracking
Having a good understanding of calories is essential for quantifying the amount of calories being ingested. This doesn’t mean meticulously tracking calories on MyFitnessPal but it does mean gaining an awareness for what is in your food.
The average person has no interest in tracking food via a calorie tracker so there are other options that can achieve a very similar goal. They are:
- Food portion plates: these have designated sections for the types of foods you eat such as carbs, fats, proteins etc… meaning although your caloric intake won’t be the same day by day, it will be similar.
- Meal plans: they take the thinking out of the equation for the user and can help keep food intake very similar. They also provide the flexibility of having substitutions which can prevent the meals from becoming boring. Meal plans can either be created by yourself or a coach/nutritionist who are able to make the necessary changes and send the updated versions.
For those that live a busy lifestyle, this is where they fall short. Getting exercise and movement comes easy, however the lack of understanding and/or time towards food intake and prep can result in excessive over consumption even in foods that carry very little physical weight/size.
Making changes is essential for fat loss. Many think that the majority of your burnt body fat comes via exercise however we know that this isn’t true. The most ideal situation to remove body fat is through reductions in food intake. We know that an average weight lifting session will burn 250-300 calories which is the equivalent to your average sandwich. Swapping to higher density foods and lowering total calories can give the same satiation effects while removing the total amount of energy coming in.
Remember that as body fat is removed and weight is lost, the body will require less energy meaning food intake will need to be monitored fairly regularly.
Hacks to make things a little easier
The harsh reality is that none of these will make a huge impact, however they could make enough to keep you in the game mentally for just that little bit longer.
- Zero calorie products such as sauces and drinks can give you the same enjoyment as you had before but without the energy density meaning those extra calories can go into additional food volume.
- Caffeine is a very powerful appetite suppressant but shouldn’t be abused. A cut off should be set with caffeine as sleep quality and quantity can be impacted. Most studies show a half life of 6-8 hours meaning half the caffeine consumed at 2pm will be in the system at 8-10pm, so be cautious of dosage. Doses of 150mg upwards are deemed to be effective with numerous studies citing somewhere between 400mg-750mg being the upper limit of caffeine consumption which will differ based upon size, weight and other factors. This would be the equivalent to 2-4 energy drinks per day or between 4-8 double espresso’s.
- Meal timings can be introduced to place food around the workout window when they are most necessary. This ensures we recover at a faster rate but also curbs the post workout hunger. You can then also shift the remaining food to the points in the day that your appetite is highest.
- Food types should be based around high-volume low-calorie foods as they provide the meal with the appearance of larger portions and keep the individual eating for longer. This will mean whole foods make up the majority of your food intake such as veg, potatoes, rice, chicken, beef etc…
- Don’t make your food too nice. Be prepared the cravings will be extremely high and the nicer tasting your food is, the more you will desire it. We get a dopamine and serotonin release when we eat nice tasing food which can then cause the hunger hormone Ghrelin to spike so be conscious of what that is doing to you mentally and physically. If you eat highly palatable foods then because of the hormonal and chemical response you may feel hungrier despite the fact that your food intake has remained the same.
Final note
We live in a society where food is at the epicenter and for many, is an emotional escape. For this reason I’d recommend either hiring a coach or having someone in your corner to view things from an objective standpoint to help you make the changes when you need them. The reality of dieting is that unnecessary changes and irrational decisions are one of the biggest factors in an unsuccessful phase so only make decisions when they are needed.
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If you want to see more information on training intensity, see my latest Instagram posts at @the_biomechanics_coach. Or, if you are interested in exploring other areas of your training and becoming the best athlete you can be, what about reading my last post on nailing your warmup sets.
