Where Do I Start With Fat Loss?

All (and we do mean all) successful fat loss diets and programs have one thing in common: they are sustainable.

No one diet is best for fat loss. And, that’s maybe the hardest idea to accept because we're used to associating 'weight loss' with the word diet. It is a gross overstatement to say that avoiding any one food is “all it takes” to lose fat.

It doesn’t matter if it’s carbs, fat, wheat, dairy, gluten, sugar, late-night eating, or processed and/or packaged foods. And that’s not a guess. There's a lot of research comparing many diets: low-carb, low-fat, low-glycemic, Mediterranean, mixed/balanced (DASH), Paleolithic, vegan, and elements of other diets.

Their findings? There isn’t a clear winner because all can work for fat loss. The real secret is relying on a few principles (more protein, fruits, and vegetables, fewer processed foods), and finding a plan that you can stick with for a long period of time.

Eating well is a lifestyle choice, rather than a short term goal.

The diets that work all share one common trait: help you create a calorie deficit that you can maintain for a long period of time.

That second part — the duration — is the most underrated and important part of making fat loss last. Most people have experienced losing weight, but it’s usually for a short period of time, somewhere around 2 to 8 weeks. It feels good when it happens, but it’s incredibly frustrating when the weight loss stops and the kilograms find a way back on to your body.

No matter what dietary strategy you choose (low-carb, counting macros and calories, etc.) or workout plan you follow, you can’t escape the physics of fat loss. To lose fat, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns every day. This is called a “calorie deficit.” It’s like gravity.

Because you’re eating fewer calories than you need, your body will burn stored fat for energy. This is how fat loss happens.

Here’s another way to think of it: Your body needs a certain number of calories just to handle its daily functioning, such as keeping your heart beating, fuelling your brain, powering digestion, and helping you move around.

This is called your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). When you think of your metabolism, this is what we’re talking about.

So how many calories does your body burn in a day, ie. what is your metabolic rate? A Body Composition Scan is an extremely accurate way to find out. We'll have the Scanner in Fit Gym again in November, you can email us now to book a scan. Alternatively there are several online websites that will give you an estimate, https://www.calculator.net and https://www.mydr.com.au are a couple.

You can create a calorie deficit a few different ways, but it’s most efficient to do with a combination of diet and exercise. Building muscle is going to stabilise your metabolism, requiring your body to burn calories over a longer period in order to repair the muscle.