Starting a fat loss journey? A few things to consider first.

Over the years I have learnt a lot about the body and fat loss. I have gone through phases of loosing a little just to feel better for a holiday and a lot for a stage lean appearance. Whether you plan to loose a little or a lot, I have written a few things to consider before starting a fat loss journey that might help you to have a more enjoyable and successful experience.

As a side note this blog is referring to individuals who aim to loose body fat, I may use the term "weight loss" when talking about loosing both fat and muscle tissue.

Are you actually eating enough to start with?

This might come across as a little strange, as for many people it is a matter of needing to eat less and move more (a deficit) in order to loose body fat. However, someone who has been yo-yo dieting, loosing weight rapidly and putting it back on again or constantly lowering calories over the years may have slowed down their metabolism* so that their maintenance calories (calories needed to maintain body composition) is really low. This sucks because it does not give the individual a very good starting point to cut calories away from. There is only so far you can go with cutting down on calories before it becomes dangerously low. I know that this is not the case for everyone, most people who want to loose body fat are eating in a surplus (consuming more energy than expending) but if you find you’re already on low calories it is worth reaching out to a professional who can help you build your calories back up again before starting a fat loss phase.

*The internal furnace that is responsible for the amount of calories you burn.

Are your goals realistic and are you allowing enough time?

This is probably one of the most important points to consider, as setting goals that are unrealistic will not only set you up for disappointment, you may also find yourself pushing to unhealthy limits. One common goal that is neither healthy nor realistic is aiming to loose a lot of weight in a short space of time, for example “loose 12lbs in 3 weeks.” This is not achievable in a healthy way, aiming for such a goal will also leave the person feeling hungry, drained and irritable. Such rapid weight lost won’t be from fat alone and can eat into hard-earned muscle tissue, which gives the body strength and shape. So take a step back and give yourself plenty of time, ideally weight loss from 1lb to 2lb a week is considered a healthy steady rate.

Do you have enough muscle density to cut body fat?

So you might be entering a fat loss phase because you aspire to be lean enough to show your “gains” or muscle definition, or perhaps you want to compete on stage? Whilst these are great goals, that can be very rewarding, you have to be very honest with yourself as to whether you have enough muscle to start with, did you actually go through a strategic building phase? Sometimes we often over estimate how much muscle we have and underestimate how much body fat we need to shift in order to see abs. I’ve often heard guys saying that they feel small after fat loss or girls saying they look scrawny and have lost their butt. This is because they simply did not have enough muscle to start with, the solution? Put on a good amount of muscle density first.

Don’t expect fat loss to be linear

It is common to loose weight at a quicker rate to start with, especially for very overweight individuals, however, there will be plateaus and fat loss will stall. This is the point when people tend to give up as they often think that they have failed because they aren’t loosing weight like they initially did despite doing the same things in diet and training. Your body is clever and likes to maintain balance (homeostasis). To maintain this balance our metabolism, the rate at which you burn calories, will slow down. This is why it is important to have a long term plan, as your energy out put (training) might need changing along with your energy input (food). This is also why it's worth working with a professional that can make the necessary adjustments to ensure you make progress, and this is also why a one off diet plan will not work in the long term.

Do you have an after plan?

So you have reached your fat loss goal, whether it was to hit a certain number on the scales, to fit into a dress for a wedding, to get lean for a photo shoot or for a competition, now what? It is about maintaining this body composition? If so, is it sustainable with the amount of calories you’re consuming and the training you’re doing? Do you now need to enter a building phase to improve on muscular aesthetics? Do you need to reverse diet? These are all things in which you should consider when starting a fat loss journey. What you plan to do next after reaching your goal is going to be very individual, in theory it is not ideal to be in a calorie deficit forever, but that can also depend on the amount of body fat lost. For example getting lean enough for a bodybuilding competition isn’t sustainable all year round, however, loosing some body fat for a healthier lifestyle and to boost confidence will be much more maintainable.

I hope that this has helped anyone who wants to start a fat loss journey and has given him or her some food for thought. If you have any more questions or would like to see how I can help then feel free to contact me: carla.louise.bolstridge@gmail.com

#Selfesteem #Fatloss #Training #Nutrition #Health #Weightloss