How do I lose weight?
You have probably heard, “eat less and move more” as an answer to questions about weight loss. This has truth to it but is very simplistic. Our bodies do need calories to make fat or muscle. We don’t gain weight from breathing air, and nobody is immune to the laws of thermodynamics.
There are many right ways to lose weight (and a few less than optimal ways) but THE right way is different for every person, in every stage of their life. A person who overeats would see weight loss progress by eating a more appropriate amount. A person who eats appropriate portion sizes might try increasing energy output, ie, exercising. Often people combine the two to reap greater health benefits.
The bottom line is that we do need to burn more calories than we are consuming to lose weight, and there are many ways to do this.
Is it true that weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise?
No! There is no magic number for how effective nutrition is versus exercising. What works for you will be different than what works for your best friend. What works for you will be different than what worked for you 5 years ago.
It is true that you can consume calories quicker than you can burn them, so managing caloric consumption is crucial for weight management.
When is the best time to do cardio to lose fat?
The best time to do cardio is when you feel ready to work hard! Calories aren’t “fatter” at 6 pm compared to 6 am. Depending on a host of variables including time and composition of your last meal, exercise intensity and duration, you will use different amounts of fat versus glycogen (carbohydrate) sources in your body.
However – 300 calories burned is 300 calories burned. Your body knows the deficit, and will adjust accordingly.
Four hundred calories burned with a greater percentage of it coming from carbohydrate sources will still cause you to lose more body fat than 150 calories expended using fat as an energy source.
It is confusing! Prioritize hard work and you will see results!
What type of exercise is best for weight loss?
This is where it gets confusing. Most people, even people who look thin, have enough fat on their body for many many days of walking on little to no food. We can look back in history for times large migrations have happened, such as the Biblical Exodus of the Indian Trail of Tears.
This is because the body has a lot of fat stored in non-visible places, like around internal organs. The process of using fat as an immediate fuel source is very slow, however. The body uses fat while we sleep, while we walk or move slowly and steadily, and even as you are reading this now.
When we initiate movement, the body prioritizes using carbs in our blood sugar or glycogen (carbs) in our muscle because it is a more immediate fuel source. When we sprint, we use carbs. When we are startled and jump a mile high, our body uses carbs because it simply doesn’t have enough time to break down fats for that immediate need. When we work at a high intensity, we use carbs.
This means that a slow walk will use fat as a fuel source, but it is using fat at a very slow rate since energy demands aren’t high. Let’s imagine you walk for about 45 minutes and cover a couple miles. You might burn about 200 calories.
A high intensity, but shorter workout, might burn 400 calories in 30 minutes. Those calories will come from carb sources in the body, but the difference in 200 calories per day burned will add up to more fat lost over time.
Should I do fasted cardio for weight loss?
You can but I generally recommend against fasted cardio. Again, prioritizing honest hard work will get you the best results. Exercising in a fed state usually results in a better, stronger workout, which will burn more calories and create more change in your body. This is especially true for high intensity workouts.
The exception is if you feel better exercising fasted. Some people train early in the morning but don’t like food in their belly while they train. In this case, they acclimate to training fasted. Experiment with what works best for you.
How do I get rid of belly fat?
Unfortunately, we don’t get to pick where we gain or lose fat. We can “spot build”, since muscle responds to very specific stimuli. If we want to build our biceps or pecs bigger, we can build those muscles by working them specifically. But, we can’t spot reduce. (Some studies have shown a teeny tiny bit of a local fat reduction, but this is not a significant way to lose fat. It is generally understood that spot reduction doesn’t exist for fat loss.)
Everyone has stubborn areas, or those places where fat hangs on, but generally speaking, we lose and gain in a very general, non specific manner. If fat reduction could be specified to an area, I sure wouldn’t have any fat on my face. I’ve been told I’m a talker.
The best option to get rid of belly fat is to lift weights, do high intensity interval training, and eat the right amount of calories, including enough protein to support your muscle building efforts.
Should I use a waist trainer, corset or body wraps?
No, omg no! Put it down! Unless it’s for one night (Halloween), don’t do it!
Waist trainers and corsets just squeeze your organs out of the way. They can decrease the size of the waist while you are wearing it, but don’t promote long term results, cause you to lose any extra fat or burn any more calories. They do stress your organs and increase the chances of pelvic prolapse and incontinence. Not sexy.
Body wraps are a similar quick “fix”. They build up heat and cause you to sweat. The loss of water may cause a temporary feeling of weight loss or change in size, but it is not permanent. They do not detox you either.