Do you really want to lose weight? If the answer is yes, let me explain why I believe your goal should actually be to lose fat.

Anybody can lose weight, its easy - you just don’t eat! Please don’t think for a minute this is what I am suggesting. When you lose weight through crash dieting and improper training, you lose 60% muscle mass and 40% fat. Losing muscle will slow down your metabolism and if you have a slow metabolism, you will promote fat gain, and it’s really difficult to lose fat when you have a slow metabolism.

The ultimate goal for successful fat loss is to preserve as much muscle as possible, or even gain some, while at the same time lose as much body fat as possible. Your body fat percentage is a key indicator of your success, not what the scales tell you!

In short:

Weight Loss = Muscle Loss + Fat Loss + Water Loss
Fat Loss = reduction in stored body fat

The types of food we eat are important and affect our bodies in different ways. Our food choices directly affect the hormones that regulate when and how we eat. Different macronutrients (protein, fats and carbs, check out my next blog) go through different metabolic pathways so eating protein rich foods as opposed to fructose (from added sugar, not fruit) will increase your levels of fullness and boost the metabolic rate. Protein will also build muscle, especially when combined with strength training and because muscles are metabolically active tissue they burn calories around the clock, so it makes sense to eat foods that are nutrient dense.

It’s ok to weigh yourself everyday as long as you can see that this figure represents your ‘body mass’ i.e. fat, muscle, water, bone, ligament and that it is just one tool to track your progress.

Other tools such as Poliquin® BioSignature, ‘a method based on the correlation between body fat storage and possible hormonal imbalances can be used to aid healthy fat loss. The 12 site body fat assessment with calipers, progress pictures, tape measurements, how your clothes fit and even how you feel should all be considered crucial indicators of success.

In a nutshell, its essential you eat your whole foods (vegetables, protein, essential fatty acids and enough carbohydrate to fuel your exercise) and make the most of your calories you’re eating and the fat loss will come naturally!

Remember fat loss happens the moment you don’t give up!

If you are interested in Poliquin® BioSignature, click here.