HOW TO ACTUALLY LOSE WEIGHT! WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS!

This article focuses on the true reasons why most diets aren't working for you and how to actually lose weight safely and effectively.

Lets clear up where focus, energy, strength & weight-loss come from first and foremost, this will give us an idea of where our focus should be when embarking on a weight-loss journey. Energy is consumed, transported, absorbed and used, in our bodies case, Calories are consumed, transported, absorbed and used. Calories is just another term for "Energy".

The issue with just going for a generic weight-loss programme or hearing the term "just eat less calories" isn't sufficient to succeed in the journey is because we are all different, some of us are starting with obesity or borderline obesity, some of us are starting with Diabetes Type I and Type II and some of us are starting with injuries, pre-sport background and lack of movement backgrounds, some of us work active jobs, and a lot of us work office based jobs. So how can just aiming to eat less calories work? Especially when we haven't gone into detail of how everyone on this planet has a different calorie demand each day, dependant on their current weight, age, level of daily activity and so on.

Don't let this overwhelm you, don't worry. We will slowly go into detail and all of this will make sense so you can get on that journey to weight loss and do it properly, which is what you're here for.

First-of-all, No-one absolutely no-one starts at the top of the mountain, I am here to shut-down your view on "Genes", and that opinion that surfaces when someone eats what they want despite staying in perfect shape. "They have a fast metabolism", "they have really good genes". These opinions will only hold you back and give you the excuse of why you're not the weight you want to be. Besides, when looking at metabolism we look at BMR, Basal Metabolic Rate something NO DIETS speak about, yet is the most important attribute to dieting and to your existence. We will look into this now.

What the heck is a BMR?

Don't let these 3 words overwhelm you and also don't forget about them...

Basal Metabolic Rate.

Definition: The rate at which the body uses energy while at rest to maintain vital functions such as breathing and keeping warm.

Yep, you burn calories just by sitting on your sofa all day and not moving, except everybody has a different amount of calories they'll burn for their weight, age and the previous days activities.

Well of course if you're bigger, you require more energy to sustain your bodyweight. If you had a heavier car, it requires more energy right? more fuel in the tank than a small lighter car does.

What does this have anything to do with losing weight?

When losing weight, we need to put less energy into our body than the energy our bodies need.

Less calories in over more calories burned, this is called a CALORIE DEFICIT.

If I take 500 calories from you, and give you 250 calories back, you're left with minus "- 250 calories." Which means you're in a deficit of 250 calories.

Your body will then use 250 calories from its reserves which are stored as Fat, Carbohydrates and Protein for survival or energy and you will lose weight.

How do I know what my BMR Is???

Hold on, we will get to that.

Now we have to add on daily activity to your BMR to calculate your total BMR as when you move around you're using fuel also known as calories, you're burning fuel/calories, also known as calorie expenditure.

So if your BMR is 1,500 sitting around all day for your body to survive, with zero calorie expenditure, your BMR is 1,500 total. but if you do a workout that day that burns 500 calories, then your BMR is now 2,000 calories. So if you consume 1,500 calories that day, you'll be in a deficit of 500 calories and guess what you will lose weight.

So YOU want to LOSE WEIGHT?

EAT LESS CALORIES THAN YOUR TOTAL DAILY BMR.

and that's it, calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) add your TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure) & eat less calories than the total.

A great tip on counting calories is to use an App just search (Calorie Counter) and you'll be able to put your food in and it will keep a tally of how many calories you've eaten on a single day. Also just start getting into the habit of reading food labels. Calories are normally written as 'KCAL' which means kilocalories which literally means calories. Once you start it becomes easier and you end up knowing what food contents has how many calories in by default.

WHAT HOW HAS NO-ONE EXPLAINED THIS TO ME EVER?

So exercise is a big key in our daily expenditure and not only does it help with burning calories, it also speeds up metabolism and in turn will leave you with a higher BMR for up to 48 hours after exercise.

So I can exercise and the day after I am still burning Calories? YEP.

Now before you run with your new founding and I give you a calculator to calculate your BMR, I want you to understand...

Weight-loss can be Muscle and not Fat.

Yep, you always hear about those stories from your neighbour who lost 10 pounds in a week from this special diet and they want you to congratulate them but actually they've just lost 10 pounds of muscle and the fat is still there under the skin which will go saggier, they've actually lost strength so when they go to workout they'll be burning less calories because they won't be able to produce enough energy output also known as calorie expenditure, a complete catch-22 of weight loss I know. Because if you lose weight and its mostly strength, there's no muscles to keep you going during your workout, not to mention the mental fatigue that comes with most of these diets which kill motivation.

When you step on the scales and all you're measuring is Weight and your weight changes over time, you do not know unless you have fancy scales (and the accurate ones cost thousands of £/$) if your weight is decreasing or increasing in FAT or MUSCLE.

I personally have had clients where they'll stay exactly the same weight for 4 weeks and its because they've put on 6kg of muscle and lost 6kg of fat. But the normal scales won't show that and they'll think their dieting and exercise isn't working until we step on a scale that can show us the actual results and then their whole outlook changes.

So next time you step on the scales and nothings changing, don't panic and don't think its not working, because if you're feeling stronger and fitter, it could quite possibly be working.

So how do I keep my muscle and burn my fat?

Good Question. It starts with your daily Protein Intake. The science says 1gram of Protein per 1kg of Bodyweight a day will maintain muscle mass, therefore if you weight 70kg now, you want to eat 70g of protein a day to maintain strength as you're losing fat weight.

Where do I find protein?

There's lots of food high in protein, except I'll save that for another article.

One more thing before I give you that fancy BMR calculator.

I don't like BMI, or Ideal weight based on these kinds of factors because (A) it doesn't calculate Muscle Mass/Percentage & Fat Mass/Percentage and (B) it doesn't calculate where you hold most of your Muscle & Fat and (C) it doesn't take into account your Bone Mass and Shape. Therefore go with how you feel not what these calculators tell you.

Good luck on your journey, J.

If you want more weight-loss tips and workout ideas follow @jordanfitnesscoach on most social pages.

& Share this with your friends so they can get informed and join the journey too.

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