Cutting Body Fat: How to Avoid Fads When Losing Weight

Every new year, consumers are bombarded with different variations of the same message — new year, new year. Now’s the time to reach for your dream body. This one month workout/detox/shake/pill will help you achieve the ideal body shape in three weeks or less.

Bleh. Most people within the health and fitness community know this type of marketing is very loosely based in reality. The truth of the matter is you can always work to better yourself, no matter what time of year it is. And if you’re healthy, then you’re already in your ideal body. Healthy looks different on different people and it doesn’t always mean thin.

However, a lot of people are looking to lose a little bit of weight in the new year and there’s also nothing wrong with that. However, you have to be careful when working to lose weight that you’re doing so in a healthy in sustainable way. By making the decision to pursue cutting body fat, you can ensure that you’re not just losing water weight or muscle mass. The weight is much more likely to stay off long term, but it takes some time.

You also have to beware the stereotypical cycle of cutting body fat — bulking and cutting.

Stereotypical Bulking; Verb:

Loading up on obscene amounts of unhealthy foods and carbohydrates in order to gain weight

Stereotypical Cutting; Verb

Putting yourself on an obscenely strict diet where your caloric and nutritional needs are not being met in order to get ˜*ShReDdEd*˜

This isn’t the only or the healthiest method for cutting body fat. However, cutting and bulking doesn’t have to be all bad — just ask Nick Shaw, founder of Renaissance Periodization.

Redefining Bulking and Cutting

“Renaissance Periodization (@rpstrength) is a diet and training consulting company that is strongly rooted in science,” Shaw said. “Most of our coaches are either PhDs in the Sport or Nutritional Sciences or are world class athletes.”

People — including those just looking to lose weight all the way up to Olympic weight lifters — turn to RP to help them cut weight and more specifically, fat, in a healthy and sustainable way. If you want to learn more about losing the “right” kind of weight, check our article on Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss from FitnessHQ writer Nicole.

“We often get asked what are the best ways to lose weight,” Shaw said. “There are several strategies that all play a role into a successful diet to lose weight. One of the first things to be mentioned is starting from a solid foundation and understanding the main nutritional priorities.”

Nutrition in Weight Loss

Nutrition isn’t something that’s often associated with losing weight. In fact, if you did a quick drive-by at your local department store, most of the magazine covers would probably be centered around ideas like calorie cutting, eating as much as you want and exercising the weight off, or eating/drinking only one food for seven days to obtain a model-esque physique.

Unfortunately, none of these ideas are rooted in science. You need so many calories a day for your body to function properly. It also matters what types of calories you’re putting into your body. For example, many people try to lose weight through eating to a caloric deficit, or eating less than their daily recommended calorie intake. The RP program also adheres to this principle. But if you’re eating less calories of the same crappy food, you can’t expect your weight loss to be consistent, for your weight to stay off or to be healthy in any way shape or form. In addition, you can’t out exercise a bad diet or drink only a certain type of juice for a week to achieve your health goals.

So what does work when it comes to cutting fat? What’s equally important to how many calories you’re eating is WHAT kind of calories you’re eating. This means eating certain amounts of protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates and avoiding things like trans fats and simple carbs. RP also puts a lot of emphasis on the timing of when you eat these foods.

There are no short cuts to achieving your health and fitness goals. However, through some hard work, determination and will power, you can cut body fat in a healthy and sustainable way. If your goal is to lose weight by cutting body fat, you should do so based on solid nutrition principles.

Cutting Body Fat the Healthy Way

“When restricting calories, a couple of important factors should be considered,” Shaw said. “Food choices should be mostly healthy, such as lean proteins, lots of fibrous vegetables, healthy carbs (lower GI) and healthy fats. These types of food tend to be more satiating and make you feel more full and will help reduce cravings when calories are at a premium. Make smart choices, focus on slow and steady weight loss and you’re well on your way to a successful weight loss plan!”

Shaw says it’s also important to remember that cutting body fat cannot be a permanent lifestyle change. It isn’t healthy, nor is it feasible. Instead, people who follow RP templates or other similar plans usually spend eight to 12 weeks carefully cutting calories and planning their meals. Shaw says that most people who follow RP meal plan templates lose one to two pounds a week, although this may vary for individuals who are not average-sized. However, the eight to 12 weeks is just the beginning of the process.

“Once this period has been met, it’s important to note that easing back on restricting calories, or a maintenance period as we call it should be put into place,” Shaw said. “This allows the individual to eat more, return their metabolism a bit more back to ‘normal’ and to simply take a diet break from the rigors of restricting calories.”

Summary

Article Name

Cutting Body Fat: How to Avoid Fads When Losing Weight

Description

Every new year, consumers are bombarded with different variations of the same message -- new year, new year. Now's the time to reach for your dream body. This one month workout/detox/shake/pill will help you achieve the ideal body shape in three weeks or less. Bleh.

Author

Kaitlin Candelaria

FitnessHQ