My biggest pet peeve is somebody asking me for “fitness advice”, but ignoring it and then doing the complete opposite. Seriously?!?!?!
The most pertinent issue with regards to fat loss is adherence. Adherence is the most difficult thing for most people —including myself. We all have different goals (get stronger, lose body fat, build muscle), but no matter what your goal is, adherence is that X Factor. It’s going to keep you afloat.
For simplicity’s sake, I’ll skip on the whole what to do to maximize fat loss because let’s be honest, majority of us already have a general knowledge of what to do and the foods we should minimize, if not avoid. That’s not the problem. The problem is adherence coupled with a “I don’t give a F**K mentality.”
When it comes to fat loss we’ve all made mistakes before and evidently we still continue to make those same mistakes. I’d like to call these mistakes, the dark side. It’s like what Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Crash Dieting
As the saying goes, the best diet is the one you can stick to. In hindsight, I should have ditched the whole notion of “strict dieting” because it’s not sustainable. I’ve tried it and I felt miserable. I made my clients try it and they felt miserable. Sure, there are outliers who can stick to intense diets, but improving your quality of life is suppose to be enjoyable.
Research has shown — and I’ve seen this myself — that the vast majority of people who lose weight, almost inevitably gain it back and more. This is typically a result of strict dieting or as I’d like to put it, the all-or-nothing approach. Unfortunately, this is the way most people diet — they go on a low calorie, carb restricted diet, coupled with exercise. Consistency is key and with extreme methods, they never pan out in the long run. Moreover, it will wreak havoc on your metabolism making it more difficult for you to lose fat.
We’re all in this for the long run, so adding in a little more flexibility as opposed to strict (crash) dieting, goes a long way. The quality of the food you eat should never be overlooked, but they pale in comparison to being consistent with a diet. Put it this way, if you do not see yourself maintaining your current diet, then it won’t work for you. Sustainability is the key for long-term success.
Neglecting Your Health
At the end of the day, we’re only human, and what I mean by that is that we all want results…FAST! Our natural inclination is to want everything right this minute. Well let me tell you, nothing deteriorates your health quicker than training to lose fat in a short amount of time. It doesn’t matter how slow your progress will be, just as long you keep going. Consistency is key. Keep this in mind: the faster the fruit ripens, the quicker it rots.
Remember the story about the tortoise and the hare? Slowly does it every time.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if your health is out of whack then the last thing your body wants to do is lose fat. While it is necessary to set a deadline to create urgency, it is also a detriment to your health to rush through it. Losing weight or dropping body fat isn’t the problem — it’s keeping it off. Looking at the hierarchy of importance, your health is at the top of the list, so don’t be in such a rush to lose X amount of weight or X amount of body fat because through my experience of training different people, the slower you lose it, the more likely you’re going to keep it off.
May the force be with you.
Dre Delos Santos 