The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Permanent Fat Loss

1. Only focusing on exercise

This is the most critical error most people trying to lose fat make, nutrition accounts for 70% of your fat loss plan. Yes you read that right 70%, the exercise only accounts for 30%, and so all those of you who are sweating it out at the gym only to go back to burger and fries and dinner are simply wasting your time. You need to really focus on eating the right macronutrient ratio so your body can start metabolizing fat rather than storing it. For most people the right ration of macronutrients are 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein and 30% fat, however each person needs different volumes of food each serving according to their body shape and goals.

2. Following Generic Diets

Following a generic one size fits all diet can only get you so far. Your specific body shape and size is unique, therefore your diet should be too. Your diet and nutrition plan should be customized to your body, your lifestyle and your goals. Most of the popular diets you read about aren?t customized to you specifically and this is where they fail. If you really like eating carbs and decide to go on a zero carb diet to lose weight, you will eventually break and go off the diet. If you are allergic to certain foods, or are a vegetarian, or just don?t like certain foods you shouldn?t be forced to eat any of them on your diet. Most generic diets fail when it comes to this kind of personalization and as a
result are useless to most people.

3. Not Doing Resistance Training

Strength training (or weight training) is one of the most important things you can do for weight loss. It builds muscle and helps burn fat all at the same time. During a strength training workout you will burn fat and calories during the workout, but you will also have a lasting calorie burning effect because your body will be busy building some new muscle. This is the true key to effective weight loss, each pound of muscle you put on your body burns an extra 50 calories at rest, this can mean an unbelievable 19 pounds across a year simply by putting on 3 pounds of muscle!

4. Doing the Wrong Type of ?Cardio?

While nutrition and resistance training is a huge component of fat loss. Cardio training helps burn a few more calories and conditions your heart and cardiovascular system. However training in your fat burning zone is NOT the most effective way to shift those unwanted pounds. Traditional long slow cardio workouts will burn some calories and build your conditioning, but they?re not the most efficient way to train. Interval training can achieve greater fat loss in less time than training in the fat burning zone. The most efficient way of blow torching unwanted fat is to complete high intensity interval training, this means using the work rest formula which will get your metabolism racing long after you finish your work out.

5. Not Eating the Right Kinds Of Food

Even though eating less total calories is the only real way to lose weight, eating the right kinds of foods can really help make this easier and satisfying. Let?s say your body burns 1700 calories per day, and you only eat 1000 calories for the next 10 days. You will no doubt lose weight. You will lose weight even if all 1000 calories were from chocolate cake or cheeseburgers. With that said, it wouldn?t be very satisfying to eat that way every day, those types of foods will typically leave you wanting more because of their high sugar load, and they also don?t take up much space in your stomach because they are so dense. You will end up becoming hungry faster and feeling less satisfied than if you ate nutrient dense foods like vegetables and fruits. The total amount of calories you eat is always the factor that will determine if you gain or lose weight, but the kinds of food you eat will determine if you will feel satisfied and happy while you?re losing the weight. This is why the kinds of food you eat matter.

6. Failing to set an outcome goal

If you don?t set a destination goal how will you know if you get there.? One of the most crucial aspects of losing weight is to set a clear SMART goal. It needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timed. On average it is possible to lose a couple of pound a week, with this in mind if you want to lose a stone of body fat, it would take around 7 weeks to lose. Now that you have a clear goal you can start getting feedback on your progress, if for example it is week four and you have only lost a pound you know something isn?t working, you need to review what you are doing and try something else. Without that regular feedback you never know you are on track, so set a clear outcome with a time of when you want to achieve your desired body weight.

7. Not training hard enough

If your doing your cardio reading a magazine simply forget fat loss, if you are not sore from your workout you didn?t train hard enough, it?s as simple as that. You only need to train for around 50 minutes maximum, it should be hard and intense and leave you fatigued. To build the muscle needed for effective weight loss you need to create muscle damage, this means over loading the muscle, if your workout is not making you sore in the next 24-48 hours you need to change your workout routine. Each program should only last for four weeks before your body will get used to it, so rotate your training program.

Steve Jacks

About Steve Jacks

Steve Jacks is considered an international expert in health and fitness, he has worked with hundreds of people all around the world helping them to totally transform their body shape, shed excess pounds and pack on muscle. He is co-founder of London?s most exclusive Personal Training Facility The 25 Club, where he helps everyday people, celebrities and athletes achieve the ultimate physique.