Why You’re Not Losing Fat As A Beginner
Fat Burning For Beginners: How To Make Fat Loss Sustainable
Lets be real.
There is no shortage of information on our website on how to lose fat.
In fact, over the past 6 years, we’ve posted hundreds of videos sharing numerous fat loss tips.
So the question is:
With all this fat loss information available to you, why are you still not able to lose fat?
Well, based on the thousands of fat loss questions we’ve received over the years, I’d say this:
You are majoring in the minors.
Here’s what I mean by this.
Meet Joe:
Joe is 5’11 and currently 250 pounds.
Joe gets a body fat % test at his local gym and it’s calculated that he has 30% body fat.
So Joe goes home and searches on YouTube, “best tips to lose body fat“.
Now depending on which video Joe clicks on, he could receive numerous different tips on how to lose body fat.
For example:
- Focus on doing your cardio fasted in morning
- Follow intermittent fasting
- Follow a diet comprised of paleo approved foods and cut out all refined carbohydrates, cold turkey
- Add 4 minute tabata finishers after your weight training workouts
- Etc…
And don’t get me wrong, all these tips could be very effective for fat loss…
BUT, how effective these fat loss tips are depends on where you currently are in the fat loss continuum.
Now, meet Michael:
If Joe was 15% body fat, like his buddy Michael who is following a workout program to get down to 8% body fat, then yes, these fat loss tips could be very helpful.
But once again, Joe is 30% body fat…
He hasn’t walked more than 1/2 a mile since 1993…
And his only sources of vegetables are french fries and the tomato sauce on a pizza.
So do you really think Joe should be spending his time on figuring out if fasted cardio in the morning is better than fueled cardio for fat loss?
Or do you think he should be debating if sweet potatoes are a better carbohydrate source than brown rice?
No!
Joe is NOT at the same place in his Live Lean Journey as his buddy Michael.
Joe doesn’t have any momentum at this time so he needs to take his Live Lean journey one step at a time.
Living Lean is not about being perfect in the beginning. Living Lean is about consistent daily progress.
That daily progress for Joe could mean only eating pizza 4 times a week, if he’s currently eating it 5 times a week.
That one less pizza per week is progress that is sustainable.
If we told Joe, starting tomorrow, you could never eat pizza again…
Do you think he could sustain that?
Definitely not.
When you’re Living Lean you’ve made the mindset switch to successfully turn your diet and workouts into a lifestyle.
We’re not about short-term fad diets.
It’s a lifestyle.
So with that said, here are 3 beginner fat loss tips, that you can begin to slowly incorporate into your lifestyle to create momentum.
3 Beginner Fat Loss Tips:
By incorporating these steps into your daily routine, you are setting your body up to burn fat rather than store it.
1. Over time, continue to replace refined and processed carbohydrates with higher quality sources of carbohydrates:
This step is key and probably the main culprit in most people’s diet.
Refined carbohydrates are defined as foods that have been processed to take away the nutrients such as B vitamins, fiber, and iron from the whole grain.
You’re probably wondering why would food companies do this.
The reason is simple.
By removing these nutrients, the food’s shelf life is increased, thus it can be sold over a longer period of time.
Win for the bottom line of the food manufacturers.
Loss for your health and waist line.
Examples of refined carbohydrates include basically anything made with white flour, such as:
- white rice
- white pasta
- white bread
- crackers
Since there is little to no fiber in these carbohydrates, they are quickly converted into sugar, and then enter the blood stream at very high rates.
At this point, due to your lack of activity, your storage capacity for sugar in the muscle and liver cells is probably full, thus the insulin hormone has no where else to transport the sugar other than in the fat cells.
Here’s how can you apply this tip to improve your current lifestyle:
Start a food journal tomorrow.
At this point, you don’t have to calculate your calories and macros.
All I want you to do is simply record what foods you’re eating and the amounts on a typical day.
Also, eat like you would normally eat.
This will act as your baseline.
Next, take a look at your day’s worth of eating and count how many refined carbohydrates you ate.
If you ate 4 pieces of white bread yesterday, your goal for the next week is to eat 3 pieces of white bread per day and replace that one piece of bread with a piece of fruit or vegetable.
This is an example of sustainable progress.
You’re slowly cutting back while adding in other healthier forms of carbohydrates such as fruit and vegetables.
You could also replace another piece of bread with a whole grain (or gluten free) bread.
Although, in most cases, not perfect, whole grains have not been refined as much, so they can retain more of their natural nutrients and fiber.
As time goes on and you begin building more momentum with your Live Lean journey, you can then focus on replacing all white flour products with higher quality carbohydrate sources like oats and quinoa, and then eventually more vegetables and fruit.
Then after that, you can begin focusing on “the minors” of carbohydrate timing, and when are the optimal times to consume them.
Progress NOT perfection.
When you get so tied up in the minors, most people will throw their hands in the air and give up on doing the majors.
2. Over time, add in some type of protein to your meals and snacks
Sure in a perfect world, you’d be eating excellent sources of protein such as grass fed beef, organic chicken, wild fish, and organic whole eggs.
But at this point, if all you can afford is conventional ground beef, chicken, canned tuna, and some protein powder…
It sure beats fried chicken and fast food burgers and fries.
Here’s how can you apply this tip to improve your current lifestyle:
The ultimate goal is to incorporate one source of high quality protein with every meal and snack.
However in the beginning, focus on just adding one protein source with every meal.
So if you love pasta, rather than cutting it out of your diet on day 1, simply reduce the portion of pasta by 1/3 and replace it by adding in some meatballs or canned chicken, or even a protein shake.
If you’re going to eat a lot of carbs, it’s important to have a protein source with it as protein stimulates the production of a hormone called glucagon.
Glucagon has the opposite effect of insulin.
Insulin sets the stage for fat storage and glucagon sets the stage for fat loss as glucagon stimulates the HSL enzyme which stands for hormone-sensitive lipase.
This HSL enzyme encourages fat burning.
Protein also helps build muscle mass, which can lead to a higher metabolic rate, meaning your body burns more calories throughout the day, even at rest.
Side tip: In addition to protein, over time also try adding in essential fats such as omega-3’s, in supplement form or via cold water fish like salmon.
As hard as it is to believe, omega-3 fatty acids can actually help fight fat.
Eventually as your begin to progress with your Live Lean journey, your plate will be filled with healthy protein, healthy fats, and fibrous vegetables
I call it PFF.
But until then, in the beginning, some steps are still progress.
3. Incorporate More Resistance Training vs. Traditional Cardio Training
Most people think in order to lose fat they need to hit the cardio machines for multiple hours a day.
Sure, cardio machines will help burn calories, thus helping you burn body fat, BUT excessive cardio can also burn the necessary muscle it takes to raise your metabolic rate, thus lowering how many calories and how much fat you can constantly burn throughout the day.
To put it simply: more lean muscle = more fat burn
That’s right, the more lean muscle mass you have, the more body fat your body will burn throughout the day.
This is because, once again, lean muscle mass increases your body’s resting metabolic rate, a.k.a. the amount of energy your body uses at rest.
Here’s how can you apply this tip to improve your current lifestyle:
So as a beginner, try incorporating 2-3 full body resistance training sessions with weights per week.
I’m not telling you to stop doing cardio, as it can really help obese people get more active and burn more calories, but I do encourage you to focus more of your workout time with weights.
So there you have it Live Lean Nation.
Living Lean is about consistent progress, not perfection.
Stop focusing on the minors and start focusing on these 3 major beginner fat loss tips and you’ll surely be on your way to a new, healthier and leaner self, for life.
Need a beginner workout program?
Our Live Lean Beginner bundle contains a workout program for gym newbies that is designed to help beginners burn body fat, build lean muscle, and feel better than ever!
BROWSE MORE EXERCISES TO LIVE LEAN!
Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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