The Key To Unlocking Your Weight Loss Goals
Weight Loss Plateau’s
If your someone who struggles to lose weight, there could be many, many different factors impacting your lifestyle which make it harder for you to lose weight (or more specifically fat) than others. Please keep that in mind whilst reading this post.
However you may find yourself trapped in a vicious cycle of cutting calories whilst increasing cardio, or you could be the person who hasn't fully committed to your weight loss journey yet. Either way, this article will be something I hope you look back on and never forget.
With that being said, some of you may think I’m absolutely crazy by saying this. But have you ever considered the fact that trying to cut calories & eat in a deficit whilst increasing cardiovascular training in some way or another, may not be effective for you anymore and potentially could be hindering your weight loss goals?
Hear me out... If you or a loved one, are struggling to lose weight and you have fallen into the trap of “I’ve tried everything! Nothing works! I just cannot lose weight/fat”. Then chances are you have been sticking to one method for far to long. If you are that person who has yet to commit to your weight loss journey then keep reading because you'll have some valuable information others would have dreamed of having at the start of their own journey.
My Solution
I believe your problem could simply be that your body has adapted to what you are trying to do. In simpler terms, your body knows you are going to lose weight by being in a deficit & some people get caught in the trap of continuing to increase cardio and reduce calories. This can easily spiral out of control and become an eating disorder & create a very unhealthy relationship with nutrition. Which of course you want to avoid at all costs.
So, if you are one of these people struggling to lose weight (fat), I dare you to give this a try. Simply bump up your calories to slightly above your maintenance (200 calories or so) so that you are in a slight surplus. Yes I said it & yes you will gain a slight amount of weight (muscle). But hear me out... The reason why this approach will be so effective for you is simply this. You have been putting all of your eggs into one basket for far too long. Your body has adapted to your attempt in losing weight by cutting calories so in effect, your body is trying to protect you by holding on to every last piece of fat tissue and fat cells as possible. Fat provides the most energy per gram (9kcal per gram) as opposed to Protein and Carbs (4kcal per gram). Your body is so much smarter than you probably realise and fitness is not so black and white in terms of losing weight = calorie deficit.
Of course you must be in a calorie deficit with an appropriate training programme at some point to lose weight. But my point is that your metabolism has most likely slowed down a heck of a lot. If you had any muscle tissue before getting caught in this horrible cycle of cutting calories and increasing cardio (or even just simply just cutting calories alone) chances are you have probably lost the muscle tissue you did have. This is why you need to enter a slight surplus, you need to build some extra muscle tissue (this does not mean you will be in a full on bulking phase where you will pack on as much size as possible). This simply means you will add some more muscle tissue to your body which in effect will speed up your metabolism as muscle takes up more energy to preserve than fat does. So by entering a slight surplus for a period of 4-8weeks (I would recommend sticking to 4 weeks if you have a higher body fat %) you will add some extra muscle to your body which will require you to consume more calories just to maintain. If anything you could continue this calorie surplus for an extended period of time should you feel you have very low muscle mass. This doesn't mean you will become a massive body builder as you would have to train that way to get those results, but it does mean that you will have to eat more calories just to maintain the muscle you have gained so when you eventually go back to being in a calorie deficit again, you could end up being in a deficit and losing weight whilst consuming double the calories you are now. Tell me, does that not sound like something you would love!
After your period of building some muscle and increasing your metabolism and finally going back to your calorie deficit, I would love to see the results! So if at least one person could attempt this I would be delighted! So... here's an idea. To the person reading this, I dare you to to give the above a shot & if you are able to stick to it, send me your before and after pictures via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fitzempirept/) and I will give you a Standard package for FREE! This offer of a free standard package will be available to the first person who sends me their results (don't feel as though you have to rush your results, simply send me your before picture on the day you begin to attempt this, that way I will be able to track who attempted this first.
Best of luck on your fitness journey! Feel free to check out my other blog articles and Instagram posts if you are interested!
Written By: Joseph Fitzpatrick
Joseph is the founder of Fitz Empire & is currently working as a self employed personal trainer in London, United Kingdom.
