5 Pillars of Fat Loss
First we started off with the foundations of fat loss as part of the Process of Fat Loss. Next we are going to continue to build our temple with the pillars that will stand on our sturdy foundation. For each temple you need strong pillars that hold everything else up. Not one pillar can be weaker than the other or the roof will collapse. The same goes for our health. If one of these 5 pillars is weak it will reduce our ability to lose and maintain fat loss. Let’s dive into the pillars and you can see what you might be missing.
THE PILLARS
- Exercise
- This can look many ways for many different people. The main goal is to get our heart rate up, build some muscle and increase calorie burn.
- Recommended is 3 days of vigorous exercise(getting heart rate up into 70-80% for most of the workout) and 2-3 days of light to moderate (Walking, active recovery)
- Strength training as well as a version of heart rate work (Cardio) are recommended on most days and for all shapes and sizes
- Mobility and flexibility also need to be part of the equation
- Stress Management
- This is probably the least talked about but possibly the most important for mental health as well as fat loss.
- Learning ways to reduce stress at home and work are extremely important
- Using things like breathing, yoga, exercise and mediation are great tools to help with this
- Journaling, therapy and friend groups are ways to talk about life and work through things.
- Working on your mindset and only worrying about controlling the things you can control and not letting the things out of your control bother you.
- Sleep
- Probably one of the more talked about ones but brushed to the side.
- 7-9 hours is recommended for fat loss, most people who get closer to the 8-9 see better results
- Creating a sleep routine is one of the best ways to get consistent sleep
- De-cluttering your mind before sleep as well as shutting down outside distractions (phone/TV) will allow your mind to rest before you sleep
- Anything less than 6.5hrs a night can lead to increased appetite, increased hormone levels and reduced ability to lose body fat
- Nutrition
- The most confused, the most important, and the most cheated one of the pillars.
- Simple formula: Eat real foods, mostly plants, not too much
- Every magic pill and magic diet that promises fast results with little effort is guaranteed to fail. You might lose 20lbs but in 4 months it will come back on plus some.
- It really isn’t that confusing but everyone wants to find the way to eat bad but still lose weight. Unfortunately the only will sustainable way to lose body fat is to eat healthy for a long period of time (like the rest of your life).
- Lifestyle
- In today’s society probably the most overlooked. If you desire to lose weight and live a healthier life it needs to happen full circle.
- In social events, making healthy food choices, saying no to alcohol more often than not, going for walks instead of watching tv.
- This can possibly be even changing your social circle, reducing time with family influencers and picking up more active things to do in your free time.
- Usually you have to drastically reduce how often you eat out as well.
ACTION PLAN
We will we taking a deep dive into each one of these pillars over the next few months. Each one has a lot of parts to it and is different for each person. The best takeaway would be to look at the 5 pillars above and see which one you might struggle with the most. Then pick one simple thing you can do every day to start improving something in that category.
