Once you hit the age of forty everything is slowing down, and for women, it can be even more of a struggle to lose body fat. Suddenly even those of us who used to lose weight overnight are challenged .It seems unfair too that we love food but then spend the rest of the time working out how to lose it from our bodies.
For men it’s much easier, if they stick to a paleo style of eating- proteins, vegetables and good sources of fat, they slim down pretty quickly. For overweight people using these tactics also works well But when you are lean and struggling with a kg or two of body fat ,you feel like you’re doing all the right things, maybe the occasional binge (makes us human ) but nothing seems to be budging.
Run through the checklist below and see where you could be slipping up:
- Portion control and calories – many of us are simply eating too much.
- Some people snack on nuts and some on dried fruit. Both of which are laden with carbohydrates. Keeping your carbohydrates under 100g per day can be key to losing body fat. Nuts and dried fruit are very calorific and in fact dried fruit is essentially sugar. Having whole fresh fruit in your diet is great for water content , it fills you up and is nutrient dense. Drying it diminishes all these benefits and simply leaves you with a lump of addictive sugar
- Sleeping- Getting enough sleep is crucial and is the best fat burning time . It’s easy to burn fat because you don´t even notice. If you’re staying up late however or need an alarm to wake -the chances are you are not getting enough sleep. Try getting to bed earlier.
- – It goes without saying that the more movement you can do during the course of the day the better. We were meant to be active and it all counts. Cleaning, scrubbing decks, washing down, it will all help !
- Fasting -We speak about this a lot but not eating is the fastest way to burn body fat. In fact the only reason we may break a fast is because we think somehow it’s dangerous. This is how we have been programmed by clever food companies and governments, as buying food drives the economy. If we all fasted one or two days a week this would result in serious cash loss. Use common sense with fasting 12- 24 hours between eating once a week to begin with, all dependant on how much body fat you want to lose and the stress in your life.
- Stress- This produces cortisol in the body which when overly elevated , breaks down your muscle tissue and leads to fat build up. Stress is not differentiated by the body and can be the result of over exercising , bad nutrition, too much alcohol and partying, not enough sleep or worry over something.
- Antibiotics and gut bacteria. Taking antibiotics destroys everything in the body including your highly fragile gut bacteria. This bacteria in your gut is crucial to energy levels and weight loss. Artificial sweeteners can also interfere their delicate balance along with real sugar which causes the bad bacteria to increase and destroys the good bacteria. Periods of fasting or good high fats like coconut oil, MCT and butter starve the bad bacteria.
- Chemicals – The build up of toxins in the body from packaged foods and bad fats and chemicals can often block you up and prevent you from losing weight. Having a period of detox where you consume liquid foods or light salads for a day or two and combine this with a dose of magnesium or an enema can really help to unplug the system and prod the body into losing fat.
- Try to not forbid foods – The moment you begin to give yourself very strict rules all the time about what you cannot have – it makes you want them even more. Once in a while it’s ok to give in, your willpower will usually buckle in the end.
- Eat more vegetables- Vegetables are full of fibre, vitamins and nutrients and water . We were designed to eat them, make your vegetables in a way that they taste great and eat plenty of them.
- Keep a food journal and measurements – How do you know what’s working and what is not if you are not measuring ? Take measurements of your body and your weight and for a week record what you are eating, re take the measurements and something should be changing. This will give you encouragement to continue.
- Food envy – Be realistic about your goals and don´t think that fat loss is any easier for anyone else. Just because you saw someone eating a slice of cake or pigging out at a meal , it does not mean they do that all the time. Most of us have to be careful what we eat- it’s very few who can eat exactly what they want, the trick is to balance your nutrition and stick to something that works for you , for life.
- Drink more water
- Sprint or a high intensity exercise session. Every week or 10 days
- Finally if you feel frustrated or you’re not sure what to do then get some help. We offer you a complimentary consultation, spending money on a weight training coach or a nutritional plan will be the best investment you can make. Don´t dream about your best body, live it.
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