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NUTRITION FOR ‘WEIGHT LOSS’ VS ‘FAT LOSS’
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Image credits:Front Cover: Cseh [email protected]
Introduction Page: Passakorn [email protected]; Calorie deficit page: Cathy [email protected]; Fat loss page - image 1: [email protected]; image 2: Nadia [email protected]; image 3: Cseh [email protected]
Medical DisclaimerAlways consult your medical practitioner, registered dietician or nutritionist before making any significant changes to your diet – particularly if you an adolescent, pregnant, breastfeeding or have or develop a medical condition.
Should you purchase and consume the recommended supplements in this guide, you are choosing to do so of your own free will, without coercion and in the full knowledge that the supplements have not been personally recommended to you and that should you suffer from a medical condition of any kind or suspect that the ingredients may cause you a medical problem of any kind whatsoever you should speak to a qualified medical practitioner for advice.
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Nutrition for ‘Weight Loss’ vs ‘Fat Loss’INTRODUCTION
This is a pretty important topic, as I’m sure you’ll agree. When it comes to weight loss, many people seem to want to shift those excess pounds as quickly as possible and they see this as the gold standard of results.
But whilst losing weight may be a sign that we are heading in the right direction, it does not
always mean that we improving our body composition.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are some people who would benefit from weight loss, and
others who would benefit from both weight loss and fat loss.
In this guide, I want to shed some light
on the differences between attaining
these two results, and how nutrition
differs in each instance.
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Weight loss - Aiming to lower the numbers on the scales.
Okay, this one is really simple: Calorie Deficit.
It doesn’t matter whether you are eating Chinese takeaway, pizza, burgers and chocolate
every day (although I don’t recommend you do this), or have the most nutrient-dense intake
on the planet.
Scientifically speaking, if you need to consume
2000 calories per day to maintain your weight,
but you’re only consuming 1500 calories per day,
then you will lose 1lb of weight each week.
The problem here, is although you can see a
change on the scales - and in your head you may
be super happy with this - you are very likely
to have lost weight from both fat and muscle
tissue, unless you are paying careful attention to
the quality of the macronutrients as well as your
training.
So in actual fact, the results in your overall body
composition have actually either stayed the same,
or possibly reduced in quality.
This is not what we want!
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Fat loss - Reducing fat mass (adipose tissue) in the body.
Now in most situations, what we really want to do is reduce our fat mass.
Fat loss with a combination of weight loss is generally the ideal, but again, fat loss is the gold
standard more often than not.
Here are some simple principles we have to follow to get the most out of our fat loss
strategy...
1. Signalling muscles to grow/adapt through resistance exercise.
3. Creating a calorie deficit so that the only place left to lose weight is through fat loss!
2. Using nutrition to
preserve muscle tissue.
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Let me explain each of these points so you know exactly what to do...
1. SIGNALLING MUSCLES TO GROW/PRESERVE MUSCLE TISSUE
You may be doing this already. You must be regularly taking part in resistance or high
intensity training in order to signal your muscles to grow/repair/preserve due to the new
stresses you place on them. Your muscles are very clever, and will adapt as you gradually
increase the stress over time (longer workouts, heavier weights, fewer rest periods, etc.)
2. USING NUTRITION TO PRESERVE MUSCLE TISSUE
Here you need to be consuming enough good quality protein each day. You also need to
spread the protein intake out evenly throughout the day. If you consume 90g protein for
breakfast, then very little for lunch and dinner, this won’t be as effective as consuming 30g
during each of the three meals.
Spacing protein intake evenly throughout the day will ensure your bloodstream carries a
continuous source of protein to your muscles in order to repair and grow.
Here are some examples of protein-rich food sources:
ChickenTurkeyBeef LambPorkFishSeafoodEggsGreek yoghurt
Cottage cheeseLentils (v)Beans (v)Tofu (v)Red/ green lentils (v)Quinoa (v)Freekeh (v)Chickpeas (v)Black beans (v)
Kidney / soya / edamame beans (v)Peanuts / peanut butter(v)Pumpkin seeds (v)Cashew cream (v)Nutritional yeast (v)Tahini (v)Gram / Chickpea flour (v)
3. CREATING THE CALORIE DEFICIT
Okay, so here’s the easy bit again. Think about what you have done so far... you have told
your muscles to grow/preserve, and also provided them with all the protein needed for this
to take place throughout the day. If you are in a calorie deficit, the only place your body has
left to lose the weight by default is fat.
(v) = vegan
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Hopefully you now have a really simple system to follow to enable you to enhance your
body composition results through exercise and nutrition, rather than focusing solely on the
number shown on the scales.
Also it’s worth asking yourself this question: If you lost no weight at all this month, but
went down a belt/dress size or two, and everybody could visually see the difference in
you, would you be happy?
Of course you would!
Remember it’s not always all about weight loss. Your body is a complicated system.
Hormones, hydration levels, stress levels and food in the gut are some factors which can
affect your weight. Therefore, you cannot rely on body weight alone when assessing progress.
Ideally, steady weight loss is applicable to most of us, but don’t always use it as the only
factor in assessing your results. Some weeks you may lose 1lb of body fat, but gain 1lb
weight from fluid retention. So when you get on the scales, it looks like you’ve made no
improvements. When in reality, you have.
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Here are a few pointers to help you track your progress:
1. Take progress photos every 2 or 4 weeks, ideally at around the same time of day, in similar
lighting if possible. Take 3 photos, front, back and side and record the date each set of
photos were taken.
2. Take your measurements every 2 or 4 weeks, using the guide below. Record your
measurements in a log book or a spreadsheet, to enable you to view them all together
and see your progress.
3. Use your clothes to assess your progress. Are they becoming looser / fitting better?
4. If you want to weigh yourself, avoid the temptation of doing it every day. Once every
week or fortnight is fine. Your weight may naturally fluctuate, therefore weighing
yourself every day may not give you an accurate picture and may also cause your
motivation to suffer.
TAKING MEASUREMENTS
Where to measure:
Chest (level with nipples)
Right arm & left arm
Navel (level with belly button)
Hips (widest part)
Right and left thigh
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