How Fat Loss Works

To lose fat you must consume fewer calories than you burn. The more calories you burn, the
more potential you have to lose fat. For this reason, one of the main components of my fat loss
strategy is to get the amount of calories I burn (calories your burn in a day is also known as your
TDE – Total Daily Expenditure) as high as possible. To do this avoid doing exercise and diet
techniques that will lower TDE (slow your metabolism) and instead practice exercise and
nutritional strategies that will raise your TDE (boost your metabolism).

Resistance Training

Lifting weights is arguably the best way to raise your TDE and thus burn the maximum amount
of fat. Lifting weights is superior for fat loss because it burns more calories and increases lean
body mass. When you lift weights you are burning calories while you train to do the actual
lifting, and after the training session as your body works hard to rebuild and recover.
Additionally, your body will burn more calories at rest due to the increase in lean body mass you
obtain from the weight training. So if you are trying to burn fat, make sure to include resistance
training!

Cardio – High Intensity Interval Training

The two basic types of cardio are High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Low Intensity
Steady State (LISS). LISS is when you get on the treadmill and walk at an incline or lightly jog
for about an hour with your heart rate at around 60% of its maximum. You will see this referred
to as “the fat burning zone”. Don’t fall for that! You will burn more fat with a HIIT session. This
is because HIIT burns more calories throughout the day after you do it, boosting your
metabolism, whereas LISS can actually slow your metabolism and will only have a calorie
burning effect while you are doing it. Numerous studies have demonstrated that HIIT is superior
for body composition to LISS and that it can even help build muscle. How to do HIIT in 5 easy
steps:

 Warm up on the bike or by jogging for 5-10 minutes.

 Sprint all out for 10-30 seconds
 Rest 2-4 minutes
 Repeat 3 – 6 times over a 15 – 20 minute period.
 Warm down and stretch.

If you have done it right it will feel extremely difficult, your heart rate will be reaching 80-90%
of its maximum on the sprints, and you will be drenched in sweat and unable to continue after
15-20 minutes. It is hard, but it works!

Nutrition

Your diet will be the end all be all of your fat loss success. Follow a diet that puts you in a
caloric deficit (consuming fewer calories than you burn) and you will lose fat. I recommend you
eat plenty of nutritious foods like whole grains, sweet potatoes, avocadoes, fruits, vegetables, and
lean meats this will keep you from having any nutritional deficiencies that could have hurt fat
loss goals. The best fat loss diets are high in protein (around 1 gram per pound of bodyweight is
generally a good starting point). Protein is very satiating and makes it easier to get full when you
are on a diet. Fats and carbs should be kept as high as possible while still keeping adequate
progress going. Both have positive effects on fat burning hormones and cutting either of them
out completely can have a negative effect on fat loss. Make sure to get plenty of fiber, it is one of
few nutrients that in and of itself can help you burn fat more and is also very healthy (as well as
filling). Like protein, it will also help with satiety (feeling full). You should also look into
utilizing planned carb refeed/reload days in your fat loss nutrition strategy, as they can be very
good for fat burning.

By Chris Protein