The pre summer rush is in full swing here on the longest day of the year. New clients, ex clients and general advice questions are coming at me from all angles. It is good to see!!
Here is one conversation I had a couple of days ago –
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Her – “Ben What is the fastest way to lose weight?”
Me – “Simple, eat right, exercise right and do it consistently for a period of time = SENSATIONAL results”
Her – “ok, no, I meant which fat burning supplements are the best? My boyfriend has some new powerful ones, I have forgotten the name of them”
Me – “um, that is totally pointless, unless you are very low body fat I have never heard of anyone getting any benefits from them. I know body builders/competitors use them pre competition but the women are like 10-12% fat (men 3-5%) looking to go lower. I assume you are not this, what is your body fat %??”
Her – “no, I am not a body competitor. I wish 😉 !! I was about 27% fat last time I had it done in the gym”
Me – ” well looking for a fat burner is a the wrong option. As you are training already you need to learn how to eat to get the results you want. Then be consistent enough to get to your goals. Reality is, if your body is going all guns blazing then 1% fat loss a week may be possible (this is full on food and exercise). In that case it would take 2 months to get down to say 20% which would represent a magnificent transformation and probably be the exact body you want. (I am guessing your goal is somewhere around 18% – 23%, but don’t live or die by any one number as there are flaws in every measurement system)”
Her – “Ok, but I am going on holiday in 3 weeks”
Me – “Well, you can still make nice changes in 3 weeks but food is your first port of call and not fat burning supplements”
Her – “Ok thanks, what I might do is to take these anyway as my boyfriend has some already it doesn’t cost any money or do any harm. I will also look into the food options you have mentioned”
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Well, as you can see from that conversation, this person didn’t really want me to tell them the truth rather she wanted to know that it was fine to take these fat burners and she they did not need months to get to her goals, which was not true. Sadly I am not one for lying to people and the truth wasn’t able to get past her clouded thinking.
You can just as easily replace “fat loss pills” in this conversation with “honey diet/juice diet/ Dukan diet / lighter life shakes / 5-2 diet etc etc”. While fat loss supplements are inherently flawed in their logic they represent the same thing as jumping on a diet. The theory being i do this for x weeks then lose fat then go back to my old ways looking great!!
The problem is your old ways slowly crept your weight up over a period of time. Therefore on return to the old way of eating you will most likely creep back up in weight again. However, as you will be still comparing your self to the thinner you the subtle fat gain won’t cause alarm bells (as still lower than before) and before you know it you are back to where you began.
The Transition Plan
Now, contrary to popular belief I am not against crazy diets, or even fat loss pills. I am “result-ist” and thus in favour of anything that works. Prove to me it works for you and I am all ears…..but don’t mistake that for thinking I am going to start preaching this approach to the world (so many people contact me with shakes/pre set meals/supplements etc….all making one ridiculous claim after another…in the hope that I will preach it). I play the percentage game, what works most of the time. This is boring unspectacular – eating the right foods in the right amounts to remove food cravings and optimise energy. Add in exercise and be consistent = sensational results. While plenty of diets can get you to lose fat at the end of the diet your biggest test starts then. For this you need a transition plan.
If you have just lost 40kg (90 lbs / 5 stone) on a shake diet then congratulations. If you then move into a transition plan that teaches you how to eat and maintain your weight then you have really won the war. If your daily hour of exercise for January has finished, the transition plan of learning to exercise for a short period / learning to eat (the transition plan) is the key for ultimate success.
So while the woman in the conversation above evidently didn’t hear what I had to say if she is to lose fat pre holiday with whatever method she uses then this is not “bad”. This is great, the key though is the transition from the short term only plan into the long term.
Thursday –
I am stripping body fat again in what is hopefully the last time for a good few months. Based on progress made from now until the end of June I could be able to hit my goal body fat target – 35mm*, though this goal does depend where the body fat comes from, if the 7.5mm on the stomach reduces to 5mm then that would be job done – Killer 6 pack. How much fat elsewhere must go first we shall see.
It is interesting to see how your weight drops after a couple of days of lowered eating. With the carb stores in the muscles reduced both size and weight appear to drop quickly. This is temporary of course as I could increase those carb stores simply by eating maximally again.
Diet – Protein – 156g, Carbs – 256g, fat – 52g, calories – 2072 , % P: 28 C : 49% F: 23%
Exercise – Weights
Weight – 72.3 kg Body fat – Didn’t take – (Last measure – 41.5mm*)
Supplements – Protein shake
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*This is my own 10 point self measurement system, it does not correlate to body fat scores. At a guess 40mm – 8%, 50mm – 9.5%, 60mm – 11%, 70mm – 12.5%. I do not take it everyday if looking to gain muscle or maintain as it puts me off wanting to eat more. If on fat loss phase I take it daily.
** All reference to people, their goals, their jobs and even when I met them are completely distorted from the actual person/event I am talking about…this keeps their privacy but they are based on real people with real stories.
Battersea – For Personal Training Battersea please contact me. I am available for sessions in homes, private gyms or Personal Training Battersea Park
