In my more than five years of experience as a trainer, the majority of queries relate to not simply weight loss, but rather a fast and easy way to lose weight. Most of them have been trying on their own for months by jogging, taking low calorie diet, fasting, limiting salt intake, etc. Likewise, there are many misconceptions and myths about weight loss that is actually fat loss.

Today I am going to share with you my secrets and give you some tips of how to actually lose fat.

To begin with, one should never ever focus on losing weight. We must get rid of this mindset or else it may result in more harm than good. As you may lose muscle and essential water from your body rather than fat loss. We need to focus more on overall fitness and health on what fat loss really is.

The following are the things which one should note while training to lose fat:

1. Doing abs will never burn your fat directly, on the contrary if you over do it there is a chance that you would injure yourself. Just do 15 reps of 2-3 sets for upper, middle and lower abs and use twist exercises to work your oblique. Move on to the next level of different training like side incline bench sit ups or side crunches for oblique, only after losing ½ of your fat loss target.

2. I have seen many people just train themselves with lots of cardio by spending hours on the treadmill, cross training and jogging etc. But I want to tell you through my experience that hours and hours of cardio will not let you reach your goal. Never exercise more than 45 minutes a day and 5 days a week, which should include 5 minutes of warm up, 20 minutes of cardio, 15 minutes of weight training or resistance training or core training and 5 minutes of cool down.

3. Never do cardio for more than 4 days a week and other training for 3 days a week.

4. Always do a variety of cardio, like slow jogging, cross training, cycling, brisk walking, circuit-training, etc. And never do those types of cardio which will put stress on your joints like knees and lower back, like jumping, stair climbing, skipping, etc.

5. Training for hours will obviously burn out lots of calories but along with this, you would get yourself injured and over trained which would be like torturing your body. It is very important to learn to listen to your body. Many times my new clients are surprised as they expect much more than what I tell them to do. Over training has affected lots of athletes, and people who are engaged in fitness training in a bad way. But I tell you that if you really want to lose weight, don't exercise because you like to exercise. Rather, your workout should be meaningful and goal oriented.

6. Losing weight does not mean that you will have to leave food and start starving. Actually having food is not the cause of being overweight, but having bad sources of food causes an overweight or unfit body. When you are very hungry, you will not go for some boiled eggs or boiled chicken or veggies, but for some high carbohydrates, high fats foods like processed or junk food.

Actually that is the main problem with all of us. I hear people saying that they are losing weight and for that they are dieting. Dieting for some is zero carbs, zero fats, high protein diet. For some only fruits and salad and for some of them , advanced fat burners. But dieting actually is having all the needed nutrients, fibers and plenty of water.

First of all, dieting should always be prepared according to your lifestyle and your daily schedule. I have heard people say that they are restricting them to only 1,500 or 2,000 calories per day and the same thing is suggested to everybody they know. Your calories intake per day is dependent upon your physical and mental work per day, or your TDEE(Total Daily Energy Expenditure). If you are a sedentary worker, your requirements are very different from those who do a lot of traveling or physical work. Try to limit yourself to 4-6gms of carbs per kilogram of body weight, 0.4 to 0.8gms of protein per kilogram of body weight and never have more than 25% of fats in total calories intake. This needs to be followed according to your work schedule.

You should not have more than 300mg of cholesterol per day, one glass of milk is enough or 100gms cottage cheese per day as saturated fats (source for cholesterol) and also one should not consume more than 2,300mg of sodium per day -- that is approximately one spoon of salt.

You should also consume potassium rich fruits and vegetables in the amounts recommended by USDA and DASH eating plan. Stay away from trans fatty acid. To do this, make a habit of reading the nutrition facts before buying food products and avoid fried or processed food products. Not more than 10% of fat should come from saturated fats such as dairy products, coconut products, etc.

7. Never rush for fat burners or protein supplements without taking permission from a registered dietitian, sports nutritionist or a doctor.

8. Eating small meals very often in 2-3 hours of gap (around 5-10 meals per day) will actually increase your metabolism rate and make use of your food which will convert to energy faster and hence will not let your blood sugar level to increase higher than it should be and as a result your food will not store.

Each meal should contain of all the nutrients in the ratio of 60:30:10, that is 60% carbs 30% protein and 10% fats. Try to use dry fruits or nuts, EFA, like olive oil, flaxseed oil and fish oil as fats. Veggies, fruits and grains as carbs. Also use boiled eggs, boiled, roasted or baked tuna fish and chicken breast as proteins.

9. Cheat once a week or two in your dieting by having what you are craving for. This will give your body a variety in food and also a shock to your body, as our body becomes habitual with the same kind of food.

10. Don't focus on losing weight by measuring your waist and weight every other day. Try to focus on your overall fitness, like flexibility, stability, stamina and strength. I guarantee you that you will loose fat and weight in the process. Engaging in some sporting activities is very necessary for your overall fitness and personality.

One more thing I want to tell you that whenever you do cardio, never do so thinking that you are doing it to lose fat. Instead, do it as though you are doing it for your heart's and lung's health. I am sure you will notice that you will not get tired soon and you will enjoy doing it, and obviously, you will loose fat by default.

Welstar Peter is a certified personal trainer and sports nutritionist with over 7 years of experience in helping competitive bodybuilders, professional models and individuals in achieving their particular health and fitness goals through developing and administering exciting and effective training along with nutrition program . Please visit at www.peterpersonaltrainer.com for further information.

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written by bmcginnis, July 23, 2010

As a Master Trainewr with 20 + years experience, I pretty much agree with the article.

Try this ..... wear latex, boxer-type top, when doing your cardio. Go into the shower to dump the water/sweat afterwards! I can cut 2-3 lbs. in an hour this way.

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