April 2019: 5 Crucial Tips for Fat Loss

Happy April!

It’s my birthday month (who else is an April baby?!) so in celebration, I want to give
you all some free coaching advice to steer you the right way before summer time.

#1: CREATE A CALORIE DEFICIT

You will NOT lose weight without expending more than you are eating.

Key Point – your deficit should NOT be calculated from your BMR or from
MyFitnessPal – it will typically recommend 1200 calories which is already below the
average BMR.

Eating below your BMR will trick your body into thinking that it’s “starving.”

Your body will achieve LESS results long-term because it wants to hold onto body fat
to stay alive. This makes it easier to GAIN fat when you over-indulge (THINK – the
restrict-binge cycle) because your body knows that these calorie-dense meals only
come every so often.

Your deficit should be calculated from your TDEE, Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

This is a sum of your:
BMR
Calories burned from exercise
Non-exercise activity levels
Thermic effect of food
There are many reliable TDEE calculators online that you can use.

IGNORANCE IS BLISS, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
The more you know, the easier this process will be. Yes – tracking all of your food,
weighing it, and making sure to be accountable for every drink and bite IS a lot of
WORK. It is extra effort you have to put into planning, tracking and prepping.

However, when you have complete awareness and complete control of your diet as a
variable, there is no ignorance. You can no longer say “I don’t know why I’m not seeing results” – the numbers will shout the answer in your face. Because of this, you can then know exactly what to change to see the results you want.

#2: PRIORITIZE RESISTANCE TRAINING

When your aim is to lose body fat and look “toned”, you will only achieve this result if you are lifting weights. Losing weight without having/building muscle will leave you with the “SKINNY FAT” look, which doesn’t look “in shape.”

#3: EAT MORE PROTEIN

If you are not eating enough protein every day, you will lose your muscle mass from
dieting.

FACTS:
Muscle is very “energy expensive”, meaning that it burns the most calories at rest.

This explains the (annoying) existence of people who “eat whatever they want and still stay fit” – they have MUSCLE MASS that they’ve built over the years. They burn
more calories per day at rest, so they can afford more “indulgent” meals a little more
often than individuals without lots of muscle mass.

If you are not eating enough protein to sustain the muscle you have worked so hard to
earn, when you train or do cardio, your body will BURN UP your muscle mass to
conserve energy.

The less muscle mass you have, the less total calories you will burn at rest, so your
daily metabolic rate will decrease.

Therefore, the less you focus on keeping a protein-rich diet, the SLOWER your metabolism will get, and the harder it will be to lose body fat.

PREVENT THIS ISSUE
You should eat 1-1.2 grams per pound of body weight of protein per day.
For example – if you weigh 100 pounds, you should eat 100-120 grams of protein per
day.

#4 BE PATIENT AND TRUST THE PROCESS

When you’re doing things the RIGHT way, you’re NOT going to see rapid, crazy results in a couple of weeks.

Here’s why:
You’re NOT burning off all your muscle mass
You’re NOT depleting yourself of carbs and losing a bunch of water weight from
glycogen
You’re NOT taking excess amounts of caffeine in the form of “fat burners” and losing a bunch of water weight from sweat

When you’re doing things the WRONG way, you’re not losing body fat – you’re losing water weight and muscle, making it EASIER to gain the fat back after the “diet.”

When you’re doing things the RIGHT way, you should expect to lose about one pound per week. Sometimes two, sometimes one-half, but on average one per week. This is a steady, healthy rate of weight loss that you don’t need to starve to achieve, and can
ensure you that you’re losing body FAT, not muscle.

#5: HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE PROCESS

This applies to both diet and exercise.

If what you’re doing is not sustainable, and you don’t enjoy it to the extent that you
could keep doing it after you lose the weight, then you need to change your methods.

Losing weight is NOT a battle of “how much can I suffer.” Make sure you educate
yourself and rely on trusted resources to find a method that is healthy, sustainable, and will provide for an ENJOYABLE journey to your end goals.

I am currently accepting new clients!
Contact me by replying to this email and letting me know that you are interested
in working together toward your goals!

For more information, you can read more about the services I offer and submit an inquiry through my website at marissaroyfitness.com/services.

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Hey, I'm Marissa

I am an online health & fitness coach with a passion for helping others reach their fitness goals, no matter how many times they have tried in the past.

My mission is to educate you throughout our time working together so that you are equipped to challenge yourself through nutrition & training for life.