Category: Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Fat burning ≠ Fat loss 🚫

It’s quite common to see things described as fat burning. Sometimes it’s in reference to specific diets, modes of eating or certain types of exercise. Low carb diets are often promoted as fat burning on the premise that because there are fewer carbs to burn for energy, fat burning will increase. The same rationale is used by those promoting working out before eating (rather than after) or fasting for periods of time.

You’ll find certain types of workout described as fat burning or you may find your activity monitor describes your workout in terms of the percentage of time in the ‘fat burning’ zone. The argument is that the body burns a greater percentage of fat with lower-intensity exercises than higher intensities because the body doesn’t require ‘fast energy’ from glycogen. As such, this theory promotes longer and lower-intensity workouts that maintain your heart rate within the ‘fat burning zone’. However, while the body does burn fat during low-intensity workouts, the rate remains low and you have to exercise longer to burn the same amount of calories you would at higher intensities.

The main issue is that burning fat is often confused with losing body fat. Fat burning or oxidation refers to the use of fat as a fuel source by the body. This doesn’t equal body fat loss. Eating low carb (and therefore high fat) does mean you’ll burn more fat as fuel because there is more of that available to use. But if you need 1800 cals a day and are eating 2000 cals then you have an additional 200 cals of fat. This won’t increase your fat burning. In a calorie surplus more fat is available in the bloodstream due to a higher intake, so the rate of fat storage is also greater. Research shows that whilst low-carb diets increase fat oxidation, they don’t actually result in

superior fat loss in comparison to higher-carb diets when calories are matched.

This same concept applies to ‘fat burning workouts’ or fasted cardio vs fed cardio. Yes fasted cardio BURNS more fat in the session (because fewer carbs/glycogen are available) but if total calorie intake for the day is in surplus to your needs then you won’t lose body fat.

“Fat burning’ and “fat loss” are not

interchangeable concepts.The biggest priority for fat loss is a calorie deficit. If eating fewer carbs, or eating after your workout etc help you to maintain a calorie deficit and therefore make weight loss easier then fab! But going low carb / fasted workouts / fat burning workouts will not inherently be better for fat loss when calories are matched. The overall goal is to find a sustainable way for you to consistently achieve a calorie deficit.

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: Habit prompts ✅

Part of losing weight is about creating new habits around food and activity. Building new habits is hard though! So how can you make it easier?

Environmental cues play an important role in building habits and your environment is extremely influential in decision making. So setting up your environment in a way which reminds you of the habits/behaviours you want to start incorporating will help.

The main idea is having something visible which reminds you to do that specific habit or which makes that the easiest choice. Do this by putting a cue in a spot where you can’t miss it and won’t forget. Conversely you make the habits you want to ditch harder by making things associated with them less visible.

For example for habits you want to encourage you could;

– Place hand weights next to the sofa to remind you to do 5-10 mins of exercises each evening in the advert breaks,

– Have a snack box on the kitchen side containing lower calorie snack options and fruit for the day.

– Have a bottle of water on your desk to encourage you to stay hydrated.

– Pop a post it note on the bathroom mirror reminding you to stretch your calves while you brush your teeth.

– Ensure when you open the fridge the first thing you see are easy lower calorie snacks – vegetables sticks, mini light babybel, yoghurts, berries and other fruit etc .

– Move the calorie tracking app on your phone to the home page next to WhatsApp or a frequently used app to remind you to track.

For habits you want to break make it harder to do them;

– Store chocolate in a sealed tub at the back of the cupboard.

– Keep the bottle opener upstairs so it’s more of an effort to ‘just open a bottle’ after a stressful day.

– Leave your phone in another room/place when working so you’re forced to get up to get it regularly to avoid sitting for long periods.

Try setting up your environment for success today!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip: I can’t lose fat …. 😱

I hear this a lot – people over 35 or so tell me that they can’t lose fat/weight , or build muscle etc because they’re older. They blame it on their age or hormones or their metabolism slowing down. It hasn’t. This probably isn’t what you want to hear but…. What’s actually changed:

⁃ they’ve become more sedentary

⁃ they drink alcohol weekly

⁃ they eat calorie dense foods

It’s not your metabolism, it’s your habits!

While there can be certain hormone imbalances that can affect energy expenditure through changes to BMR these are medical issues and can be corrected (eg thyroid proneness). The reality is that most people don’t suffer from any sort of medical issue, and whilst there are some changes in metabolic rate as we age they’re relatively insignificant. The reality is people want an excuse that doesn’t involve their own choices.

You can build muscle at any age. You can lose fat at any age. The research actually shows that your metabolism doesn’t slow significantly until around age 70 (yes this includes every phase of menopause) and that’s also likely because most people become less spontaneously active.

Be honest with yourself.

Are you getting enough sleep? Are you exercising consistently? Are you being diligent with your nutrition? Are you being consistent with all those? Are you overeating and drinking every weekend?

As much as we don’t want to hear it the responsibility and ownership is actually quite freeing – it means YOU have the power to change. You’re not ‘doomed’ just because you’ve reached a certain stage of life. Stop giving up your power. YOU have the power to change things

Start taking a look at those daily habits and stop blaming your age or metabolism. Try to get more sleep, stick to a calorie budget, reduce the alcohol and get as active as possible and do it consistently- for months,

The hack is your lifestyle

Enjoy 🤗

Xx

Tuesday tip: Processed food fear 🍟

There’s a lot of fear-mongering about processed foods going on at the moment and I’ve noticed it causing undue health anxiety with lots of people trying to cut them out etc.

There is no standardized definition of “processed” or “ultra-processed” food, so public perception is heavily influenced by media attention. You may have read about a recent study that linked ultra-processed food consumption to negative health outcomes. What it didn’t say was that there was no causal relationship and it missed some critical details.

Everything we eat is processed, even fresh produce has been processed – cleaned, prepared, preserved etc. And no single food is inherently “bad” or dangerous, especially when consumed in moderation. I’m not saying you should only eat crisps, pizza and ice cream etc. Many processed foods are nutritious (e.g. frozen fruits, cereals, porridge oats etc ) and often are more accessible options for many people.

In most studies that associate processed foods with negative health outcomes most studies fail to account for all the other variables – ‘processed food is bad’ is a much snappier headline isn’t it? It’s not the processed food itself but rather the fact that the majority of food calories are coming from foods with lower nutrient density or lower in fibre. These studies also fail to note the amount of the diet that is composed of lower nutrient dense foods, other lifestyle habits such as exercise levels, and socioeconomic factors.

Ultra-processed foods are not causing these health outcomes. They may contribute to them but it’s a very complex, multifactorial issue. If you have a healthy lifestyle and a broadly diverse diet, indulging in ultra-processed foods in moderation isn’t going to be harmful. Avoiding them also isn’t going to “prevent” disease, and we need to stop demonizing people and individual foods. That sort of message is causing more far more harm than the occasional pizza or cookie.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip: Common barriers to sustainable fat loss ⛔️

This may be hard to hear but here are a few of the common barriers to fat loss.

#1 Expectations

Most of us assume that not only will we lose weight quickly and easily, but that it will then stay off without a thought. This is a dangerous mindset to cultivate. Be realistic with your rate of loss – a realistic weight loss per week would be 0.5% of your bodyweight (rising to 1% for a really aggressive calorie restriction) and that’s an average – so you won’t see that every week. To put that in perspective – if you weigh 65kg that’s 650g a week. Trying to go faster than this will get you nowhere – all that will happen is you’ll lose muscle as well as fat, and encourage disordered eating and binge:restriction behaviours. You should be developing new habits and a new lifestyle – you can’t do that when you’re just trying to shift weight asap.

# Short term

This isn’t short term – the things you do in order to create the change are things you will have to keep doing – forever. Can you go for the rest of your life without ‘carbs’? If not then cutting carbs/ keto is not for you. If you tend to overeat in the evenings after starving all day then fasting isn’t for you etc. Be realistic – make small changes to create a calorie deficit, that you can sustain – forever.

# Refusing to adapt

You have to be prepared to adapt and you have to accept that life won’t always be the same and it won’t always be easy. There will be periods of time when you’re busy with work, having a personal crisis, or some family disaster etc. That doesn’t mean your diet/ fitness/health should automatically get thrown off track! In fact during these times sticking to some healthy habits may help keep you going but that doesn’t mean the methods you use need to stay the same. You may not manage to track calories when you’re busy, or you may not make it to the gym 5 days a week so make adjustments – use some go to meals you know are lower calorie, decide to aim for 1-3 workouts instead etc.

# Starting Monday

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “It’s Monday, I’m back on it.” A lot of people go full out during the week – smashing those calories, working out etc but then come the weekend social events/ family life etc takes over and it all goes out the window. Instead look at your entire week – all 7 days and adopt a balanced approach. Set realistic goals for all days, and DON’T just give yourself a pass because it’s the weekend.

# Be honest

If you can’t be honest with yourself, without berating yourself, then you’re probably not

looking at long term sustainability. You have to be able to see where you are falling short and make honest adjustments. You have to know yourself, know your weaknesses, and be willing to make changes.

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx