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Simple tips for losing weight and keeping it off
September 29, 2009
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Have you ever wondered why you are not losing any weight even though you’re putting in all this effort?
Whenever I need to lose weight because I have been a little bit more indulgent in my diet and not gone to the gym as often as I should, I always follow the same technique:
* I do a cleanse either with detox pill supplements, or, if my short-term lifestyle can handle it, a juice cleanse for about 10 days.
* I cut back on some of the cheat foods I’ve been over-indulging in.
* I take assessment of my portions.
* I make sure I’m at the gym four times per week (when I gain weight, it’s usually because I’m eating more than I should and have reduced my fitness activities to twice per week).
* I also make a point of walking as much as I can instead of taking public transportation.
My formula for trimming down is pretty simple and it’s worked for me for years now. I never take any drastic measures and I never, ever follow questionable quick weight-loss techniques that only result in you gaining more weight and getting caught in a never-ending cycle of weight-gain-weight-loss-weight-gain.
Dr. John Berardi explains in greater detail some simple ways to help you lose unwanted pounds and reach a healthy body weight that you can actually keep for life!
>>>> Here are Dr. John Berardi’s tips for losing weight:
All day long, all across the Web, folks are posting questions about why they’re not losing weight, why they’re not gaining weight and why their body composition isn’t changing. They’re frustrated, confused and feeling helpless. But if most of them just made things simple, progress would follow.
What does “make things simple” mean? Isn’t the body, y’know, complicated?
Well, we know that weight loss happens only when the body is in a negative energy balance (in other words, when there are fewer calories coming in than going out). And we know that weight gain happens only when the body is in a positive energy balance (in other words, when there are more calories coming in than going out).
From this knowledge, we can infer two things:
1. If you aren’t losing… you’re not in a negative energy balance.
2. If you aren’t gaining… you’re not in a positive energy balance.
Of course, it does get a bit more complex than this but again, most folks get lost in the details. So let’s keep it simple for now.
>>Weight loss<<
Assuming you’re eating Precision Nutrition (PN) style, training at least 5 hours per week, and still not losing weight, the explanation is simple: You’re not losing because, for whatever reason, you’re not in a negative energy balance. So you must create one. How can you do that? Well, there are three viable ways:
1. Eat less
2. Exercise more
3. Eat less and exercise more
In the end, it’s pretty simple, no? Typically I recommend the following strategy (again, assuming you’re following PN-style eating and training at least 5 hours per week yet have stagnated):
1. Increase exercise volume to 7 hours per week
2. If stagnation occurs again, decrease calories
3. If stagnation occurs again, increase exercise to 9 hours per week
4. If stagnation occurs again, decrease calories
Your upper limit of exercise volume may be 10-12 hours per week, so make sure to cap it there while manipulating calories the rest of the way.
>>Weight gain<<
Assuming you’re eating Precision Nutrition (PN) training at least 5 hours per week, and still aren’t gaining weight, the reason is simple: You’re not gaining because, for whatever reason, you’re not in a positive energy balance. So you must create one. How can you do that? Well, there are three ways:
1. Eat more
2. Exercise less
3. Eat more and exercise less
(Note: when trying to gain weight, it’s important to maintain your exercise volume at about 4 to 5 hours per week as you still need a strong stimulus for muscle growth. Judging by the overall health status of the North American population, “Eat lots and don’t exercise at all” doesn’t appear to work very well for making you buff. So don’t take this argument to its logical conclusion.)
I recommend the following strategy (again, assuming you’re following PN-style eating and training at least 5 hours per week yet have stagnated):
1. Increase calorie intake
2. If stagnation occurs, decrease non-weight training calorie expenditure and make sure your weight training is stimulating growth
3. If stagnation occurs again, increase calories again and continue to manipulate them as you don’t want your exercise volume to fall too much
>>That’s it … Just Keep it Simple!<<
Most of the time, it’s just that simple.
* Eat Precision Nutrition style. And real Precision Nutrition style, not half-assed, “Oh, I sometimes eat vegetables.” Follow the Ten Habits. Be compliant.
* Train at least 5 hours per week using adequate intensity and well-chosen workout routines.
* Follow the steps above as indicated for meeting your goals.
* Lather, rinse, repeat until ripped and/or huge.
99.9 per cent of all of the individuals I’ve worked with in my career who have properly followed the steps above have succeeded. Only those with serious medical issues don’t respond. So make sure that during the course of your own transformation, you remember these simple lessons. Apply them to what you’re learning in the Precision Nutrition System. Having learned them, there’s absolutely no excuse for not getting closer to your goals.
Photo by eMuse Tess Heder
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November 16th, 2009 at 8:50
I think if people can differentiate between weight gain and fat gain, that’ll be better