As i mentioned in the previous blog, I have had mixed success with weight loss. In 2015 and then again in 2018 I suffered ACL injuries to my left knee. The reduction in movement in the months after, and a reduced desire to eat well, I put on weight. The first from around 83kg to 90kg and then close to 100kg after the second.

Now I sit around 90kg and feel pretty comfortable around this weight (however always looking to remove about 2 more kg’s!). But this wasn’t a stable loss of weight, and in fact, I have certainly put on a significant amount of muscle as well, so the scales will always tell an incorrect story. So read on to learn what I have in the years trying to reduce weight and fat! Remember, these might be individual to me but I think are relevant.

Doing Too Much

Who would have thought that this would have been an issue – but it really has taken me until recently to notice this. Scraping back calories too much will have your body change your metabolism. Your body will go into conservation mode. Despite calories in v calories out being the model for weight loss, there is a point when this stops working.

Each time I have done this (and geez I have done it a few times!) my body bloats up and has a lot of water retention – making me look bigger than I was in the first place! And not only that, I often get ridiculously tired or get sick – which means reduced training.

So learning curve here – 250cals-500 calls max!

Trying To Do It All At Once

In the last blog I talked about muscle mass, HIIT, cardio, reduced calories – when you read these blogs (and not just mine) you might feel like ‘how do I do this all at once’. Again, it is something I have had to learn myself. The guys at Benchmark in Canterbury where I train do this incredibly well with their programming.

You should shuffle through phases – maybe blocks of 4-6 weeks where your focus should change.

You can’t put muscle on in a huge calorie deficit, therefore your metabolism won’t go up – but then you can’t lose weight without a calorie deficit and you need to put cardio in! It’s a catch 22, so be comfortable that you need to have 4/6 weeks at a regular calorie intake. This will have a massive benefit over the long term.

Thinking Short Term

Often we expect ridiculous results within 30 days etc. It’s in every magazine and TV show, but they don’t work. We all know it but it is not what we want to hear.

Like I said above, cycling between phases is crucial, but that does mean sometimes putting weight loss to the side to improve muscle mass. This takes longer, but in the long term it is far more effective. And not only that, it is far healthier!

The Scales Lie

Well, that’s not exactly true, but what does the number even matter? When we put on muscle mass, we will inevitably put on weight, particularly if we train legs. So when we step on the scales, our weight might go up – and this is incredibly demotivating. Use other measurements e.g. waist and hip measurements, DEXA scans or even just the mirror to track progress.

Not Looking After Your Gut

Again, mistakes have been made here! Firstly, it took me years to learn that I was gluten intolerant!

I have always been an advocate for eating real food – ask my cousin (god we argued about this ha!) but in reality, I haven’t always followed it. Very easy to eat some processed bread, processed meats, cereals etc. These all have an effect on your gut microbes, which have an effect on both weight loss and health – something I will touch on in a blog about food.

If your gut is not healthy, you will spend a lot of time carry excess water retention and also possibly weight.

Key Takeaways

• Don’t strip back calories too far
• Cycle through phases
• Don’t cut calories for too long
• Think long term
• Eat good food
• Think about good progress and don’t get demotivated