At Holos Performance, it’s our goal to provide you with all the tools and education needed for you to be successful. There can be a lot of confusion on the internet and social media these days surrounding the best way to tackle any health goal.
We thought we would put this article together to remind you that there are a few really basic principles when it comes to losing fat that we can sometimes forget about or not prioritise as a result of searching for hacks or the latest fat loss “trends”.
It’s also worth noting that these basic principles stay the same no matter your ability level. They just need to be nailed with greater consistency and precision.
Stimulus
This is your training regimen. There are a few variables that will determine how effective your program is. We like to use this acronym from Bill Campbell PhD:
L – Load (weight)
E – Effort (intensity)
A – Amount (volume – sets / reps)
F – Frequency
Fat Loss can be tough and takes a level of discipline. Period. One thing we notice with experienced trainers is that they ALWAYS bring the intensity. They approach every session with focus and take pride in every rep.
This is something that is often overlooked, but it’s the difference between good and great results.
Total energy intake
To support fat loss, you need to be in a calorie deficit. A conservative deficit is ~350-550kcal below maintenance. We’ve built this into your recommendations on your home screen for you.
It can be tough to consume less energy than you need consistently, especially if you juggle things like work and family commitments on top of your training. Preparation is key here. Knowing where you can get adequate fuel ahead of time rather than reacting to hunger will set you up for success.
Protein & fibre intake
Protein is the king of the macronutrients and is the number one tool to help you nail the above step. Consuming around 2-2.5g / kg of BW per day is considered a good range to strive for to keep you feeling full and retain/protect muscle mass. Again – This is not an easy thing to do. Many outlets and restaurants will not necessarily offer the amounts of protein you need, so having strategies for this is important.
Fibre – Mostly from lots of vegetables and fruits, has a similar positive effect on fat loss as protein because it keeps us fuller for longer.
Recovery
Not getting enough quality sleep, overtraining or training the same muscle groups repeatedly without adequate rest will be directly reflected in your training outcomes.
These poor habits will mess with your ability to train at the intensity needed to get good results consistently. They will affect how your body processes key hormones like Leptin, Ghrelin and cortisol (the satiety, hunger and stress hormones), which impact how we store fat.
These are your foundations. If you don’t integrate these principles consistently, then you will be fighting an uphill battle. Many more intricacies can be explored to yield better results once we have these areas nailed. The good news is that these things are tangible and straightforward.
