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One of the most common health and fitness-related searches on the web is How do I lose fat?
It’s not without irony that a sizeable majority of all the health and fitness content on the web is related to answering the question of how to lose fat.
But though the question continues to be asked, and though every day more information attempting to answer it is introduced into the public domain (case in point), we’re collectively getting fatter.
According to a journal in Science, a leading knowledge and research publication, obesity has risen to epidemic proportions and over 22% of people are now obese. Dr Robert Lustig in his book Fat Chance, tells us that 'there are 30 percent more people who are obese than are undernourished worldwide.' He goes on to say that obesity-related 'disease will cost middle-income countries more than $7 trillion.'
What’s with the glaring contradiction? Why are we getting fatter as a population even though we're learning more about the condition and its causes? And why do we find it so difficult to fight fat?
The main concern of this article is to provide you with four tried and tested tips that can help you lose weight safely, effectively and without the need to adopt a fad diet or implement unsustainable lifestyle interventions. These tips are right out of the pages of leading dietary publications such as Fat Chance and the international bestseller How Not To Die.
Concluding the fat loss tips, we'll take a quick tour of five frequently asked how-to-lose fat questions. But first . . .
How to lose fat tip #1: Diet
What we eat plays by far the greatest role in weight loss. Studies have shown that transitioning to a plant-based diet is one of the most effective and safest methods of turning the tide of fat. Why? Well, it’s almost impossible to accumulate fat on a diet that consists of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains and clean liquids (water, green teas, fresh ground coffee).
And the great thing about adopting such a diet is the health benefits it confers. Not only will you lose weight but, according to Dr Micheal Greger, you’ll also significantly reduce your chances of developing many nasty diseases. For example, it has been ‘estimated that nutritional factors account for 60 per cent of all cancer in women and 40 per cent of all cancer in men.’
Furthermore, other studies have shown that ‘poor dietary practices are associated with cancers of the breast, stomach, uterus, endometrium, rectum, colon, kidneys, small intestines, pancreas, liver, ovary, bladder, prostate, mouth, pharynx, thyroid and oesophagus,’ (Health Psychology).
How to lose fat tip #2: Daily exercise
It’s old hat that we shouldn’t exercise every day. This erroneous assumption arose from the belief that if we train every day we will impede the body’s ability to repair damaged tissue. However, research has shown that, while this is true in people who are performing the same exercises day in and day out, if we vary our training regime then we can remain active without over-stressing our bodies.
When it comes to losing weight and beating obesity, Dr Robert Lustig argues that exercise is the other half of the antidote. (The first half is nutrition.) As well as being one of the primary keys to optimal health, and conferring a whole host of benefits, exercise is the most effective method for mobilising fat.
But when it comes to weight loss, not all exercise is created equal. To investigate the fat-burning efficacy of the different types of exercise, a research team put two groups of overweight people on a training program. One exercise program consisted of resistance and the other cardio. After 12 weeks, the weightlifts lost not a single pound while the runners lost considerable body fat (Exercised: The Science of Physical Activity, Rest & Health).
If you’re not a fan of exercise and you struggle to find motivation for one training session a week, let alone seven, don’t fret! A daily exercise regime is not as imposing as it might at first sound. For example, a light 30-minute jog (or fast-paced walk) in the morning or a simple bodyweight circuit will more than suffice.
Also, for many, it is possible to ‘engineer’ exercise into daily life. A couple of years ago I got rid of my car and bought a pushbike. And I’ve not regretted the decision once. Now I enjoy the six-mile commute to work. No traffic. No polluting. And an extra 40 minutes of exercise!
Another way to get more exercise and activity into your day is to walk whenever possible. Instead of taking the lift or escalator, opt for the stairs. Though that single instance won't make a jot of difference to your waistline, over time it will. In his book Exercised: The Science of Physical Activity, Rest & Health, Daniel Liberman reminds us that any physical activity, even fidgeting, can burn calories. And when we're trying to lose fat, every calorie counts.
Fasting or ‘restricted calorie intake’ is an enormously healthy lifestyle practice and an excellent way to encourage the body to consume excess fat. But there are many more benefits associated with fasting which include:
Improved blood sugar control by reducing insulin resistance
Helps to reduce inflammation
Has been shown to boost brain function
Aids weight loss
Could slow the ageing process
Could decrease the decay of the telomeres
But even with all these benefits up for grabs, most people are put off from fasting because it's tough going. I remember my first 24-hour fast. I spent the entire day dreaming about foot. And when breakfast (breaking the fast) finally arrived, I'd never enjoyed a bowl of plain porridge so much in all my life.
This is a common misunderstanding of fasting. They don't have to be 24 hours long. You can instead try a partial fast. These typically last between 12 to 18 hours. After eating a healthy plant-based lunch, you would only consume water or herbal teas until the following morning.
There's also intermittent fasting. In his book The Fast 800, the late Dr Mosely provides a blueprint of how to adopt the intermittent fasting method. In addition, he outlines the latest research on restricting your calorific intake can dramatically improve your health and help you lose fat.
How to lose fat tip #4: Avoid ultra processed food
This factor is arguably an extension of the first. But I believe it should be treated separately. Why? In his book The Starch Solution, Dr John McDougall brings our attention to the head-scratching paradox of overweight vegetarians and vegans.
It seems impossible. How can someone who lives off vegetation get fat?
Well, what few people recognise is that we grass eaters can still pig out on packets of crisps, chocolate and super-refined carbohydrates without transgressing plant-based dietary principles.
But we all know that ultra-processed foods are bad for our health. And we all know that not only do processed foods pollute our bodies but that they also can contribute to weight gain and obesity. The reason why they are so disastrous to our health, Dr Chris van Tulleken tells us in his book Ultra-Processed People, is because processed foods are both energy-dense and addictive.
It’s no secret that food industries have engineered their toxic products to manipulate the ‘pleasure centres’ within our brains, ‘the so-called dopamine reward system,’ (How Not To Die). This, of course, is a disastrous combination: a plentiful supply of addictive energy-laden food. Is it any wonder then that the nations with the highest obesity rates consume the most processed food?
How to lose fat FAQ
Does fat turn into muscle?
No! Where this notion came from, I couldn’t rightly say but it is untrue: fat does not ‘turn’ into muscle. However, excessive subcutaneous fat, the stuff that accumulates under the skin, does conceal muscle much the way a thick duvet conceals the person sleeping underneath it.
If we peel back the duvet the person will be revealed. The same is true of subcutaneous fat: if we follow the principles outlined above – observing clean dietary practices, exercising daily, and restricting calorie intake – fat cells will shrink, and the muscle concealed beneath will be miraculously revealed.
When fat is burned how does it leave the body?
Fat doesn’t actually ‘leave’ the body – it’s not a demonic spirit that needs exorcising. Fat is latent fuel, potential energy, stored in specifically evolved cells – known as adipocytes. When we exercise the body metabolises – or burns – that latent fuel much the same way a car consumes petrol during the process of combustion. And like petrol in that analogy fat provides us with the energy to sustain aerobic activity for extensive periods of time.
The problem arises when we consume more fuel (or the wrong types of fuel – read ultra-processed food and sugar) than we need. This inevitably results in excess fat storage. If we were to over-fill a car the petrol would merely pour out over the floor because it has limited fuel storage capacity. Are you with me?
Unfortunately, fat doesn’t do this. Instead, it will continue to accumulate in the adipocytes. As far as I am aware there is no known upper limit of how much fat a person can store. The fattest – or heaviest – person ever recorded weighed an astonishing 442kg! That’s nearly half a ton.
What fat is good for you?
In the 20th Century, fat was villainised. A medical doctor misinterpreted the cause of obesity and waged a one-man war against fat. He didn't realise that not all fats are created equal. When food-producing corporations caught wind of this they responded with a slew of ‘fat-reduced’ consumables. Since then, the social consciousness has been indoctrinated into one of the most pernicious dietary misunderstandings ever propagated. And, ironically, during the time when the Western diet was purged of fat, obesity skyrocketed.
But some sober-minded scientists are trying to turn the tide on fat. As it happens, fat is an immensely important nutrient. Did you know that ‘the human brain is a 3-pound (1.4-kilogram) mass of jelly-like fats and tissues’ (National Geographic)?
Fat not only insulates the brain, but it also coats the axons through which electrical signals – aka the stuff of thought – travel. Myelin is an insulating sheath that surrounds the nerves (think of the rubber coating that insulates electrical wires). Without myelin, the electrical signal cannot travel along the axon. This results in a loss of motor function or a breakdown of the transmission of the electrical signals that we use to command and control the body.
So what am I saying here? I think you well know.
Fat is essential to our health and we should not purge it from our diet. However, we should be mindful of the nutritional sources from which it is derived. It has long been recognised that fat from animal protein, processed meats and refined carbohydrates is detrimental to health. As Udo Erasmus argues in his brilliant book Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, fats from nuts, seeds, oils (olive, hemp, linseed) and avocados are exceptionally good for us. And, what’s more, they do not behave the same way as bad fats.
For example, olive oil, which is high in polyunsaturated fat, does not cling to the arterial walls or coagulate in the blood like saturated fat from eggs. The fats from nuts, seeds and other natural sources behave the same way as olive oil.
What fat is bad for you?
As mentioned above, fat from animal food sources – so meat, eggs, and dairy – has been identified by nutritional scientists as inferior and detrimental to health. The author of the profoundly important book, The China Study, exposed the link between animal protein consumption and disease.
Dr T. Collin Campbell conducted the largest-ever study on the impacts of food on human health. After collating the dietary intake of more than 80,000 people, Campbell confidently concluded that those who eat the most animal protein are at greater risk of cancer.
Other fats that are bad for you include trans fats. In fact, Dr Rpbert Lustig argues that trans fats are worse for your health than those derived from animal sources. Lustig maintains that ‘trans fats have long been assumed to contribute to chronic metabolic disease, especially atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries,’ (Fat Chance).
Conclusion
By incorporating the above four factors into your lifestyle you are almost guaranteed to lose weight. Other than extreme quick-fix methods – such as surgery or synthetic potions – there are no known fat loss methods that work as well as healthy dietary habits, daily exercise, fasting and ridding your life of ultra processed foods.
Related: How to Give up Ultra-Process Food
And if you decide to adopt these lifestyle habits you’ll not only shed that unwanted weight but also drastically improve your health, reduce your susceptibility to many debilitating diseases and extend your lifespan.
About Adam Priest –
A former Royal Marines Commando, Adam Priest is a content writer, college lecturer, and health and fitness coach. He is also a fitness author and contributor to other websites. Connect with Adam at info@hungry4fitness.co.uk.
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