Iso has been tough on us all, in many different way. For a lot of us, the reduction in daily movement and the easy access to food has meant that we’ve consumed a few too many calories which has led to our clothes becoming a little tighter.
Here are 5 points to focus on when you want to drop body fat.
Sleep – your number one commodity. Without sufficient sleep, your body will drive you to eat more, and your ability to resist treats and make good choices will be hindered. An absolute minimum of 6 hours is necessary but that is still usually not enough and most people function optimally with around 8 hours per night.
If you are struggling to get this, try some, or all, of the following:-
- Reduce your total caffeine intake, cut yourself off from tea and coffee around midday.
- Switch your devices off at least one hour before going to bed.
- Have a regular bedtime and a regular wake time – unfortunately sleeping excessively at the weekend is not an effective supplement for sleeping less during the week.
- Minimise sugar after lunch – minimising sugar overall is obviously the goal but often when we haven’t slept well, our sugar cravings increase as the day wears on. The Catch-22 is that sugar can affect your ability to sleep.
Stress Management – put simply, when your stress hormones are elevated, your body is blocked from dropping body fat. Stress is a physical response stimulating your sympathetic nervous system, fight or flight, and can be managed with practices such as deep breathing or mindfulness, yoga or mobility, getting out in nature, enjoying the sunshine, going for a walk, spending time with pets, getting plenty of sleep and having a really good laugh. These practices help to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system and for your body to feel safe to drop body fat, you need to be parasympathetic nervous system dominant.
Hydration – up to 60% of the human body is water but we are constantly releasing it so we need to bring more in to replace it. Water lubricates your joints, it helps in making hormones (some of which help you lose body fat), it transports oxygen, flushes out wastes and helps in the absorption of nutrients. On average, men need 10 cups and women need 8 cups and nothing beats pure water.
Move daily – movement is so important for both your mental and physical health. Whether you are participating in a class, doing your own training, going out for a cycle or a walk or simply going about your day with a commitment to walk, stand and move as much as possible, this is essential. Daily movement keeps your mind in a positive space, it helps you stay on track with your nutrition goals, it improves your sense of wellbeing, it helps your cardiovascular and/or musculoskeletal system and, it improves hormone function that helps you to burn body fat.
Calorie deficit – if all of the above are in place, this final, and crucial element, will be easier to manage. In order for your body to use your stores of body fat, you must give it less energy than it requires. If you are moving daily, your requirement is higher making it easier to create this deficit. If you are eating a well balanced diet consisting of vegetables, protein and healthy fats, keeping your processed carbohydrates, sugar and alcohol to a minimum, and you are doing this on a consistent basis, your efforts will always be rewarded. You might need some patience to allow your body to adjust, but, good choices made consistently are the key.
I cannot stress enough the importance of consistency. The message that you give your body when you make positive choices for a few days (eg during the week) and then different choices (eg over the weekend) is extremely confusing and leads nowhere. The emotional stress of feeling like you are making an effort and ignoring the fact that your weekends are full of choices that are bringing you away from your goals can be exhausting.
It’s all about choices – in every moment, ask yourself the question, “Is this choice bringing me closer to my goal, or further away?”.
Personal Trainer Lucy B 