#64 My Top 6 Fat Loss Tips
Who DOESN’T want fat loss?! If you’re trying to lose fat/weight and improve your overall health and fitness then these top 5 fat loss tips are for you! Enjoy xx
1. High Intensity Interval Training
High intensity interval training (HIIT) involves short bursts of high intensity exercise, followed by periods of rest (for example: 30 second sprint followed by a 30 second walk/rest, repeated for 15-20 minutes). HIIT is better than running at a steady pace on the treadmill because it burns more calories. You will also continue to burn calories AFTER your HIIT workout due to excessive post exercise oxygen consumption, and increase your metabolic rate all in one! Sound too good to be true? Well… it does involve hard work, but at least it’s only for 20 minutes. My favourite type of HIIT is sprints on the treadmill.
2. Weight Training
Increasing your metabolism is important when it comes to fat loss because the higher your metabolism, the higher your fat burning potential. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you burn during exercise AND at rest.
Weight training → Increased muscle mass → Increased metabolism → More calories burnt
3. Low To Moderate Intensity Cardio
I’m sure you’ve seen lots of stuff in the fitness world paying out cardio and people saying they just do weights and stay lean. Actually, doing weights and HIIT doesn’t burn fat. To put it simply, these types of exercises use glycogen (carbohydrates) and creatine phosphate. Low to moderate intensity cardio uses FAT as the main fuel source. Don’t underestimate exercises such as power walking. It actually burns more calories than you think and will burn fat. So next time you don’t feel like hitting the gym for a hard session, try a power walk.
4. Correct Diet – Stop Eating Cr*p!
You can’t exercise out a bad diet!
People often assume that if you exercise a lot, you can eat whatever you want. But in reality, you can’t burn off the calories that you consume from junk food. If you haven’t been eating well, flogging yourself in the gym will not make a difference. Diet is THAT important! You also need to be eating the right amount of food for your body. To work out your ideal daily calorie intake, read my previous blog post here.
You should be eating a healthy, well balanced diet, with lots of protein, whole grains, fruit and vegetables and minimal junk foods like cake, chips and chocolate. Check out my daily diet and my clean eating guidelines.
Or you can download my free 7 day meal plan :)
5. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that control appetite and the feelings of hunger and fullness. If you are sleep deprived, the hormones become unbalanced so you feel hungrier compared to when you are well rested. When you are sleeping, your body also releases a hormone that helps to repair muscle tissue.
6. Drink Enough Water
You should be aiming to drink at least 2L of water per day. You lose water through everyday activities so it is important to replenish your body’s water supply so it can function properly. Your body does get water from other sources (such as fruit, coffee, etc) and everyone is different so you may not necessarily need to drink 2L of water but you should be aiming for this. Often people think they are hungry, when in fact they are thirsty. So next time you think you might be hungry, try having a glass of water first. Drinking water may also prevent you from drinking unnecessary calories from things like soft drinks, energy drinks and flavoured milk.
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Rachael is an Australian born certified personal trainer and nutritionist who holds a Bachelor degree in Science.
After struggling for years to find an exercise and diet program that is tailored to women striving for lean and toned body with no bulk she designed her Lean Legs Program. This program is tailored to each body type and focused on helping women get toned but feminine bodies, without getting bulky.
Her mission is to empower women and help them stay in shape in a healthy and balanced way.
Hi Rachael,
Would it be best to do HIIT sprints on the same day as resistance training, or on alternate days by itself?
And for the quickest results in fat loss, would you recommend HIIT, fasted cardio (e.g. power walking on an incline), or even a mixture of both, on alternate days to resistance training?
Thankyou! I’m obsessed with reading your blog!
Hi Carri,
Thanks for checking out my blog! :) I would probably recommend HIIT on separate days to resistance training. You can do cardio (steady state) on the same days as either of these though. For quickest results, anything high intensity is best. For example, HIIT cardio, HIIT weights, high intensity steady state cardio (i.e. running, cycling). I would do HIIT weights and a power walk 3 times per week (on the same days) and then 2-3 days of higher intensity cardio only (i.e running, cycle class, sprints, etc). Hope that all makes sense :) xx
Hi Rachael,
Currently my body fat has drop but it’s also dropping in bra size. Any idea how to lose fat without affecting chest?
Thank you
Hi Rachael,
Do you believe that the pill and estregon build up makes you store fat and is it better to be off it?
Thank you
I’m probably not the best person to answer this question sorry hun! I know that this can be a side effect and there’s lots of different types of pills so maybe see your doctor and they can change your pill? All the best with it x
Hi Rachel,
Please can you tell me how many sessions of each per week you aim for in terms of HIIT & weight training?
Thanks!
x
Hi Vicki,
Currently I’m trying to do weights 3 times per week and HIIT 1-2 times per week x
You put a lot of emphasis on weight training, can you please tell me what that actually includes? Is it like squats with weights and body pump classes? You’re so inspirational thank you!
Hi Stacey,
Thank you! Yes I do, because weight training is so important :) I think pump class is great if you’re a newbie to weights as it will introduce you to the common weight exercises and help establish good technique. I used to do pump classes but now I do my own weights, which do consist of exercises such as squats, deadlifts, lunges (all with weight), shoulder press, lat pull down, seated row and lots of other exercises! I also do body weight exercises such as push ups, tricep dips and pull ups. Hope that is helpful x
Hi Rachael, I am glad to see your blog up and running! You have a lot of good info here already I see, well done!
Thanks Louise! You are always so supportive, it means a lot :)
Would you be able to do a blog post on what your average daily food intake consists of. I’m at the stage where I am struggling to find a balance between eating a sufficient amount at the exercise load I am currently doing. Would love your help thank you!
Hi Olivia,
That is a great question and something that takes a bit of trial and error. I will definitely write a blog post about it for you :) x