HWN #010: 7 Fat Loss Lies You've Been Told
Aug 19, 2023
I have been in the fitness industry for over 20 years now.
I’ve seen a lot of fads. I’ve seen a lot of people pitching useless stuff online. I’ve seen lots of lies.
For some reason, lots of these fads and lies revolves around nutrition. Around diets. Around food and food groups.
You have influencers pushing every diet you can think of to people looking to drop bodyfat.
You have influencers telling people to only eat certain foods and to eliminate foods groups in order to lose bodyfat.
And a lot of it is a shame, a complete lie.
No matter what some influencer tells you, dropping bodyfat
comes down to consistently being in a calorie deficit.
Period. End of story. There is nothing to debate.
So today, I am sharing with you 7 of the biggest fat loss lies that you have been told by the fitness industry.
Let's get into it!
7 Fat Loss Lies You’ve Been Told
Here are 7 of the biggest fat loss lies that the fitness industry keeps telling you;
- 1lb a week is slow
- Fat loss will be quick and easy
- Night eating kills fat loss
- Cardio is king for fat loss
- 2+ lbs a week is sustainable
- Your workouts need to be long and hard
- You have to eliminate certain foods or food groups
Lie #1: 1lb a Week is Slow
Lie #1 might be one that I dislike the most.
If you were to average losing a pound per week over a period of time, you are making incredible progress.
A pound a week is 52lbs over the course of a year. Anyone who is on pace to lose 52lbs over the course of a year is crushing it.
Stop thinking 1lb a week is slow. It’s not. Its excellent and it’s sustainable (more on this later).
Lie #2: Fat Loss Will Be Quick and Easy
I don’t want to be the bad guy, but losing a large amount of fat isn’t going to happen quickly.
And it most definitely won’t be easy.
It took me close to 4 years to lose 80lbs when I was younger and extremely overweight.
My fat loss wasn’t linear. It took much longer than I had hoped. It wasn’t easy. I had days I wanted to quit. I had ups and down.
As long as you are realistic going into it, knowing it’ll be hard from time to time and that it may take longer than you want…it will be worth it!
Lie #3: Night Eating Kills Fat Loss
I don’t know where this lie came from.
I think the thought process was that because you are closer to bedtime, you are less likely to burn those calories.
But, as we know, the body doesn’t work like that. If you are consuming less calories throughout the day than you burn, no matter when you consume them, you will drop bodyfat.
There are people who eat one meal a day. Most of them make that meal dinner. For a lot of these people it means consuming 2,000-2,500 calories in one sitting.
And these people still lose weight when they are in a calorie deficit.
The truth is, it doesn’t matter when you consume your calories, it matters how many calories you consume.
Lie #4: Cardio is King for Fat Loss
The health benefits to cardio have been researched and well documented.
And without a doubt, no matter what your goals are, I think you should 100% be performing cardio.
How often?
I recommend 90-135 minutes a week of Zone 2 cardio.
I recommend 15-20 minutes a week of Zone 4 cardio.
And I recommend some walks sprinkled in (which isn’t necessarily cardio, but it is more daily movement).
On the other end of the spectrum, if you are looking to drop some fat, the research is clear and we know that nutrition is the key and the driver of weight loss, not exercise.
You have to be in a calorie deficit.
And unfortunately, exercise doesn’t burn as many calories as we think and we hope.
So, do your cardio for the health benefits, dial in your nutrition for fat loss.
Lie #5: 2+ lbs a Week is Sustainable
Remember when I said something about sustainability?
It’s the most important aspect of a diet (outside of being in a calorie deficit).
There are a lot of diets out there. Some good, some bad, some that are somewhere between the two.
A lot of these diets lead to rapid weight loss…
That almost never sticks!
Because these diets are too restrictive. Because it is extremely hard to stick to these diets.
A great, sustainable diet will have you losing somewhere between 0.5 - 1lb. a week.
Lie #6: Your Workouts Need to be Long and Hard
Story time…
Last year I was a little heavier than I wanted to be. I had a goal of dropping 20lbs, which I did in around 4-5 months.
My workouts during those 4-5 months looked no different then they would at any other time of the year, not matter what my goal was.
Total body lifts that lasted around 45 minutes. Zone 2 cardio a couple times a week. Zone 4 cardio a couple times a week.
I never crushed myself. I never left the gym absolutely exhausted. I never spent hours in the gym.
Solid, simple, to the point workouts combined with a diet that put me in a calorie deficit.
20lbs lost.
Lie #7: You Have to Eliminate Certain Foods or Food Groups
“You have to eliminate all carbs.”
“You have to stop eating
“You can’t have any alcohol.”
These are some of my favorite lies.
Are some foods better for you than others? Of course. We know that lean meats, fruits and veggies, healthy fats, and a whole food diet is great for you due to the fiber, micronutrients, and all the other good stuff that comes with these foods.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t eat other things. You most certainly can.
Remember, fat loss is all about being in a calorie deficit, consistently. That means if you are in a calorie deficit while eating a Reese’s, you’ll still drop bodyfat.
The law of thermodynamics don’t care what foods you eat. They care the amount of food you eat.
In Summary
Lies, lies and more lies.
At the end of the day, dropping bodyfat comes down to whether or not you are consistently in a calorie deficit.
This doesn’t mean you should eat unhealthy foods all the time, shouldn’t workout, not worry about sleep, or anything of the other important aspects to living a healthy life.
It means that consistently hammering away and building healthy habits, along with eating in a calorie deficit, will ultimately lead to fat loss.
In health,
Craig
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