The 7 Deadly Sins of Fat Loss

Happy Friday everyone!

I was planning to have this blog post ready for you earlier this week, but last week over 500 people bought the Groupon deal for our boot camp…and apparently half of them were planning to start right away!

As you can imagine, it’s been an adventure around here the last week or so.

One more important thing before I get to today’s great fitness content…

My mom reads my personal trainers Toronto posts so just want to quickly wish you a Happy Mother’s Day mom! You’re the best!

With all due respect to my wonderful catholic upbringing, today’s blog is about the “7 deadly sins” of fat loss.

Deadly Sin #1: Eating late. Got the munchies? The calories we consume in the second half of the day or evening are the most damaging because you are less active and your body has no chance to burn them off.

Whether it’s cultural or just a bad habit, most people I meet that struggle with fat loss are getting the majority of their calories late in the day.

In my seminars I refer to this as the “Sumo Wrestler’s” diet – if enough of you leave comments below I’ll write another post just on that, because it really drives the point home!

Deadly Sin # 2: Skipping breakfast. BIG mistake. Skipping your breakfast, or any meal for that matter, is training your body to store fat more efficiently.

Breakfast is meant to “break” your “fast”. By not having it, you’re telling your body, “let’s keep fasting”! To which it responds, “Really? Then I’ll need to protect my fat stores so we can survive longer without food.”

By “protect” we mean “store more fat, more easily”. Not a happy situation.

Deadly Sin #3: Not drinking enough water. This one can be tough if you either don’t like the taste, or you don’t have the habit of drinking water. But, if there ever was a nectar of life, it’s good ‘ol H20.

It’s needed for so many functions in the body, and especially to aid in metabolism. Letting yourself get dehydrated is like putting sand in the gas tank of your fat-burning engine. You won’t get very far.

I recommend 2-3 litres per day, and if you’re a coffee drinker, you’ll need to drink more water to compensate.

Deadly Sin #4: Not getting enough sleep. I don’t know about you, but I definitely like my beauty rest. It’s not a coincidence that they call it “beauty rest” either, because it will help you burn more fat and look much better.

I appreciate sleep and what it does for me, that’s why I schedule that first into my calendar each week.

Seriously.

It’s that important.

Not only will getting enough sleep boost your energy and recovery from workouts, but it helps establish a healthy hormonal balance which is much more conducive burning fat. Plus, research shows the connection between lack of sleep, and bad food choices or overeating.

The defense rests.

Deadly Sin #5: Sugar + Fat = Fatter you. Watch out for high glycemic index carbohydrates combined with (especially) saturated fats.

Pastries, cookies, muffins, bagels, bread and butter, even cereals and granola bars will put the kibosh on your fat-burning efforts.

That’s because sugars promote fat storage, and fat calories + increased fat storage equals, well, you get the picture. I have a great visual which helps explain this at my “Secrets of Supportive Eating” Seminar, as well as how to sniff out hidden sugars on food labels.

Deadly Sin #6: Drinking Alcohol. Combine the same fat-storing properties that sugar has with a whole whack of empty calories, and you’ll start to get an idea of why alcohol is death to your fat loss program.

What makes it worse usually is the kinds of foods we combine with alcohol, the heavy dinners, or fatty pub fare.

Drinking your calories in general is not a good idea. Fruit juices and soft drinks will equally trip you up. More empty calories that are not at all filling…that’s called wasting precious calories! You only get so much, especially if your goal is fat loss, so make ‘em count.

Deadly Sin #7: Not planning ahead. Don’t get caught unprepared. The most convenient choice is not likely to also be the most supportive. Think ahead to where you’ll be and commit to preparing meals and snacks to bring with you. If that doesn’t work for you, we have a handy, healthy (and organic) meal delivery service that gets you the right meals, ready to eat. For more info call us at (416) 220-7883.

Bottom line, flying by the seat of your pants when it comes to meals and snacks is a good way to get fatter, faster. A poor plan is better than no plan, a good plan is better than a poor one, and a great plan is better than a good plan…or something like that.

You may thinking to yourself, “these are all lifestyle factors which have nothing to do with my exercise routine…”

That’s right. That’s exactly what they are.

Not that you couldn’t make major mistakes with your workout routine, but lifestyle factors and nutrition are “the big kahunas” when it comes to fat loss.

And these are the cardinal sins.

Maybe in a future post I’ll talk about the “7 deadly sins of exercise programs.” For now, start working on these five and you’ll already be miles ahead of the game.

If you want to learn more about how, exactly, you can apply what I’m sharing here, even if you’re looking for any kind of physical change, you need to be at my “Secrets of Supportive Eating” Seminar, next Thursday, May 13th at St. Paul’s on Bloor. Still a few spots left, but they won’t last.

For details, and to register please call me at (416) 220-7883 or visit:

www.ConorKellySeminar.com

Live Strong and Healthy,

Conor Kelly
EVOLUTION FITNESS
(416) 220-7883