So here is it, do you want to lose weight? If your answer is yes, then you are wrong – well your not, but what you really want is to lose fat! Did you know there is a BIG difference between losing weight and losing fat?
The goal to successful weight loss is to preserve as much muscle as possible, or possibly even gain some, while at the same time lose as much body fat as possible. Your body fat % is a key indicator of your success, not the scales! The less fat we have, the more muscle we want to aim for, and as muscle is heavier than fat, this will not reflect well on the scales!

STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALES! SCALES ARE BOLLOX!

Your weight is made up of muscle, fat, and water and us women fluctuate ALL the time. There are so many factors that affect your weight. Your periods will affect the number you see on the scales, water retention/dehydration will affect it, loss of muscle will affect it, and let’s face it whether you have been to the loo will affect the number on the scales so ditch the scales and focus on the fat loss.

WHAT DO SCALES DO????
Nothing is the answer! They are all bollox and make us feel worse if we don’t see the number go down when we are trying to lose weight – so actually Il tell you what they do – they give us a sense of fear for a few minutes before we step on them, and then if we don’t see what we want, we end up feeling crap the rest of the day. Why would you put yourself through that emotional stress!? A scale does nothing other than measure the force of gravity on your body. They can’t tell you if your clothes fit better, they can’t tell you if your body fat percentage has changed, and they definitely can’t tell you that you’re looking any better.
When you start “dieting” (I hate that word), it is imperative that you track your progress using methods other than the scale. You need progress measuring tools that are going to track fat loss – not weight loss. Body fat callipers, tape measures, pictures, clothes sizes, and people’s comments are all going to be more useful for you. Don’t worry about your weight – even if it goes up. If you’re looking better and feeling better then your weight doesn’t matter.

PRESERVE YOUR MUSCLE
This is the most important factor when losing fat. Muscles have these little fat-burning powerhouses called mitochondria. Mitochondria are cellular power plants that are responsible for the production of energy. It’s in the mitochondria that fat is metabolized. The more mitochondria (muscle) you have, the more the potential to burn fat.

IS FAT LOSS YOUR GOAL?
If your goal is fat loss then you need to focus on preserving muscle while we lose fat. People tend to sabotage their “diets” by eating too little food and too few nutrients resulting in muscle loss. Once you start losing muscle, you are fighting an uphill battle to lose fat. This is one of the main reasons why diets fail.

TOP TIPS TO PREVENT MUSCLE LOSS
• Get in enough calories for your body size and activity level. Click here to use my BMI calculator to see how many calories you should be eating
• Make sure those calories are nutrient-dense by having them come from fruits, vegetables, meats, legumes, dairy, and whole grains.
• Make sure to get enough protein (ideally in every meal) as protein helps to build and repair muscles
• Eat enough carbohydrates to support your activity level.
• Fill the rest of your calories with fat – healthy fats and EFAs (essential fatty acids).
• Make sure you exercise and give your muscles a reason to maintain themselves. If you don’t exercise, your body is going to shed that unneeded muscle. Force your body to preserve it and even grow it by giving it consistent stimulation.

Follow these guidelines and you will reach your goal of not just losing weight, but losing that unwanted fat. Remember ditch the scales, stop chasing numbers and instead chase the feeling of feeling, strong, confident and happy in your own skin.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions then give me a shout!

Clo x