Five things I wish I’d known about weight loss when I began teaching fitness 25 years ago

Kettlebell Exercises
I’ve been teaching fitness in various forms for over 25 years. Over that time I’ve fallen into many traps and fads – you name them I’ve tried them. I’ve also seen and heard it all.
The number one question I get asked is – ‘how can I lose weight quickly’? That question is loaded in itself – it’s easy to lose weight, it’s fat that you really want to lose. When you lose weight quickly you’re actually losing tissue from your bones, muscles and joints rather than actual fat.
Slow and steady always wins the race, get your mind into the long game.
Its a long term mission!
Here’s some things I wish I’d known;
1. Ditch the cardio, those hours spent on treadmills are great for your but not for burning fat. Lifting weights is the way to go. You’ll loose more weight from lifting for 10 mins than running 1 hour on a treadmill. Oh, and you know that fable that gets bandied around that High Intensity training continues to burns fat for 24 hours….? Well, yes it does IN MEN, not in women. In women it’s only around 3 hours – annoying.
2. Don’t quit any major food groups, if you want to ditch anything then processed foods and high sugar are the things to cut that will make the most difference.
3. Faddy diets, diet pills or ‘skinny’ drinks – all a load of of ole crapiola. There are no quick fixes and you’ll end up doing some long term damage to your endocrine (hormone) system.
4. Consistency is King – THE number one thing to get results. Stick to the program.
That’s why it’s best to start with small sustainable habits and keep going.
5. Diet is only a small spoke in the healthy wheel. Hydration, movement, mindset and sleep all play big parts in a healthy lifestyle.
Stop waiting for Monday or the 1st of the month, or the wind to blowing in a north easterly direction – or whatever made up barrier your brain’s conjured up. Start now, today – quit the procrastination.
The time is now….
Oh and another thing I get asked – ‘what’s the best exercise for weight loss?’ Well, my answer always echoes my mentor Paul Chek – ‘the best exercise is the one you’ll do’, but deadlifts has to be up there….

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