First, what is your goal?

Fat Loss and Weight Loss are not always the same and not all diet plans and fitness regimes are created equal in the race to a desirable physique.

Are you looking to play and endless cat and mouse game chasing a number on a scale?

Or are you looking to achieve a certain toned, muscular look?

These goals can be very different from one another!

Get the facts!

Fad or Crash Diets typically involve a very drastic decrease in calories, most severely cut carbs and involve some type of gimmick usually a pill or product. Most of these methods are inherently unsustainable and lead to a decrease in energy which leads to less effort in the gym.

People credit any weight lost to the gimmick, not the unhealthy drop in calories. Most fad diets are geared towards simply losing weight on a scale.

They do not take into account a desire to maintain/increase muscle mass or lose body fat and they do not always result in a desirable “look”.

How much cardio are you doing?

Cardio is a tool in the tool box. What are you trying to achieve with it?  Is it progressive and sustainable, or is it used to “punish” yourself for eating? Are you doing cardio to be able to eat the food you want? Is it counterproductive to your weight training and the “look” you’re trying to achieve?

Be aware that too much cardio can increase the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol can actually be counterproductive to weight loss, fat loss, and muscle gain as it is a catabolic hormone (leads to breakdown of muscle).

Let’s break it down!

Why is weight loss different from fat loss? Why do typical fad “diets” often produce rapid weight loss, but lead to a cycle of weight loss and gain due to unsustainability, deprivation and restriction from foods and carbohydrates?

Your body weight can fluctuate quite a bit daily since it’s influenced by food mass and water consumption, contents of your digestive tract, bladder contents, time of day, etc.  It can make a good point of reference but an all out race against the scale can be very counterproductive to what you’re trying to achieve.

Why do carbohydrates get a bad name in the weight loss race?

Many rapid weight loss diets such as Atkins, Paleo, the grapefruit diet, or cleanses cut carbohydrates drastically.

Scientifically speaking, carbs bind to water, so of course eating drastically low carbohydrates will make you rapidly lose weight! You’re losing mostly water, not fat or true weight so to speak. You are also losing muscle glycogen, which is why you probably look flat and feel sluggish. As soon as carbs are reintroduced water weight comes back up and so does weight on the scale.  But this does not necessarily correlate to fat loss or gain!

Let’s be real, we’re gonna eat carbs eventually! They’re everywhere! A diet that is sustainable will produce better long term results because you can truly sustain the process longer AND this equals more fat lost and potentially more muscle gained and more “shape” gained as well!

Rarely do people come up to each other and say “wow, you look like you weigh 115 lbs!”  But they would say “wow, you look great!” People may refer to the fact that you’ve “lost weight”, but they’re truly describing the “look” that you have.  Most of us are truly going for a look we admire, not just a weight on the scale to brag about, so keep it in perspective!

The scale can be your worst enemy if you’re not careful.

Fat Loss and changing your body composition takes time and strategy

If you put in the time, strategically cut calories, maximize and strategize efforts in the gym and don’t overuse cardio, your desired look can be yours. But you have to be patient. You get out what you put in! 😉

We believe in the Flexible Dieting method because of its sustainability. It’s a true lifestyle approach that allows you to eat carbs and all the foods you love while you enjoy life, lose fat, gain muscle AND get the results you want!

Get started by calculating your macros today with our free calculator

Define your goals, create a plan, stick to it, and stay the course.  Don’t get trapped in a cycle of weight loss alone!

Macro Diet Coaching


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