The number one way to look better is to lose your excess body fat. Many people struggle to do this because they make the same mistakes time and time again. They look for a magic solution, for a magic pill, to give them that edge. The truth is that there is no snap-your-fingers solution to this. Move more and eat less – simple as that.
Mistake #1 – Eating too much.Plain and simple, you won’t get leaner, even if you exercise, if you also over eat. It’s a mistake to eat something planning to burn it off later.
Solution: You have to eat less. If you are not sure whether to eat something and exercise it off later, just stop. It won’t work like this.
Mistake #2 – Going all out for a short while and then failing to continue.
Solution: It you’ve got to lose lots of weight, you won’t do it ultra fast. It’s best to plan something that allows you to sustain it for a long time, preferable for periods of at least 6-8 weeks at a time.
Mistake #3 – Consuming too many carbohydrates.
Solution: This is a surefire way to make it very hard for yourself to succeed. Of course, it is possible to do it like this. The thing is, after ingesting carbs, your body plain won’t be able to burn off blubber for the next couple of hours. Limit your carbohydrate consumption from processed foods if you want to get leaner. Avoid breads and sugars, for example.
Don’t put your fat loss progress on lock down. Now, if you know how to avoid the biggest mistakes folks make trying to get lean, fat loss will be a piece of cake.
Mistake #4 – Not training with weights or other methods of resistance
By just under consuming food, you may actually lose too much muscle. You will look and feel flabbier and softer, even at a lower body weight.
Solution: Do some resistance training 2-3 times per week. Body weight workouts, such as push ups and squats, free weights such as dumbbells and barbells, resistance bands, isometrics – these all get the job done.
Mistake #5 – Controlling only the amount of carbohydrates and not the total amount of food consumed
Lots of people fail fat loss even on a low carb diet. Although they limit their carbohydrates, they eat too much food and fail to create a caloric deficit.
Solution: The number one rule of fat loss is to create a caloric deficit. Both diet and exercise work. It’s better to have both. Cutting down on carbohydrates does help, but is not essential. The main thing is to limit those calories.
Mistake #6 – Not training to lose weight
Solution: Building muscle and losing fat are different goals. You get leaner by exhausting your entire body – huffing and puffing as if you sprint for the bus. You can lose weight with sports that make you run and sprint – soccer and basketball for example. Sports that are conducted in segments or rounds also work – boxing, martial arts, jumping rope, and sprinting. Body weight circuits work the same way.
A gorgeous girl on a beautiful beach makes for a nice motivation, no? Beats pics of people sweating on the treadmill for sure.
Mistake #7 – Training for muscle mass too much and for fat loss to little
This is prevalent among men. We go to the gym and we think we are still not big enough. The truth is, losing fat would make us look good – leaner and more muscular looking. Plus the proportions will be just right.
Solution: If you’ve got belly fat or love handles, your goal should be to get your body fat down so that you look good with your clothes off. Once you are at that body fat level, then you can switch to gradually getting more muscular, if you still desire that.
Babe by Vincent
“Mistake #5 – Controlling only the amount of carbohydrates and not the total amount of food consumed ”
This one is HUGE. Things like nuts, nut butters and cheeses may be relatively low carb and healthy, but if you eat too much of them they are still jam packed with calories. I know I’m even guilty of this one myself occasionally (especially this time of year when it is cold out… 😉 ).
“Mistake #7 – Training for muscle mass too much and for fat loss to little”
In a seminar with Charles Poliquin, he said that he does not give carbs post-workout to guys at or above 10% body fat. That is what he considers a cut-off level to be considered lean for a male and to loosen up on the carb restrictions.
Great article!
Cheers,
Adam
Adam
thanks for your insights. For males I consider lean when you look good naked – when you don’t have love handles or flabby stomach. Usually below 9-12% BF.
Yavor
p.s. You’re lucky to have been able to visit a Poliquin seminar!
guys, why is it always carbs the evil of getting fat? i eat a lot of carbs and have 5% bodyfat. my training consists in strenght training 3 times a week. i´d like to see a article about fat consuption, because, carbs are not evil, fat is.
Great site and ho´s that awesome girl on that picture?? she´s soooooooo beatiful.
Rod,
Carbs are not evil. But notice that in the article I point out that it is tough to lose weight if you eat too much carbs. Once you hit your goal weight, maintain a caloric balance and eat what you want.
Cheers,
Yavor
P.s. the girl is mine so I won’t disclose her identity lol!!!
daaaaamn does she have a sister!??!?
Yup – a twin.
Lol!!!
how about low GI carbs like wholemeal bread and pasta? do they have same effect on fat burning?
thanks,
chica
Chica,
some people can get away with those – but they are lean to begin with. Eat those low GI carbs after a heavy workout only. Or maybe for breakfast.
Cheers,
Yavor
I just wanted to say thank you because you’ve motivated me to start to focus on getting my body fat down, I used a program from someone you have mentioned on your site Mark Mcmanus, TSPA. It helped me get my body fat down to around 11% but instead of continuing with it I decided on trying to bulk up with a high carb approach with too many calories and you can guess what happened, I feel like I’m back where I started before my cut. It was advice given to me on forums, people saying you need to eat some sandwhiches dude and put some muscle on before you cut again, my own fualt for listening. I dont have a great deal of muscle but the fact that I still have fat to lose always makes it harder to bulk as I have that nagging voice telling me ‘you could get your body fat lower you know’. I’ll strat tommorrw and my next bulk will be clean.
Whats you thoughts on working out calories for cutting and for adding muscle?
Thanks
John,
if it ain’t broken, why fix it. My suggestion would be to follow the approach that got you leaner initially. So just clean up with the TSPA approach. As far as muscle goes – you need to move respectable weights for respectable/noticeable muscle.
But – if you eliminate the excess fat around your waist, you will look instantly better proportioned. Then, focus on building muscle by getting stronger in the 8-12 rep range. My point is – stay decent looking year round, even if you don’t have ‘enough’ muscle (in your eyes) you will look good naked and in clothes. Training, progressive overload and eventually getting to the bigger weights are what is going to make you muscular. Calories are only important in as much as you have enough energy to surpass the #s in your previous workout.
Cheers,
Yavor
Hi,
Sorry, I noticed this post is from awhile ago, but wanted to ask a couple of questions..
What percentage BF is considered lean for a woman? My body fat scales say I’m 25%, which sounds huge, I know! Most people who look at me would be surprised. I’m 161cm tall and weigh 58-59kg. ANy tips for how to get there other than the above?
I also want to build strength without bulk. I know everyone says that its hard for women to build bulk, but I disagree. It depends on your body type, as well as your history of training. By this last bit, I mean, for example, I did gymnastics in my teenage years (13-15yrs) at only a low level, and I seem to maintain quite a toned look with little effort, particularly in the arms/back. Maybe to do with the high amount of natural HGH present in adolescence? I can do full pushups and one full pullup, but most people seem to expect me to be able to do more when they look at me. I’m all show and no go!! LOL So should I be aimimg for very heavy weights at low reps? Or rep range 8-12? Sets? I’m currently doing about 2-3 hour long kickboxing/X-training classes (more body weight conditioning than weight work), running 1-2 per week, 30-60min, a 20-30 min stair session a week (high intensity), maybe a spin class once a week. And just starting (today) PT for 30min twice a week, although these sound like they’re going to be body weight type circuits with high intensity cardio bursts throughout, for a couple of minutes each.
Very interested advice/comments/anything!
Thanks
Anna
Anna,
your BF% is about average for a woman. For awoman to be super-lean, she would be around 12-13 % (lower than that begins to interfere with estrogen production and your period may stopuntil you reach higher BF levels. So around 14-16% is what I consider lean for a woman. again – it depends – you may need to go to 12-13% or, this low may be too low for you. Because of your gymnastics background you have acquired upper body strength. Hence the ‘toned’ look and the puishups/pullup.
Sets and reps with weight training – focus on low reps (3-5) and low sets (2-3 sets) so you don’t build any additional muscle – it isn’t what you need. When doing circuits – do around 10 reps per set.
As far as your training – you are training quite a lot as it is. What you need is to focus on nutrition. At your height 58kg is just too much (I don’t wanna insult you but help yuo look hot 🙂 ) So you need top find a way that lets you eat below your maintainance level for a while until you cut those kgs down.
In order to lose weight you need to eat below your maintainance calories. This means eating not just below what you currently eat, but actually bellow the level of calories that your body needs just to maintina itself. One of the best podcasts you can listen to regarding eating to lose weight is here: http://blog.adonislifestyle.com/how-many-calories-do-you-need-to-lose-weight/
Remember -your key to success lies in nutrition – not more exercise or a magic set/rep combo. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have other questions.
Yavor
Thanks for your imput- will take it on board. I’ll prol aim for 18% to start with (baby steps!) and see how it goes. With maintaining lean mass of around 43-44kg, that means aiming for around 51-52kg or about 6-7kg fat loss. I’ll have to eat around 1000cal a day, maybe with some ESE fasts thrown in- not easy, but greatness is not come by easily either LOL! Thanks again- wish me luck!!
Anna,
My recommendations:
– shoot for a body weight goal (instead of a BF goal). As long as you train with weights or bodyweight, etc, You will maintain enough lean tissue, so a BF goal is just confusing. Check with the scale and the mirror.
– chunk the goal up – for example first try to reach 56kg (and appreciate it when you get there), then shoot for 54kg (and cheer yourself up, etc 🙂 ), then 52 and finally 50-51…
– ESE fasts thrown in will def help, especially if you happen to eat too much on one of the days.
– gradually decrease the calories – don’t jump to super low right away
– a final ‘mindset’ tip – remember, you are NOT your body. You are awesome as you are 🙂
Good luck!
First off great website Yavor,
I’m currently 146lbs/67kg’s and stand at 5f4″ desperately trying to loose the excess weight I seem to have accumulated over the years and get the lean look. At the moment I’m doing 1hr(ish) cardio sessions in the gym 4/5 days a week – 20mins treadmill, 20mins bike and 20mins cross-trainer.
However, I don’t know what would be best. Carry on doing the steady cardio sessions or switching to Tabata HITT 3/4 times a week alternating between burpees and sprints for each session. As well as doing your beginner strength training programme in the days between? Any advice would greatly be appreciated, many thanks 😀
Nitin,
the beginner strength training program is a good choice. If not – at least do some pushups and pullups, so you get some upper body muscle for a nicer physique.
As far as the cardio goes, I’d say continue doing it the way you do it, but change your DIET. This means decreasing the amount of food you eat. Try to come up with a way to eat less:
for example you can have a normal breakfast, a small lunch and a very small or no dinner – whatever way you find to decrease the calories IN, is best. Decrease the food, and if you don’t start seeing results withing a week (in the mirror), decrease even more. Once you find the amount of food that allows you to lose weight, stay at this amount unbtil you lose all the fat you want.
Cheers,
Yavor
Cheers for the very quick reply. I’m currently doing pushups and can do about 2 chinups and 1 pullup and the moment, but working on that by using the lat pull down machine technique you suggested in another article.
Can I ask why you say carry on with what I am doing already with the cardio, and not switch to HIIT? Just curious thats all if you generally prefer recommending steady cardio to HIIT.
And I am working on my diet big time. For breakfast I have a bowl of fruit. Lunch I have a healthy meal with very little or no carbs. And for dinner I have a healthy meal with carbs. I know I should really cut down on carbs a lot while I’m wanting to lose weight (like the article above says), however I find if I have very little carbs the next day I am able to do way less in the gym. Confusing :S
Nitin,
work on the lat machine, than switch to pullups as soon as possible.
HIIT vs regular cardio doesn’t make much of a difference. It’s all a matter of eating less than you burn. I want you to switch things one at a time so you know what makes a difference and waht doesn’t If you swithc everything at once, you won’t know what gives results.
As for diet – DON’T focus on cutting the carbs, focus on cutting the TOTAL FOOD you consume. That said, if you eat too many carbs, you won’t be able to control your appetite and will overeat.
If you have less energy – increase the carbs but cut down the total amount of food you eat. Make sense?
Mistake #7 – Training for muscle mass too much and for fat loss to little
I agree that if you have stored fat to lose your first priority should be shedding not building.
Where do you stand on using resistance training to create more fat burning growth hormone?
Thanks,
Darren
Darren, the number one thing is to reduce the food. That being said, I’ve had success with high volume squats and deadlifts (8 sets of 5 reps at ~ 60% intensity) done twice per week each. This workout burns fat like crazy. But it’s not pleasant.
Yavor,
you were speaking on mistake 4 about consuming too many carbs, especially bread and sugars. Whats your thoughts about sweet potatoes. I’m following the ESE diet trying to achieve six pack abs, and every day this week i’ve had sweet potatoes for dinner(along with a green vegetable and meat). is sweet potatoes a good carb, and do they lose their ‘nutrition value’ if you add butter, sugar,cinnamon to them?
Mike, consuming too many carbs want be a problem i itself – it usually however means eating too many CALORIES. SO that’s where the problem comes from.
So make sure you eat less to lose fat.
Sweet potatoes are valuable because they don’t make you ea too much of them.
If you desire, add a little butter and sugar, etc. Just be aware of the total amount of food you eat.
If you are not losing, eat less.
Yavor,
This week i’ve been following ESE and monday morning i weighed 136 lbs, i weighed myself friday morning and i was 134, then saturday morning 132 and then Sunday Morning 131. My weight has gone down everyday which is good but quite frankly not what i’m use too. Is that strange or unheard of for a persons weight to go down so quickly. I was following ESE prior to this week, and my weight wasnt going down this quickly( my diet wasn’t great either). This week however i did i cut out all my grains intake with the exception only being friday morning(two pieces of toast). Do your think my diet is the reason for my weight change so quickly? I’ve been doing pushups to maintain my LBM, and my body looks the same(so i don’t think i’ve lost any muscle)
Mike, on any good diet (caloric deficit) the initial weight loss is bigger (it is water weight). All is good – keep going 🙂
Yavor, being that six pack abs is my only goal and bodyfat loss determines that not necessary weight loss, I’m having a hard time knowing what my ideal Weight or weight goal should be. Women tend to have a clearly determined weight they wanna reach when they diet and I don’t. I’m 5’4.5 and 131 lbs( Sunday morning) but before starting ESE I always stayed between 137-141 lbs(fluctuations could go higher or lower depending on what I ate).Anyway what should I be shooting for as my weight goal? I’m a medium frame btw. Thanks
Weight fluctuates quite a bit (not sure maybe you ned to lose 10 more lbs). Better to shoot for a waist measurement goal. Something like 29-31 inches at the widest part of the stomach.
Yavor,
One last question if you don’t mind. At the end of the month i’m going to start getting in the gym more seriously. Like i said i’ve been doing pushups mainly to maintain my LBM along with machines as my home gym. I plan to start lifting weights for the first time in my life. My goals are for muscle tone. I plan to do a 2 day split. Chest and Back one day,and the next day Shoulders, Biceps,Triceps. I will be lifting with 5 reps max and doing 2-3 exercises per body part along with 3-5 sets per exercise. I’m a beginner in the gym and i was wondering how do i choose a beginning weight to start with? I know Rusty Moore recommends heavy weights. How do i choose that weight or should i start with the bar instead?
Lastly, How accurate are those handheld Body Fat Analyzers at the gym? I had my bf tested 3 times. Twice back in late november/early december. I was given 11% and 12 %, and then today(monday morning) at 9.9%. Obviously these aren’t accurate right? At 9 % i’d be sporting a full six pack abs. I’m not……
Start with a weight that is light. Empty bar, light weights etc. Then perfect your technique and add weight.
Body fat tests are all subjective. But – your test shows that you lost fat. This is the important thing.
Sp use tests only to progress (i.e going from a certain % to another, lower %),
Yavor,
Whats better for you and more healthy?
Cereal or Oatmeal ( Quaker Oats)
Let me put it this way: If I told you to go with oatmeal and you overate on oatmeal, it would be less healthy then eating cereal moderately.
Yavor,
Why is that? Like Sweet Potatoes, Oatmeal is a Complex Carb. Dont those carbs fill you up and have more health benefits to them? I eat Quaker Oats (Old fashioned only) btw. I will make sure not to eat it in moderation though.
Mike, what i meant is that the most important thing is to eat in moderation. Once you got that handled, the quaker oats are a better choice.
Yavor,
If you had to come up with a simple formula to get six pack abs, what would it be? The internet is so confusing these days,and everyone contradicts each other. Is it just about “calories in, calories out” aka calorie defcit, or is it about a calorie defecit + eating “clean”?
Taye, it is just calories.
The formula is this – find out how much you eat (for example in a week), then decrease that amount each week until you start losing weight. That decrease should priamrily come from eating less (exercise is a plus too)
When you find that sweet spot where you lose weight, stay there until you are as lean as you want.
Yavor,
If you had to estimate how much weight would i love to lose to see my six pack abs. I’m 21 year old male, a hair under 5’5 ( 5’4.5) with a weight that fluctuates between 137- 141 lbs?
Taye, aim for waist size less than half of your height. Weight goal is difficult to pinpoint, but 3-5 lbs will *roughly* account for each inch lost on your waist.
Yavor,
Is it possible to get a sharp six pack and then once you get it, put on lbs of muscle and not have it affect your abs. I guess what i’m asking is once i get as lean as i need to and my abs are visible, can i start eating in a calorie surplus to gain 10 lbs and still maintain a sharp six pack through that whole process?
Mike, it is possible but not exactly as you imagined it.
You should not eat at a surplus, but at about maintenance. The reason for this is that training builds muscles, not excess calories.
So once you are lean, eat to maintain your body weight and train HARD. Muscles comes from work=training. The more work, the more muscle.
The reason you don’t need the extra calories is that muscle tissue (real contractile proteins) build up relatively slow (we are talking grams per month here).
but the most important thing is to train HARD.
p.s. you could build muscle in a negative caloric balance, but you won’t in reality have 1.desire, 2.strength 3,recuperating ability to train hard enough to build muscle in a negative balance.
Yavor,
So i could gain 10 lbs eating on at Maintenace? That for me would be 2 meals a day for me.( Breakfast & Dinner) Also avoid eating low a low carb/paleo diet during the time? I really wanna make sure that i gain as little fat as possible Being kinda chubby(Or allowing myself to get there) when i was growing up, makes me not wanna ever get to the place again. Being Chubby…..or worse fat.
Lastly i’ve read that “As human beings we are born with a predetermined number of fat and muscle cells. There is nothing you can do to increase or decrease this number. ” So my question is can you gain more as a kid, i was kinda chubby in 4th-5th grade. I lost all that weight that summer before 6th grade. Would you say i added to my fat cells when i was younger, or do you think it wasnt affected because i was still growing and maturing?
1. yes you will gain eating at maintenance, but provided that the calories are enough for you to train HARD and recover well.
low-carb/paleo is just a way to eat less. If it suits you, keep it up – if not – just eat less in anyway you find comfortable.
2. unfortunately I think you added fat cells when you got chubby. You cannot lose those cells, but you can keep them empty by staying lean. So the cells are there and you have the possibility to gain fat – but this doesn’t mean you will get fat – it’s up to you.
Cheers Mike,
Yavor