6 Secrets to Healthy & Sustainable Fat Loss

Weight loss is one thing. Fat loss is another. But healthy and sustainable fat loss – that’s an entirely different thing. Today, we’re going to look at six secrets that will help you achieve healthy and sustainable fat loss.

These are the secrets the diet industry won’t share with you. Why? Because they don’t require a diet, a pill, a supplement, or a pre-made meal delivery service. And what’s even better: the results last! 

Before we get into these six secrets, let’s clarify one thing.

What’s the difference between weight loss and fat loss?

Weight loss is the result of your body getting physically lighter. Weight loss can be the result of fat loss, but it can also mean the loss of other things as well.

For example, you can sit in a sauna for 30 minutes and lose a couple pounds of water weight. You might like the number on the scale better, but you haven’t actually lost any fat. As soon as you rehydrate yourself, you’ll gain that weight back.

Weight loss can also be the result of losing lean body tissues, i.e. the stuff you want to hold on to like muscle tissue and bone mass. This is usually what happens with unhealthy crash diets whose only focus is the number on the scale.

By now, we’re all familiar with the ketogenic diet. You’ve either tried it yourself or know someone who has. Any diet that eliminates entire food groups is sure to change the number on the scale. But you need to ask, “Is it healthy?” 

A three-month study of CrossFit athletes following a ketogenic diet revealed their calf muscles were actually shrinking due to the nutritional deficiencies created by the diet. They were losing weight, but it wasn’t the right kind of weight. Their body was losing lean muscle and bone tissue.

This is the kind of weight loss we want to avoid.

Fat loss, on the other hand, can require more time, and there are definitely things you should consider. Fat loss is the loss of subcutaneous (under your skin), visceral (around your organs), and/or intramuscular tissue (the small amount of fatty tissue in your muscle tissue). 

This is the unhealthy fat we want to get rid of.

6 Secrets to Healthy & Sustainable Fat Loss

Now we know the difference between weight loss and fat loss. So, let’s explore a few ways you can lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off for good.

Fiber

I’ve said before that eating more fiber is the best weight loss tool rarely ever used or mentioned. In addition to keeping you regular, fiber is satiating, adds bulk to your food, and even prevents your body from absorbing calories! 

Click here if you want to learn more about fiber’s many weight loss effects.

Accountability

You might wonder how some people can enjoy a piece of fruit as if it was a dessert. The reason is that they have a lower taste thermostat.

When you’re used to manufactured flavors and sugary foods, your taste buds are unable to detect the subtle flavors of whole foods. Your brain and your taste buds will begin to adapt so you begin to enjoy whole foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and lentils.

According to New York Times Best Selling Author and founder of nutritionfacts.org, Dr. Greger, we need to reset our taste thermostat to allow our brain and taste buds to enjoy more subtle flavors of fruit and vegetables. 

Stop eating after 7:00 pm

We’re all wired with a built-in clock: it’s called the circadian rhythm. This is what regulates your body’s caloric usage. As you move through the day, your body starts to burn fewer calories.

The reason is that your body is getting ready to rest at night. Your body knows it doesn’t need as much energy at night, so it won’t burn as many calories later in the day. As a result, not as many calories are burned for fuel later in the day like it is earlier in the day.

BONUS: Stop dieting

This sounds counterintuitive, but if you want to achieve healthy, sustainable fat loss, a diet is not the answer. In fact, dieting creates bad habits. 

Why? Because diets set you up to fail from the beginning. No matter how great the diet might be, it has an expiration date. Whether it’s 30 days, 60 days, or some other previously established time frame, the entire time you’re on the diet you’re thinking about the end of it.

You’re hoping for results, but during the diet, you’re thinking about what you’ll be able to eat again once you’re off the diet. 

And so, the vicious dieting cycle continues.

You diet, get some results, end the diet, lose the results, and then start the diet over again.

Achieve healthy and sustainable fat loss

By now, I hope you realize that another diet is not the answer. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, then you need to change your mindset. These six secrets are sure to get you results that will last a lifetime.

But don’t wait until Monday to get started. Which of these six healthy and sustainable fat loss tips are you going to start today?