Raise your hand if you’ve seemingly been trying to lose weight your whole life. Keep your hand raised if you’ve lost weight before, only to see it creep back time and again. Now, look around you and see who else has their hand raised. No one. Because you’re the only one reading this near you. I got you.
But, good news. You don’t have to diet all the time. In fact, you’ll get better results if you don’t.
Let me explain.
You have to understand the metabolism is not a great multitasker. It likes to be building up fat and muscle (anabolism) or tearing them both down (catabolism).
Trying to do both at once is like trying to contend for a Stanley Cup and rebuild in the same year (Chevy, are you listening?). You can do it, it's just far from optimal and primarily reserved for absolute beginners with lots of body fat to lose.
The trick here is to determine which ‘season’ of fat loss you’re in – based on your motivation levels and goals at the time – and go all in on it.
1 – The Fat Loss Sprint (Spring & Fall)
The first season is a full out sprint to lose as much fat as quickly as possible. Your motivation is high, typically during a time of year with less distractions, and you have the energy and focus to commit. You bring your calories down, and you get as much exercise as you can to maximize fat loss. It’s the whole eat less, move more concept. This creates a wide calorie gap that leads to weight loss.
As a general rule, you should aim to lose about one per cent of your bodyweight per week, and about 10 per cent of your total bodyweight before shifting to another season. The diet doesn't end after you’ve cut weight, but after you've maintained the same weight for a few months to avoid rebounding.
Which brings us to maintenance, season 2.
2 – Maintenance (Summer)
One of the reasons people gain back all the weight they’ve lost is because they think there’s an end date. That all or nothing approach is why most fail. If you go from eating in a calorie deficit right back to eating in a calorie surplus with reckless abandon – you're inevitably going to gain weight back and fast.
This is why ending the diet in the right way
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