Can we talk about fat loss?
As a Health at any Size practitioner, I firmly believe the size of body we live in, does not equal how healthy we are. It just doesn’t. Remedial massage Northern Beaches also suggests to start exercising 1hr daily to stay healthy.
Metrics like sugar in blood (diabetes), cholesterol levels, and blood pressure are actually what determines how healthy we are and those things can come for anyone at any size.
However.
People want to lose fat for two reasons. Mainly.
1) The metrics as stated above are not in good shape and their health is impacted by those markers. This also includes mobility. Being able to move and get up and down off the floor or out of a chair with reasonable ease.
2) They just want to.
The latter could be determined by a few things. Media, toxic diet culture, clothing sizes, and also people just wanting to be in charge of their own body. I don’t think it is my place to interfere. But when it comes to fat loss, there is a sensible way to do it, and a bloody horrific, ghastly, awful way to do it.
I help people that want to lose fat do so in a sensible and achievable way. But this email isn’t about how to lose fat in a sensible way, this email is about why fat loss is really, super annoying. So let’s crack on.
Why fat loss is really, super annoying – a listicle.
- Fat loss is not consistent. Yet in order to do it, we need to have a consistent and pragmatic approach to it – annoying!
- A reduction in the number on a scale does not mean 100% of the loss is fat, it means loss of water, stomach contents, muscle mass and maybe a teeny tiny bit of fat makes up the loss – annoying!
- Water retention, lack of sleep, a big bunch of stress – all of these things affect fat loss. You can eat in a calorie deficit and technically could be losing fat, but the scale is an utter bastard, and instead of telling you whether or not you’ve lost fat, it will tell you your scale weight is 2kgs up instead, and we’ve been conditioned to believe in scales even though they are utter bastards – annoying!
- Fat loss is also annoying because a thousand reckons from different people (mostly who have never lived in a fat body before) on the internet will tell you a different thing about it and so it’s more confusing than it needs to be – annoying!
- There are no magic pills, potions, diets, detox teas or smoothies that will burn up fat you do not need or want. Fat loss takes a hell of a long time, it’s hard work, and there is an exceptional social cost to getting lean – annoying!
- Over at sweaty pals online, I publish 15 new recipes every month for members to try. It’s no secret that my cooking is akin to that of The Muppets ‘Swedish Chef’ and so I’ve partnered with a nutritionist in Spain of all places to create these recipes. I have attempted to make them all, some have been utter disasters due to my inability to follow a recipe, but most of them are pretty easy. All the macros and numbers and ingredients have been worked out for you too, and while I personally think counting calories is a bit dumb, some people have to do it for their health, or because they want to, and having that information is helpful for them. We don’t yuck someone’s yum. Anyway, here’s one of my favourite recipes that worked and was yum and well, here you go. It is very easy. Super very easy. I made it, ate it and nobody died so that’s a win.
Exercise of the week – the deadlift
Molly Galbraith (in this video) is the owner and principal of GGS Academy which is where I am doing my pre and post natal study, and my women’s coaching specialist study. This is a thorough explanation of how to do a deadlift with a bar, but even if you are using a kettlebell or a dumbbell or no weight at all it’s the same principle. It is really important that you have the right form and technique for the deadlift. Watch the video and check it out, and if you’re not sure get someone to watch you hinge at the hips only – no curvature of the spine.
But why?
The muscles worked in a deadlift are primarily the glutes, but also the quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, erectors, lats, traps.. lots. But that means nothing to most people so here’s why you’re going to want to include a deadlift into your workouts as soon as you can.
Lower back problems.
Nearly everyone I know who is of an adult age has complained about a pain in their lower back at some point. One of the reasons this pain exists is from sitting at a desk for 8 hours, other reasons can be of course an injury or a strain. I would suggest take a yoga break
Get a full body workout (pretty much)
Deadlifts exercise pretty much everything to some degree. So more bang for your exercise buck.
Functionally, it’s awesome
From a functional perspective a deadlift is akin to picking up grocery bags, and I know when I am old I still want to be able to do that. But more so, I want a strong back and core so that I can stay upright for longer, so I can get down on the floor and get back up again, so I can remain independent for as long as I can. Deadlifts are the absolute woman in charge when it comes to functional exercises. Some gym offer free session for you to start kicking.