Fat loss...

It's not uncommon to hit a plateau at some point during your fat loss journey. Whether this is due to increased amounts of stress or you just can't seem to get your diet on point, fat loss is not easy and requires continuous effort.

While some fat loss strategies vary and may benefit some more than others, it's safe to say there are many healthy approaches to losing fat that may benefit you. In fact, research shows that reaching a healthy body fat percentage varies from person to person, so what works for one may not work for the next.

Additionally, it's important to note that the majority of your daily calorie burn doesn't come from intense workouts, but also from calorie storing throughout the day. A high-functioning metabolism is a major factor to sustainable fat loss.

Now, with fat loss comes many obstacles you might not have thought of as you began this weight loss journey. Keep reading to learn major factors that may be affecting your fat loss abilities!

Factors that affect fat loss

Struggling to lose weight but not sure why? There are many reasons that can prevent weight loss that you might not be aware of! Below is a list of the most common factors that can affect your fat loss journey:

• Lack of sleep: Research shows that sleep deprivation can lead to increased cravings; thus creating more of a desire to grab high-carb, junk food. Additionally, when you're overtired, you may opt for high-calorie and sugar-filled beverages, both of which can sabotage your healthy diet.

• Lifestyle habits: Having a high-calorie, overly processed diet, sedentary lifestyle, and even increased smoking patterns can affect weight loss.

• Poor diet: A diet high in saturated fat, sugar, and processed foods will eventually lead to weight gain, making it harder to lose fat efficiently.

• Medicines: Some medications can affect your energy balance, causing you to feel hungrier, retain extra fluid, and burn calories much slower.

• Health problems: Health issues such as PCOS, endocrine diseases, hypothyroidism, and Cushing's syndrome may lead to obesity and weight gain. Additionally, stress and depression have been seen to cause barriers when trying to lose weight.

• Genetics: Genes influence appetite, body-fat distribution, and the metabolism. Additionally, unhealthy eating habits formed in childhood can have a great impact on your weight later in life.

Although there are many influential factors that can be detrimental to your weight loss journey, it's a relief to say there are many healthy strategies to tackle fat loss one day at a time. Keep scrolling to learn 7 best ways to healthy fat loss!

7 Ways to Healthy Fat loss

1. Include Strength Training in Your Exercise Routine

We know that diet is a huge part of fat loss; however, exercise is just as important. Ever heard that 80% of weight loss comes from diet and the other 20% from exercise? Although this number is smaller than 80, strength training is what really optimizes fat loss.

Strength training or resistance training, is a type of exercise that contracts your muscles against resistance (hence the name). This type of training builds lean muscle mass and increases strength over time.

According to a 2022 systematic study, resistance training for at least 4 weeks helped decrease body fat by an average of 1.46%. Additionally, results found that it also reduced body fat and visceral fat (fat surrounding organs of the belly) (Wewege, 2022).

That said, lifting weights, adding resistance bands, and utilizing resistance machines are all ways to incorporate strength training into your fat loss journey.

2. Increase your protein intake

Consuming foods high in protein is very beneficial for healthy metabolic functions and may reduce your appetite and cravings. Additionally, having a high-protein diet can also increase fat burning abilities, help lower risk of excess body fat and obesity, and help preserve muscle mass.

Having a high-protein diet can also increase feelings of fullness and lessen frequent hunger and/or snacking. According to a study done in 2015, the role of protein has stronger satiety affects and have led to unintentional weight loss caused from reductions in daily energy intake (Leidy, 2015).

In addition, protein takes the body longer to break down, making you fuller for longer!

Common foods high in protein that can be added to your diet are:

• Eggs

• Lean meat & fish

• Greek yogurt

• Nuts & nut butters

• Beef jerky

• Protein powder/shakes

• Protein bars

3. Increase cardio & exercise intensity

4.Get enough sleep

According to research, adults who sleep less than 7 hours per night are more at risk of obesity compared to those who get anywhere from 7-9 hours (Chung, 2018). Although quantity of sleep hours are different for everyone, the CDCrecommends that adults between the age 18-60 should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.

Sleep is essential for not only repairing the muscle tissue broken down from exercise, but also for losing weight. "Sleep deprivation interferes with leptin and ghrenlin, two hormones that regular appetite, which makes you more likely to indulge in poor eating habits," says David Friedman, a naturopathic doctor (Neumann, 2023).

Additionally, cortisol is another hormone that raises as you are more sleep deprived. Cortisol is released throughout the body in response to stress and tends to increase fat accumulation in the abdominal area.

5. Be conscious of the food labels

Staying conscious of food labels is essential to effectively losing fat. This is because people tend to bypass right over the amount of calories, saturated fat, and carbohydrates in packaged goods.

High-calorie sodas, alcohol, and sugar sports drinks can also be sabotaging fat loss. These drinks alone can account for up to 30% of someone's daily calorie intake.

Additionally, high-fructose corn syrup is a common ingredient in many processed foods and drinks. This ingredient has been shown to increase chances of fatty liver disease and overall fat gain around the mid section.

It is advised to look at the nutritional label before consuming these foods; aim for low calorie, limited ingredients, and less saturated fats.

6. Stay moving throughout the day

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, also known as NEAT, describes all the calories that you burn doing daily activities other than exercise. These include daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning, walking from one room to the other, and so on.

Those who tend to spend too much time sitting or living more of a sedentary lifestyle may find them struggling to lose weight. This may also increase fat accumulation as the body is not working to burn calories as efficiently.

A systematic review done in 2019, shows that those with a low level of NEAT are more at risk for obesity (Viana, 2019). Staying active throughout the day looks like:

• Standing up every so often at your desk job

• Cleaning, cooking, and yard work

• Parking your car at the far end of the parking lot

• Walking around your house if you're working form home

• Taking the dog out on shorter, more frequent walks

7. Increase the fiber in each meal

Fiber not only fills you up longer and takes longer to digest, but also can reduce risk of diabetes and certain cancers. Based on a recent study, those who consume about 30 grams of fiber a day have seen efficient fat loss compared to those with a low fiber diet.

Fiber is heart-healthy, supports gut health, and can also reduce stubborn belly fat. This key factor is important to healthy weight loss as belly fat can be associated with additional health issues such as risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Foods high in fiber include the following:

• Berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

• Avocados

• Oats

• Apples

• Broccoli

• Brussels sprouts

The chart provided below shows the recommended daily fiber intake based on United States Institute of Medicine recommendations:

The Bottom Line:

Fat loss is not easy and definitely does not happen overnight. By working to limit factors that may be affecting weight loss is an essential component in losing weight. These influential factors include lack of sleep, sedentary living, poor diet, certain medications, and more.

Additionally, incorporating healthy strategies to effectively lose body fat will benefit you more than not. These strategies are anywhere from reading the food label more in depth to increasing your cardio each workout! Getting enough sleep will also accelerate your fat loss abilities as it will help regulate certain hormones to curb cravings and junk food desires.

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RESOURCES

https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2020/jun/6-factors-that-can-make-losing-weight-even-harder/

https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/adult-overweight-obesity/factors-affecting-weight-health#habits

Wewege, M. A., Desai, I., Honey, C., Coorie, B., Jones, M. D., Clifford, B. K., Leake, H. B., & Hagstrom, A. D. (2022). The Effect of Resistance Training in Healthy Adults on Body Fat Percentage, Fat Mass and Visceral Fat: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 52(2), 287–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01562-2

Leidy, H. J., Clifton, P. M., Astrup, A., Wycherley, T. P., Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S., Luscombe-Marsh, N. D., Woods, S. C., & Mattes, R. D. (2015). The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 101(6), 1320S–1329S. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.084038

Chung, N., Park, M. Y., Kim, J., Park, H. Y., Hwang, H., Lee, C. H., Han, J. S., So, J., Park, J., & Lim, K. (2018). Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): a component of total daily energy expenditure. Journal of exercise nutrition & biochemistry, 22(2), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.20463/jenb.2018.0013

https://www.forbes.com/health/body/how-to-reduce-body-fat/#footnote_7