Different Approaches
There are many schools of thought on how to lose body fat and get into shape. The approach depends on what image you have of how want to look.
Diet Approach
No exercise and reduced calories will result in weight loss but not all the losses will be fat.
Some of the losses will be muscle mass as well because when you reduce your calories your body will use calories for energy but will also use some protein from muscle as energy in the form of amino acids.
The long term result will be weight loss and depending on the amount of weight loss there will be loose skin and in most cases you will be unable to lose the stubborn fat.
Diet and Cardio Approach
This approach will use reduced calories and walking or treadmill walking and perhaps running.
The results will be similar to a diet only approach except that the muscle losses won’t be as great as if you used a diet alone approach.
This is because there is some exercise to retain muscle.
The result will still be a skinny fat look with stubborn areas where body fat the will be hard to lose. Almost impossible in most cases.
The good news is that the body becomes a little more efficient at using fat. The look many times however ends up being a skinny fat look.
Diet and Resistance Training Approach
In this approach the calorie reduction does not need to be as great as with a diet only approach but the fat loss will be greater and there can be some gains in muscle mass.
The muscle mass gains can be especially good if the diet approach is correct. With sufficient protein to maintain and build muscle mass.
When fat is lost the net result can be a leaner figure and the greater loss of stubborn fat in hard to lose areas.
This is a better approach.
Diet, Resistance Training and Cardiovascular activity
This approach involves reduced calories with sufficient protein, resistance training and cardiovascular training.
This is the approach that will work much better because resistance training will increase muscle mass and the cardiovascular training will improve the efficiency of the muscles for burning fat.
This will yield greater fat losses and the greater change in shape in a short period of time.
The GOLD standard of Fat Loss
This approach involves an appropriate fat loss diet with resistance training and a mix of interval and cardiovascular training.
Resistance training can be used to build muscle mass.
Interval training can be used to stimulate a metabolic increase especially in the hours after exercise. Less intense cardiovascular exercise can be used to improve the efficiency of the muscles for burning fat.
This might mean 3 resistance training sessions of 45 minutes, 3 interval sessions of 20 to 30minutes and 3 x 1 to 1.5 hour walks.
With this approach fat loss and shape changes will be the fast of all approaches
The biggest problem will managing fatigue due to the intense exercise.
Conclusion
In the 15 years that I have been working as a personal trainer I have taken people through several approaches from light exercise to the Gold Standard depending on time and level of commitment.
Of these approaches, the changes that come from using resistance training with interval training and lower level cardiovascular training have given the biggest and best changes.
I am talking about overall fat loss and shape changes not just weight loss. Big transformations in minimum time.
Using the Gold Standard approach means that the metabolism becomes quite amplified and eventually food intake will increase with still continuous fat loss.
The long term results with training adjustments means that fat is kept off for as long as you continue to train.
Take my word with the right approach fat loss is efficient and the improvements in how you look and the improved confidence make the hard work very worthwhile.
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