What You Need to Know About Stubborn Fats
You’ve been working out, eating “clean” for several months and have seen progress. Your weight has dropped, your clothes are looser and you seem to be in better shape when you look in the mirror. You’ve lost fat around your arms, face and back too.
However, that bulging belly / love handles can’t seem to go away. Furthermore, it seems like your hips, thighs and butt fat are still holding on to your body for their dear life. No matter how hard you workout, or how “clean” you eat, those stubborn fats can’t seem to go away. You get immensely frustrated and you wonder whether there is something wrong with your body, and if you need to do specific exercises to get rid of those stubborn fats.
If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. Many have experienced the same issue. If you’re a guy, you probably struggled with fats at your belly. If you’re a woman, chances are that the stubborn fats are at your thighs, hips and butt.
Well, don’t worry. In this article, I will be explaining the science behind stubborn fats and how to lose them.
Let’s get started.
Surround Yourself with Right People
The people you surround yourself with will be the biggest influence on your (fitness) life.
According to research, the people you habitually associate yourself with can determine as much as 95% of your success or failure in life. We are actually way more affected by our environment than we think. In the words of motivational speaker Jim Rohn: You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. These people affect what sorts of conversations you participate in, what lifestyle you follow, and your attitude and behavior about certain issues. Eventually, you start to think, behave and make decisions like them.
Therefore, it is important to hang out with the right people for healthy personal growth.
Check out these tips / practical steps you can take to improve your social environment and better achieve your goals!
10 Muscle Building Mistakes You’re Probably Making
Everyone wants to build muscle.
Building muscle not only gives you a more aesthetically pleasing look, it also improves your overall health. Studies have shown that increased muscle mass is linked to reduced risks of hypertension, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases, among others. In addition, with increased muscle mass, you will have increased metabolism, stronger joints and tendons, improved posture and balance, and stronger bones. Furthermore, more muscle means more strength, which will help in Activities of Daily Living (ADL). And the list goes on.
However, building muscle is a challenging task for many. This is because of the misconception that you can get to the physique you want by simply going to the gym and lifting weights. Unfortunately, there is much more to effective muscle building than that. If you struggle with muscle building, make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes!
The 5 Biggest Fat Loss Mistakes
Here’s a situation I’m sure many of us faced before. You step on the scale, seeing the numbers increase daily, or look at your belly in the mirror, realizing it is forming layers and layers day after day. You tell yourself you have to do something about it, and make a resolution this year to lose weight.
You know you have to eat less and get some form of exercise on most days of the week. You follow quick fixes from the internet like crazy fad diets and bulletproof coffee. You feel good, but when you step on that scale again and look in the mirror, nothing has changed. You wonder what you’re doing wrong and by the second month, you throw in the towel and give up.
You’re not alone. In fact, a study showed that although 77% maintained their resolutions for 1 week, only 19% continued for 2 years. What makes that 19% succeed where millions have failed? They do a lot of the right things, of course. But we must first be able to recognize the mistakes we are making, correct them, and then we can be on our way to achieve our fitness goals.
Check out the 5 biggest and most common fat loss mistakes!
6 Tips on Staying Motivated
You know exercise and nutrition are good for you. It controls your weight, reduces risks of diseases, and improves your mental health and mood.
Doing it though, is another thing. In particular, overcoming the inertia to get started can be a huge first step.
But sticking to a workout and nutrition program is even harder. It takes deep, lasting, dedication, consistency and motivation. That’s why more than a third of the world’s population is overweight.
Furthermore, many think that exercise and nutrition have to be torturous, time-consuming and/or exhausting, therefore avoiding it.
Not having the right motivation coupled with the negative views of exercise and nutrition have caused millions of people to start a program only to quit halfway.
In this article, I’ll be sharing on some tips that can help you to stay motivated.
Training Pyramid of Importance
“What’s the best chest workout? Are squats better than lunges?”
Are these some questions you grapple with? You’re not alone
Nutrition Pyramid of Importance
“Is rice fattening?”
“How many cakes can I eat a week?”
“Which is the best supplement to take?”
Are these some questions that you always grapple with? I was once like that too. And I can see why.
Do you Need to Give 100% to Achieve your Fitness Goals?
“All or nothing! Give your 100% in whatever you do! Reach for the skies!” These are some quotes that many people live by. You have to go all in if you want something. You have to push yourself to the hardest to get results. You have to aim for the highest if not there’s no point even trying. Or at least really close. Sometimes it isn’t distinct in the way that people verbalize it, but it is implicit in the way they discuss it.
It seems like that’s the hype now. And I can see why. I used to feel that way too. If I want to achieve something, in this case to build muscle and lose fat, I should make sure I am doing every single thing right. If I’m serious about my fitness results, I should clock the optimum number of workouts, eat the exact number of calories, protein, fat and carbs, wake up and sleep at the same time every day, and adhere to all the things I set myself out to do. And if I don’t, I’m just not maximizing what I can do and it’ll be a huge waste.
But is this really true? Do you need to give your 100% to achieve your fitness goals? If not, how much is enough? Read on to find out more!
How Often Should You Train to Maximize Muscle Growth?
We all want to maximize our muscle growth in the shortest possible time. But we also know that if we train too often, the fatigue and soreness that kick in will not allow our body to recover in time. And this will mean muscle growth isn’t maximized in the long term.
So how do we know what’s the optimal number of times to train per week, assuming that you have the time for it? The short answer is that it depends on the individual, like any other training or nutrition recommendation that I give. The long answer? Read on to find out more! We will be looking at what an optimal frequency of training looks like, tradeoffs of higher and lower frequency, and how to reduce or increase your frequency and how to know if that works for you.
How to Lose Weight Without Counting Calories
If you’ve been following me for a while, you would know that I’m a huge advocate of counting calories in order to lose weight. However, many people can be so obsessed with calorie counting that it causes eating disorders. Others also find counting calories too time-consuming and inaccurate.
But the truth still holds - the biggest factor in diet is calories. We must be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. But how do you do so without counting calories? The answer is to eat healthier foods. This is because the second biggest factor in diet is the kinds of foods you eat. When you try to eat healthier foods, you typically tend to lower your calorie intake without noticing or barely even trying. So, if you switch up whatever you’re eating to healthier foods, you are actually killing two birds with one stone - better for your health, reducing illnesses and diseases, and eating less food in general which lowers your calorie count. Therefore, we should prioritize eating healthier food instead of just eating less.
However, when trying to eat healthily, many people focus on what not to eat. Usually diets which eliminate certain foods are diets that are just fads and are not sustainable. Instead, what they should be focusing on is knowing what to eat. And here we will be going through the things to add into your meals to lose weight without counting calories. Let’s dive in.