Fat loss and fitness tips from Rudolf
It’s the start of a new year and everyone has new goals for 2020: becoming fitter, stronger, leaner or most commonly – lose weight.
Typical questions Rudolf Koen get from clients or potential clients or, just people starting their weight-loss journey is: Where should I start?
Rudolf’s tips:
To try and answer this very vague but important question, I came up with three tips:
1. Do your homework: Read or speak to people you trust, or who have experience in terms of training and dieting, someone who has been through the process of losing weight and becoming fitter, or even better. Approach a reputable exercise professional/dietitian or personal trainer/coach to help you on your journey.
Too many times, I see people waste hours in the gym, believing they eat healthy just to realise it’s all been ineffective and that advice from the person next door isn’t always the best way to go. Never be afraid to ask.
2. Think fat loss, not weight loss.
Exercise is often advised for weight loss but people should really aim for fat loss. If you simply reduce your calorie intake to lose weight, without exercising, you will probably lose muscle as well as fat. In fact, it’s been estimated that when people lose weight, about a quarter of the weight they lose is muscle.
When you cut back on calories, your body is forced to find other sources of fuel. Unfortunately, this means burning muscle protein along with your fat stores. Including an exercise plan alongside your diet can reduce the amount of muscle you lose. This is also important because muscle is more metabolically active than fat.
Preventing muscle loss can help counter the drop in metabolic rate that occurs when you lose weight, which makes it harder to lose weight and keep a little bit off. Additionally, most of the benefits of exercise seem to come from improvements in body composition, overall fitness and metabolic health, not just weight loss. Even if you don’t lose ‘weight’, you may still be losing fat and building muscle instead.
3. Why am I not losing fat?
You are consuming too many calories (careful with the drinks and shooters).
You’re doing the wrong type of workout .
Things to keep in mind:
Type of training, weights or cardio; duration; intensity.
Type of exercises: isolation or compound. You’re more sedentary than you think, just start moving.
Too much stress: Stress raises cortisol levels which could delay your plan of losing that extra fat.
You feel unworthy and are self-sabotaging.
Rules to weight loss:
1. Do not compare your journey to someone else’s.
2. Do not think less of yourself for slipping up or overeating, remember, no one is perfect.
3. There is no best plan for everyone.
4. Progress is progress, no matter how small.
5. Lastly, nothing beats consistency and hard work.
Next edition of fitness tips will be from Craig Huxtable.
ALSO READ: Bodybuilder Rudolf back on top
