Summer Fat Loss Essentials

Refocus on fat loss, instead of weight loss so you preserve the lean muscle that makes you so powerful.

Don’t starve yourself

Track your current dietary intake then reduce it by 250-500 calories per day. And remember, this deficit can come from both diet and exercise, so try splitting it between both. Drop 100 calories a day, and resolve to burn 150 more calories a day through movement or exercise.

Don’t rely on cardio

Too much intense cardio can turn your body catabolic, meaning your body will burn muscle over fat. Not only will this make you feel flat, tired and depleted, but it will lead to a long-term slowing down of your metabolism. Start with 2-4 cardio sessions a week, no more than 30 minutes each and use a combination of HIIT and steady state cardio for optimal results.

Strength train

Engage in intense strength training 3-5 times a week for optimal results, relying on full body, functional, and compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, bench press, pull-ups, and bent rows for maximal results.

Stick with carbs

You need them, but you also need to control them. Make sure you consume carbs at breakfast, pre-workout and post-workout. Keeping your carbs close to your workout window helps ensure that they will be used to replenish depleted muscles rather than being stored as fat.

Be patient

Impatience will always tempt you to take extreme measures. A good length of time to allow yourself to lean out healthily is three months. Keep yourself motivated by tracking your progress with weekly photos, circumference measurements or body-fat readings.

Prioritize sleep

Dieting can make getting enough sleep difficult, particularly if you head to bed feeling hungry. Consider taking a natural sleep aid to help you get enough rest. If you still are struggling have a small protein shake before bed to help stave off hunger during the night.

Hunger is ok

If you are dieting correctly you are going to feel hungry at times. If you don’t ever feel hungry, something has gone wrong. You should feel hungry when you wake up and between meals, but not excessively so.

Expert: Allison Moyer-Fahrenbach, a renowned hybrid athlete, CrossFitter, nutritionist and trainer who own Alli-Fitness Systems.