The most important part of any weight-loss journey is (unfortunately\u2026) a calorie deficit. This means that in order to lose weight you must be burning more calories than you are consuming. I\u2019ve talked about the nitty gritty science-y details in my article \u201cThe Science of Weight Loss<\/a>\u201d but for now let\u2019s just all bow our heads and accept that sad fact.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t really matter how you achieve this caloric deficit \u2013 though I highly recommend combining cardio and slightly reduced calorie intake to maintain a 500 calorie\/day deficit. The easiest way to achieve this is by burning an additional 250 calories as well as reducing your calories by 250 each day.<\/p>\n As for the type of cardio you should do \u2013 it honestly doesn\u2019t really matter. While steady state cardio basically puts your body into \u201cfat burning mode\u201d at the end of the day it\u2019s calories that count so if it\u2019s\u00a0HIIT<\/a>\u00a0that floats your boat \u2013 go for it!<\/p>\n Just\u2026 maybe pop some\u00a0pre-workout<\/a>\u00a0first, though!<\/p>\n Maintaining a caloric deficit will indeed reduce body fat levels but you also run the risk of losing some of your precious muscle tissue, too! It\u2019s difficult to avoid this completely but you can help minimise muscle loss by consuming an adequate quantity of protein so that your body doesn\u2019t rob your own!<\/p>\n While aiming to lose weight it\u2019s best to aim high with your protein intake \u2013 just to be safe and to ensure you have plenty free amino acids floating around when your body needs them (thereby preventing it dipping into your muscles for them!). I would recommend hitting about 2g\/kg bodyweight of high quality protein sourced from lean meat, dairy, legumes and\u00a0Whey Protein<\/a>\u00a0(or any\u00a0vegan alternative<\/a>).<\/p>\n Okay before you crazy kids kill me for this \u2013 I am NOT saying to avoid alcohol completely or not to enjoy yourselves. There\u2019s nothing wrong with alcohol (in moderation, of course!)\u2026you\u2019ll often see me sit back and chill with a friend\u2026and a vodka.<\/p>\n I\u2019m doing a PhD. It\u2019s stressful. Sometimes we need to unwind \u2013 don\u2019t judge me!<\/p>\n Seriously though there is nothing wrong with drinking BUT we must admit it can wreak havoc on weight loss attempts if overconsumed \u2013 for many reasons.<\/p>\n Firstly,\u00a0alcohol\u00a0is metabolised differently in a way that can defer fat burning while the alcohol is being cleared out. Alcohol also contains calories (7kcal\/ml) which are absolutely useless to the body \u2013 we can\u2019t actually use this energy. These are \u201cempty calories\u201d and best avoided while dieting (eat food instead!).<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget the lovely cravings alcohol can cause and those fabulous decisions we sometimes make after a few too many!<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s make deep fried cheese and Twinkie ice cream sandwiches\u201d<\/p>\n \u2026too much?<\/p>\n You get the point.<\/p>\n I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you\u2019re serious about your weight loss goals\u2026 cardio is pretty much a necessity. Remember, a calorie deficit is the main ingredient in dropping the pounds and cardio is a simple and effective method of achieving this.<\/p>\n I would recommend beginning with 3-4 30 minute cardio sessions a week \u2013 it can be anything really; walking, running, HIIT, kickboxing \u2026 or the stepper \u2013 if you so dare.<\/p>\n I do not dare go near that painful, painful machine\u2026<\/p>\n You can also incorporate simple calorie-burning lifestyle swaps like walking to work or to the shops instead of driving, take the stairs instead of the elevator and park your car further away from the doors of your destination.<\/p>\n Except your house, of course. Unless you\u2019re feeling super motivated.<\/p>\n Last minute \u201cpanic buys\u201d are almost always a dieting disaster. We live in a go-go-go society where convenience and price beats nutrition \u2013 something that doesn\u2019t bode too well with the ol\u2019 weight loss efforts.<\/p>\n Instead of rushing to the shop and falling for the \u201cSaver Deals\u201d try to plan ahead and bring your own food where possible. Keep in mind that voluminous, low calorie foods are your best friend so pack your meals full of veggies also high-fibre foods to keep you feeling fuller, longer.<\/p>\n A satisfied tummy is a happy tummy!<\/p>\n Dieting involves a caloric deficit and this brings with it the danger of temporary malnourishment. The easiest way to prevent this is to actually monitor your nutrient intake (nothing crazy, just a ball-park figure!) by using online food-logging apps such as MyFitnessPal. This will show you if you are hitting both your macro- AND micro-nutrient goals each day helping you keep track of what you might need more or less of as you pursue your weight-loss goals.<\/p>\n If you feel that your calorie deficit is making it difficult for you to hit your micronutrients consider taking a multi-vitamin specific for your needs. I train quite a lot so my favourite is\u00a0Sports Multi AM-PM\u2122<\/a>\u00a0but if you\u2019re looking for a more broad-spectrum approach the\u00a0Complete Multivitamin Complex\u2122<\/a>\u00a0is your best bet. To my ladies out there reducing body-fat to very low levels I recommend\u00a0ACTIVE WMN\u2122<\/a>\u00a0as it is specifically formulated to support women\u2019s needs because yes, we have special requirements. We are just that fabulous!<\/p>\n The chase for summer abs need not be a painful one. Sure, it\u2019s not easy and indeed requires commitment and patience but with a few tweaks here and there and by sticking to the basics it really is a straightforward process.<\/p>\n Remember though \u2013 your health is your priority so avoid drastically dropping your calorie in-take or doing too much cardio. This will shock your system a bit and will only slow down the process as well as potentially damage your body.<\/p>\n By keeping an eye on your nutrition, throwing in some additional cardio and following these tips you\u2019ll be on your way to \u201cwashboard abs\u201d in no time<\/p>\n Does anybody still use that phrase?!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1) CALORIE DEFICIT The most important part of any weight-loss journey is (unfortunately\u2026) a calorie deficit. This means that in order to lose weight you must be burning more calories…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":1756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[228,717,914,915,916,917,918],"class_list":["post-1755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","tag-nutrition","tag-calorie-deficit","tag-high-protein-levels","tag-limit-alcohol","tag-cardio","tag-fail-to-plan","tag-plan-to-fail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1755"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2221,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755\/revisions\/2221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/ie\/the-core-ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2) PACK THE PROTEIN IN<\/h2>\n
3) LIMIT ALCOHOL<\/h2>\n
4) CARDIO (UNFORTUNATELY\u2026)<\/h2>\n
5) FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL<\/h2>\n
6) KEEP YOUR NUTRITION IN CHECK<\/h2>\n
TAKE HOME MESSAGE<\/h2>\n