7 Rules To Weight Loss | How To Drop A Few In 2018

After our most recent blog “7 Rules To Muscle Gain” (which you should read if you haven’t already), you guys were all like “Gronk Fitness! We need a weight loss playbook as well”!

Dropping weight and becoming fit is not just about looking good but it’s also vital for most sports from basketball and football to bodybuilding and even powerlifting. The lighter you are, the easier you move and your relative strength skyrockets. If two athletes can both deadlift 500lbs but one weighs 50lbs more than the other, obviously the lighter athlete has an advantage in any competition.

So with that in mind, let’s jump right into the 7 rules that will help you drop a few pants sizes this year!

1. Calories…Calories…Calories

At the end of the day, it’s all about calories. You will GAIN weight if you consume MORE calories than your body uses every day and you will LOSE weight if you consume LESS calories than your body needs per day.

Therefore, if you are currently stuck at a specific body weight, all you got to do is cut back on the food, particularly the calorie-dense food. Keep in mind that one gram of fat is almost double the calories of protein and carbs, which makes it twice as fattening. It’s a good idea to cut back on the fats because all they do is provide you with an excess of calories.

Most people tend to cut back on carbs but that’s just a temporary solution. Less carbs means less energy and we can’t have that especially if you are a competitive athlete. But even if you’re just hitting the gym to build muscle or build an epic physique, you can’t lift any weights or break through plateaus if you don’t have the energy for it.

Conclusion? Keep your protein high, your carbs relatively high and your fats to a safe minimum.

2. Perform The Right Kind Of Cardio

Contrary to what most people are taught, slow-paced, steady cardio is not the solution for fat loss. In fact, your body can get used to anything which is why keeping your heart at a specific rhythm for 30, 40 or even 60 minutes doesn’t burn but a fraction of the calories that you would burn following a  15-minute High Intensity Interval Training routine.

A simple HIIT routine can be a circuit of compound exercises done for a few rounds without any rest:

  • Pull-Ups
  • Push-Ups
  • Burpees
  • Jump Squats
  • Planks

This type of workout can burn through a ton of calories in a short amount of time, while also helping maintain or even build additional muscle mass. Therefore, you’re much better off performing a High Intensity Interval Routine 3-4 times a week, while being on a caloric deficit if you want to slowly start dropping weight.

3. Sleep…Sleep…Sleep!

It’s been shown that weight loss doesn’t actually occur during exercise but while you’re asleep. That is when the body rebuilds and restructures everything, including building muscle and burning fat.

If you are interfering with your body’s natural ability to rebuild and restore, chances are you won’t be able to lose much weight, if any at all. Sleeping for anything less than 6 hours a day will severely limit your fat loss results, not to mention it will interfere with your entire life.

Note that 6 hours of nighttime sleep is not the same as sleeping 3 hours during the night and taking a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. Your body rebuilds and restores only when it’s in deep sleep and waking up after 3 hours will only halt that process and prevent you from resting properly.

4. Choose The Right Supplements

Supplements are there to SUPPLEMENT your nutritional plan, not replace it. Don’t expect magical results from any fat burning supplement if you are not already on a calorically restricting diet.

If however you are already on a 100-500 calorie deficit meal plan, it makes sense to maximize your results by using natural supplements that will boost your metabolism and help with the fat loss process.

One of the best supplements you can use is simply caffeine. Caffeine has been shown to slightly increase your heart rate, releasing more energy from fat cells and making your body more prone to burning fat calories instead of carbs.

You should also consider supplements such as Creatine or B-Alanine because their strength and endurance-boosting effects can help you train harder, burn more calories and hold on to your current strength and endurance, as much as possible.

5. Consider Intermittent Fasting As A Weight Loss Tool

Although Intermittent Fasting has not definitively been linked with weight loss, it can definitely help you control your diet in a more decisive manner. Intermittent Fasting allows you to consume all your calories in a specific time window (6 hours for instance) and forbids you from taking in any calories for the rest of the day (that would be 18 hours in this case)

Most people will have trouble consuming three or four thousand calories in just 6 hours, therefore they will be restricted into consuming far less calories than they would typically consume.

Adhering to such a schedule can make it much easier to follow any diet plan and remember! Intermittent Fasting doesn’t tell you WHAT to eat but WHEN to eat. This means that it is not a diet by itself, rather than a diet schedule and a tool that can help you bring order to your eating habits.

6. Avoid Alcohol As Much As Possible

Although alcohol has been proven to not interfere with muscle-building if consumed in small quantities, it can wreak havoc on your fat loss endeavors.

Why? Well, every gram of alcohol is approximately 7 calories which is second only to fat (9 calories). This means that every beer you’re drinking is a step away from your ideal body weight. Sure, consuming a beer every day is not bad, unhealthy or wrong in any way but it can be 250 to 450 calories per bottle. That’s one HIIT session more you will have to do if you’re serious about losing weight.

Of course, we’re not suggesting you become antisocial. We’re merely saying, keep alcohol to a minimum!

7. Get Your Mind Right

As always, the right mindset should be your FIRST priority when it comes to meeting ANY goal. And that includes weight loss.

You see, weight loss is not an impossible feat and no, it’s not like certain people have been blessed with the “thin” or “shredded” gene. It’s just something that requires dedication, order and determination and you will only possess those if you’re in the right state of mind.

That’s why, we strongly recommend that as you begin each day, before you get your first meal or training session in, take 5 minutes for yourself, close your eyes, visualize your goal and get your mind right.


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