Weight Loss or Fat Loss

I hope you're well. 

For this post I wanted to talk about something that a lot of people get a bit confused about...

The difference between weight loss and fat loss.

Most people will say they want to "lose weight", but what they really mean is they want to lose body fat.

"Weight" on the scales means very little.

When you jump on the scales, you're weighing not just body fat, but also muscle, bone, the contents of your stomach, the contents of your bowels...

(I'll never forget watching an episode of "The Biggest Loser" when one of the contestants lost a pound that week and one of the trainers furiously exclaimed "A pound?! I could shit a pound!" - Brilliant!)

It's actually an incredibly poor indicator of how much fat you're losing.

Everyone who's ever attended Weight Watchers or similar knows this - they often avoid eating all day before a weigh-in so the scales don't say they've put on weight!

That's a great way to deceive yourself and everyone else!

(They then proceed to smash an entire days' calories in one sitting, with their "low points" curly wurly's and pink wafers!)

IF you're going to weigh yourself - and let's face it, it IS something that people are worried about and the easiest metric to track - you need to do it at the same time every day, ideally first thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything, and then work out your weekly average. Then compare week to week.

DO NOT use a single day as a snapshot, because "weight" fluctuates massively.

But really, what you should be tracking is FAT LOSS

This is the one people are really thinking of when they talk about "weight loss".

No-one wants to shed 2 stone of muscle and keep hold of all of their fat - that would be insane.

Yet the scales would have you believe you're achieving your goal, because the number is dropping!

So in order to really know whether you're heading in the right direction or not, you need to be measuring your body fat percentage and using that to track your progress.

Ditch the scales, and start tracking body fat - that's what people are really trying to lose, not "weight".

If your body fat percentage drops, you know you've lost body fat, not muscle.

(The other way to decrease body fat, as a percentage, would be to increase muscle mass - this would likely mean an increase in weight!)

So whilst it's ok to talk about "weight loss", just remember that what you're really talking about is fat loss, and maybe replace the "weight loss" talk with "fat loss" talk to help other people realise the difference too.

If you ever hear me talking about weight loss, know that it's simply because that's what most people still talk about and think of - I will always mean, and be focussing on, fat loss. I'm just using language people resonate with. 

Using weight as a measure of progress would be doing people a massive injustice, and anyone who uses bodyweight to measure success is doing people a disservice (you know who I'm talking about).

Don't fall victim to the "weight loss" crowd. The fact they focus on weight shows they don't know what they're talking about.

And as for BMI...! Height to weight ratio is meaningless if you're using "weight" (12 stone of fat or 12 stone of muscle? There's a BIG difference!) 

I truly can't believe the NHS and even the army still use BMI - it truly isn't a "health" service - just a "sick" service.

Do yourself a favour - start tracking your body fat percentage and STOP stressing over your weight.

Unless you're 30 stone (in which case, yes, any weight loss is likely going to help extend your life right now), you should be looking at body fat, not weight.

There are various options, but just make sure you use the SAME method each time you measure, under the same conditions wherever possible.

The Naval Method is the cheapest option and is reasonably accurate.

I'd avoid the scales that supposedly measure BF% - mine are literally 10% OVER my actual BF% - not accurate AT ALL.

Leave a comment if you've found this useful.

Mark

Are you satisfied with your results?

When I talk to people about health and fitness they often tell me they know what they need to do.

...but the problem is - they don't!

They either don't DO it... or really, they DON'T know what they need to do.

I've been a Personal Trainer for nearly 20 years, so people always ask me about fitness and what to do (because they're not getting the results they'd like to see), yet when I suggest booking in for a consultation, they instantly dismiss it because they "don't need a trainer", they "know what to do"...

They ask for help, then don't want to hear the answer (or think I can just tell them in 30 seconds and it'll work like magic).

Maybe you've told yourself the same thing - you know what to do, you don't need to hire a coach.

So the question is - are you satisfied with the results you're getting?

Are you happy with the way you look, feel and perform?

Because if you're not - you DO need a coach!

If you're not getting the results you want, then you're doing something wrong.

It's that simple.

Now, you may not want to pay for a Personal Trainer. You'd rather spend your money on some new shoes, a new golf club, the latest iPhone, a Chinese takeaway, a meal in a fancy restaurant or just a few pints down the pub a couple of nights a week...

But you also want to look good. You want to feel good.

So why are you so opposed to investing your money into yourself rather than "spending" it "on" yourself.

If all you've got to show for all your hard work is "stuff", I'd say (my personal opinion), you're wasting your money, because at the end of the day, your health is far more valuable than any junk you can accumulate.

I think the NHS and free healthcare has allowed us to be complacent with our health and place too little value on it. Rather than invest in our health, we wait until it's gone then get it "fixed" for free. 

Except it's not fixed, is it?! We're sicker than we've ever been despite the best "healthcare" we've ever had...?!

People care more about how they look than how healthy they are.

They'll spend money on fancy clothes, fish lips, expensive jewellery, flashy cars, god knows how much on make up and creams, pills and potions... all to avoid the little bit of effort required to actually get in shape!

All I want for you is to realise that your health is the most important thing in your life. Your health IS your life.

Everything else pales in comparison.

My goal is to help as many people as possible to improve their health and enjoy the benefits of a strong, healthy body, mentally and physically, for as long as possible.

That's why I do what I do.

So, if you're not satisfied with the results you're getting and are worried that things are getting worse, not better - get in touch and we can discuss how I can help you.

The simplest (and cheapest) way to get started is to join MoveBetter.Club where I've laid out everything you need to do to start seeing positive changes.

If you want a bit more accountability and support, I have a group coaching program that's still very affordable.

And if you want one-to-one support and accountability, and my personal help and guidance all the way through, you can apply for Online Coaching with me and we'll book in a call to see if you're a good fit for the program.

I hope I can help you.

Mark

Do you have GOALS or WISHES?

A lot of people talk about their goals - what they want to achieve.

But without a plan of ACTION, a goal is simply a wish. You're just hoping it'll happen by chance without any effort.

A GOAL is something to WORK towards.

And to do that, you need to take action.

Goals have ONE purpose - to give you direction.

The key then, is to ensure you know what actions to take to move you closer to your goal.

When setting your goals, have the end in mind - what is it you want to achieve?

Then, use that outcome goal to figure out what actions you need to take to achieve that.

Once you have your actions written down, you can put the end/outcome goal to the side - it's kind of irrelevant now beyond using it for a bit of motivation.

What you need to focus on now, are your behaviour goals. The actions you need to take.

For example:

Your end/outcome goal might be to lose 2 stone in 1 year

You then need to write down exactly what you need to do to achieve that:

Don't drink alcohol during the week

Eat a freshly prepared meal 6 mights a week

When ordering takeaway or eating out, choose the healthiest option

Drink 3 litres of water per day

Train 3 times per week

And so on...

These are ACTIONS you can tick off each day, that will lead you towards your desired outcome. 

They'll change from person to person based on where you're at right now and your goal (this is just an example, not YOUR plan!), so make sure your actions are right for you.

A goal is utterly useless without a plan.

So, if you're guilty of saying you're going to do X, Y, Z, but don't actually do much to achieve it, this could be why; because you aren't sure what to do to achieve your goal.

Sit and figure out what you need to do, and start doing it.

As always, I'm here to help if you need it.

There's a section on goal setting in MoveBetter.Club - check it out when you join.

Mark

What Do I See When I Look In The Mirror?

We all want to look better.

The problem is... we're never happy.

The grass is always greener.

To most, I [apparently] look to be in pretty good shape.

But in truth, I feel I've got a LOOONG way to go still.

I resent that I don't look how I want to look after years of consistent effort, hard training, watching what I eat, even making a career out of helping other people achieve great physiques.

When I look in the mirror I see:

• A bit too much body fat
• Skinny legs
• Almost no shoulders
• Small arms
• A spongey waistline
• Bad posture
• No chest

Probably the same things most people see to some extent.

But working with and around guys who look amazing, how I'd want to look... They're all thinking the same! They don't see a great physique, they see the flaws and imperfections.

Body dysmorphia is real, people!

But it's not all bad.

You can USE that to spur you on, to make continual progress and to motivate you to work harder.

Don't get all depressed that you don't look the way you want (you never will, because there'll always be something you want to change).

Don't throw in the towel and say it's all pointless.

Focus not on how you look right now, or even on how you want to look (though I'm sure you've got a good idea), but on the progress you've made or are making.

I've had so many people over the years who've refused to take their "before" photos and regretted it 6 months down the line.

You'll never reach "perfect", but if you take pictures and compare them every few months, you'll see progress.

As long as you're seeing progress when you compare - you're doing it right!

Either carry on doing what you're doing, or if you want faster progress, tweak things to up the game; just make sure you're being realistic about what's achievable in your set timeframe.

So don't worry about what you see in the mirror not being what you want to see.

Use it to inspire you and make damn sure that when you compare photos in 6 months you've done something about it.

I hate seeing photos of myself - all I see is the negative, but what I'm really seeing is an opportunity to get better.

I'm not saying be happy with how you look no matter what, or to focus on the the negatives, I'm saying look at it from another angle and appreciate the flaws. See them for the opportunities they are.

Also consider the cost of getting into that "ideal" shape.

Time.
Effort.

Sacrificing family time for training.

Going without or limiting foods you enjoy.

Being miserable.

It's HARD work to get in cover model shape, and hard work to stay there.

Are you willing to pay that price?

Or would you be happy with being in "decent" shape, but still having time to enjoy yourself and have the odd treat? Being healthier and more energetic, not drained and tired from training all the time?

I've changed my focus over the years, especially since having kids.

I want to be here for as long as I can, for them.

I want to be able to keep up with them, maybe even beat them at sports even when I'm old.

I started to feel my knees hurting when I knelt on the floor to play with my 5-year old and couldn't stay there for more than a few minutes - then walked like an old man for a minute when I got up.

(That's not the case any more - now I can kneel or sit on the floor for as long as I want, the way we should be able to!)

And I created MoveBetter.Club to teach all of this to anyone who wants to know, even if they don't have the budget for Personal Training.

The point is, your goals will change and you'll always want more - it's natural.

The millionaire doesn't stop - he then wants 10 million... then 100 million... then a billion...

Fitness is the same. Why would you be happy when you know you could look and feel even better?

Don't get too hung up on what you see in the moment, instead focus on what improvements you made over time, be that a month or a year. 

As long as you're making progress, be happy.

And if you're like me, and no longer care who benches more than you but DO care about being able to move and function well now and in future, check out MoveBetter.Club.

Mark