7 Little Changes That'll Make A Big Difference With Your Fat Loss

21/2/2017

Whenever we make a decision to lose weight, it seems we adopt an "all or nothing" approach. We assume going "all in" will propel us to skinny jeans and tight abs. Unfortunately (or fortunately) that's not always the case when it comes to fat loss and there's certainly better ways to go about it. All my clients pictured above have achieved their results by making little, sustainable changes in their lives.

In this article, you'll learn 7 little changes that'll make a big difference with your fat loss.

"You Don't Have To Change A Lot, To Change A Lot"

I remember reading that quote in a blog a little while ago and it's stuck with me ever since. I use the phrase quite a lot with my clients because it's important to know that fat loss isn't always about diet and deprivation. Long term fat loss is about finding what works best for you, your lifestyle, your family and making sure it's sustainable.

If you bite off more than you can chew, it will make fat loss that much harder (literally, lol). You'll crash and burn quicker than a personal trainer fresh out of their course.

The point is, when it comes to fat loss, you don't have to change a lot, to change a lot and I'm going to show you how. Here are 7 little changes that'll make a big difference with your fat loss.

7 Little Changes That'll Make A Big Difference With Your Fat Loss

Do you remember a time in your life where you tried to change everything at once but actually changed nothing at all?

How did that work out for you? I bet you felt overwhelmed trying to spin all those plates correct? Hey, I've been there and that's why I want to help prevent you from making the same mistakes I did in fat loss. This leads us to the first point.

1 - Change ONE Thing At A Time

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Going "all in" on your fat loss doesn't make you any more hardcore than the rest of us. You won't get results any quicker just because you're changing everything at once. Your health is just like everything else valuable in life, change takes time. When losing fat, the methods you use must work for you, your lifestyle, your family and it must be sustainable. Why work hard for a short period of time for something you cannot keep?

In the book "The One Thing" by Gary Keller, he says:

"WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE A LOT, THEY ACCOMPLISHED IT OVER TIME. THE KEY IS OVER TIME. SUCCESS IS BUILT SEQUENTIALLY. IT'S ONE THING AT A TIME"

The point is, you should be focussing on changing one thing at a time. It doesn't matter how small it is, just pick ONE thing, and stick with it until it becomes a healthy habit. All you need to do is make sure you're ready and willing to change it. There's no point saying you'll start walking 30 minutes every day if you're not willing to do it.

How do you know if you're ready for change? Module 5 of my FREE Weight Loss Course will show you. Click here to get started. (it will open to a new window so you won't lose your place here)

The next little change will give you some hints on what your "one thing" could be.

2 - Commit To Adopting One New Healthy Habit Per Week

There are plenty of healthy habits you can adopt to lose fat. The best part? You only need to pick one. Here's a basic list to choose from:

Chew your food slowly
Add some protein to each meal
Add some colour to each meal
Reduce your portion sizes
Increase your water intake
Keep a food diary
Increase exercise time by 15 minutes per day

You aren't limited to these, and your individual circumstances may vary but it's a great place to start when losing fat. Whichever one you pick, you must commit to it until you feel confident it's become a healthy habit. Once you've accomplished this, you can pick another and go from there. Put it this way, if you work consistently on one healthy habit per week, you've created 52 healthy habits in a year. That's one hell of a transformation!

3 - Change The Portion Size First, Before Changing What You Actually Eat

This is super simple and it actually works. You see, calories matter and fat loss depends on being in a calorie deficit, regardless of what method you use [1]. In other words, it doesn't matter if you eat Paleo, Vegan, Ketogenic or IIFYM because at the end of the day, if you're not in a calorie deficit you will not lose weight. If you simply start with changing your portion size, you're already reducing the amount of calories you're consuming and it's not a hard thing to change.

Depending on the person, changing what you eat can be far more difficult than simply watching how much you eat.

Here's the exact step by step procedure I use with all my face to face and online clients when it comes to weight loss:

Complete a food diary (grab your free copy here)
Identify poor habits
Decide (as a team) what to focus on
Reduce portion sizes

That's it. I love seeing the look on my client's faces when I haven't restricted them of any foods. It's like a weight's been lifted off their shoulders. I can proudly say, all my client's drop inches off their waist just by working on portion sizes to begin with, and then tweaking it later on.

Read this for portion sizes: How To Build A Simple, Balanced Meal For Weight Loss

Let's look at the next small change.

4 - Add A Little More Colour To Your Meals

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I think a lot of people underestimate the power of colourful veggies and fat loss. Simply adding a little more colour to your day in the form of fruits and veggies will boost your fibre intake helping you feel fuller for longer and less likely to snack on those calorie dense foods. Not to mention those awesome vitamins and minerals you'll start distributing through the body giving you a surge in energy and good feelings.

Adding more colour to your meal doesn't need to be complicated either. You don't have to combine any specific veggies to 'unlock' some sort of magical potion like you're at Hogwarts. Here's a few ideas I recommend to my clients to increase colour:

Make more fresh salads using all colours of the rainbow (reds, greens, yellows etc)
If you're time poor, buy frozen veggies and fruits
Every time you eat, ask yourself "where's my colour coming from in this meal"
Make a smoothie (this helps to boost protein too)

Let's be honest, it really isn't hard to add colour to your meals in the form of veggies and fruit. What I love about this little change is it's something you can do right now with your next meal. If you didn't eat any veggies in your last meal, you can simply add more to your next.

5 - Add A Little More Protein To Your Meals

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I've written about the benefits of protein in detail in my Weight Loss Course and in numerous articles so I'll spare you the details here.

The bottom line is, protein is mega important for fat loss. It's essential for tissue growth and muscle repair which is highly important for maintaining your metabolism. Don't worry though, it's not as difficult as you might think to meet your protein target. To figure out your protein requirements first, click here and scroll down. Here a 3 simple strategies to boost your protein intake:

Prioritise your protein - ask yourself "where's my protein coming from in this meal?"
Grab high protein snacks such as protein bars, shaved meats, beef jerky, greek yoghurt, low fat cottage cheese, protein powder
Increase your meat - Simply increase the amount of meat (protein) that's on your plate. For example, if you have a 50g piece of chicken breast on your plate, increase it to 100g if you're female or 150g if you're a male.

For all the benefits of protein, how to fully calculate your requirements and how to structure your day to maximise your protein intake, click here.

6 - Add A Little More Activity To Your Day

Notice how I didn't say exercise? That's because you don't need to bust a gut all the time to drop body fat. Sometimes you simply need to increase your NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) which is pretty easy to do. Essentially, NEAT is all the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise [2]. Here's how you can add a little more activity to your day:

Take the stairs, not the elevator
Park further away from the shops or work and walk that little bit further
Set a reminder on your computer that goes off every hour reminding you to stand up and keep moving
Move your printer so you have to get up and walk over to it
Do the house work
Take the dog for a walk
Fidget more

You'll actually be surprised how much extra energy you burn every day simply by adding a little more activity to your day.

7 - Write Your Goals Down

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We all have goals but when was the last time you actually wrote them down? I'm a huge believer of writing your goals down to boost the odds of achieving them. I've experienced first hand the power of putting pen to paper and writing out what you want to achieve and why.

A really cool study was done by Harvard in their MBA program around goal setting. Students were asked if they had set clear, written goals for their futures and if they had specific plans to achieve them. The results? Consider this:

3% of the students had written goals and the plans to accomplish them
13% had goals in their minds but hadn't written them down
84% had no goals at all

I want you now to think about which group you sit in. After 10 years, the same group of people were interviewed and their findings were unbelievable. Get this:

The 13% group (who had goals, but did not write them down) earned twice the amount of the 84% (who had no goals)
The 3% (who had written goals) were earning, on average, 10 times as much as the other 97% of the class combined.

The bottom line of the study - those who don't write their goals down tend to fail easier than the ones who have plans (even if the only criteria was monetary reward).

The point is, simply writing your goals down is such a little thing yet it has a tremendous impact on your results. Take the time now to download this cheat sheet and write down your goals.

What Now?

Those who surround themselves with likeminded individuals have a much higher success rate. I'd love for you to join our private Facebook group and receive the friendly support you need, absolutely free. Click here to join.

Remember, you don't need to change a lot, to change a lot so start small and build on your progress. Before you know it, your clothes will feel looser, you'll have more energy to keep up with the stresses of life and your doctor will be impressed by healthier test results. It's time to go forth and take action!

Written By Aidan D'Arcy - Personal Trainer Frenchs Forest

References:
1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025815?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
2 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12468415