The Myths of Fat Loss

If I had a penny for every time someone asked me,

“What’s the best way to burn fat?” or “How can I lose fat from here?”

I’d be a very rich man! With that in mind, I thought I’d try to dispel some of the myths surrounding fat loss and advise as best I can on the nutritional and exercise considerations regarding fat loss.

Before the myths though, let’s start with some facts:

Fact #1 : If someone has too much bodyfat, the only way to reduce it is by eating fewer calories (kcals) and/or expending more calories by becoming more active. This is called ‘negative energy balance’ (energy input < energy output).

Fact #2 : 1g of carbohydrate or protein provides 4kcals, 1g of fat provides 9kcals

Fact #3 : Fat can only ‘burn’ when oxygen and carbohydrate are available.

Fact #4 : The UK government identifies the top four health risks associated with obesity as:
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Coronary Heart Disease
Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes
Osteoarthritis

Fact #5 :It is estimated that obesity costs:
£0.5 billion/year in NHS treatment
18million sick days/year
£2 billion/year impact on the economy
(Source: House of Commons report by the National Audit Office, ‘Tackling obesity in England’, 2001)

Fact #6 To achieve the realistic fat loss goal of 1Ib of fat in 1 week, you need to create a DEFICIT in your diet of 3,500kcals. That means you need to burn an extra 500kcals, or consume 500kcals less every day for a 7 day period. Do that successfully, and you will lose 1Ib of fat in that week.