number 1 thing to focus on for fat loss

I think we’ve all been there right? Being tugged one way or another on all kinds of things in the fitness & health industry that promises you fat loss. There’s the 30, 60 or 90 day workout programs that promise a flat tummy, or things like “do this and lost 6kg in a month”, or secret recipe to lose fat and eat whatever you want, or telling you to focus on hormones or gut health or mental health.

I’ve been there, I’ve tired the majority of them, and either I wasn’t doing it right or it just flat out don’t work. I mean it’s tempting and there’s a glimmer of hope every time I run into one of these back in my 123kg days thinking that “omg I found it, this is gonna be the one that helps me lose weight forever” only it doesn’t work at all cos I give up within the first week, and the times that I do last over a week I get some some progress but that progress is also short lived after I stop following the program over time.

There’s a lot of false promises out there, at the end of the day if fat loss is your primary goal focus on your diet first.

Your diet is the main driver to your fat loss progress.

Yes absolutely no doubt hormones, gut health, mental health, workouts etc they all matter too and are part of the process, but they aren’t the main thing that dictates fat loss progress. You could have incredibly balanced hormones, superior gut health, and strong mental health but still be gaining weight. Gaining or losing weight at its core comes from your diet. Comes from the amount of food you’re eating on a regular basis.

One of the common questions I get is “to lose fat which should I focus on first, workout or diet?”

The answer is always diet.

Diet not in the sense of the exact types of food you’re eating, but in the total amounts you’re consuming on a regular basis (calories). You could eat less by eating the exact same things you eat regularly, but cut down the portions. That’s a simple way to be eating less without having to meddle with calorie counting or any of the numbers. Things like putting in 1tsp of sugar in your drinks instead of 2, switching from regular coke to diet coke, eating 2/3 your usual portion of rice or noodles, not up-sizing your fast food meals etc.

The thing is when you make these changes, they gotta be somewhat permanent. Now permanent doesn’t mean you can never go back to your old ways at all, like if you switched from regular coke to coke zero it doesn’t mean you can never ever have regular coke again. Of course you can but just probably not as regularly as you used to have it. There’s no point in making huge changes to your lifestyle to make progress, reach your goal, and then go back to your old ways.

Your old ways is what got you to your old weight in the first place.

So if you don’t know what to focus on first when it comes to fat loss, focus on your diet first.

Get your portions under control and be comfortable with it first before you start working in the other things that help with fat loss like sleep, workouts, activity levels, macros, micros etc. Focus on one thing at a time. The fastest way to your goals is trying to go at a pace where you can be as consistent as possible.

Going at a speed where you lose 2kg in 4 months is much much better than going at a speed where you lose 2kg in 2 weeks, but gain those 2kg back in the next 2 weeks.

When it comes to fat loss, diet is your number one priority. Everything else is secondary.

I hope that helps you set your compass in your journey.

Stay well, stay safe!

Till the next one~

— Po