Fat Loss Head Games – When Your Mind Makes Fat Loss Near Impossible.

Think you've just about covered all the bases there, I was reading this article ready to chip in with the ones that you've left out, but I cant think of any more right now….

hmmmm…. maybe this….

Its my "day off" on my diet so I need to eat so I dont get "too skinny"….. cue a 6000 calorie hog fest.

Wow you covered most of the ones that I used to think of. Another one I used to say is "Ohh I'll burn off the calories later with cardio". That was an excuse to eat a lot, and do cardio that didn't even cover the calories from that meal.

A biggie is "There are so many options, I just don't know where to start!"

Especially when you are a beginner, it's easy to get overwhelmed with conflicting information. With all the different diets and exercise programs out there, even my head is spinning. And I've been a health nut for more than ten years now!

By and large, the biggest changes will happen right when you are getting started, regardless of the specifics of your game plan. Just make sure you start RIGHT NOW! You'll learn by trial and error what works over time. But the thing that works least is sitting around wondering whether low-fat or low-carb is right for you. Just focus on eating good, real food as opposed to the processed food products. And make your objective to just get moving, even if it's only a brief walk every evening.

As long as you pay attention to what you are doing, the results you are getting, and how you can improve, you are on the right path.

Great post Rusty. One thing that helps to get me into the gym or to stick with eating right is to change my thinking into a more positive frame of mind.

It kind of changes negative thinking such as "I'm to tired" to a positive like "working out will give me energy."

Also, mentally listing the benefits of working out or eating right helps too.

Rusty I agree with you on all accounts here – brilliant post! I think a majority of fitness enthusiasts, myself included, have fallen victim to one or more of these excuses/mind games.

A HUGE one I see all the time is people who eat like horses when they lift heavy, with the intention of gaining tons of muscle all at once, which of course, will not happen. Instead it often will lead to fat gain along with a small gain in muscle, which could have been achieved anyway, without the excess fat calories.

Rusty,
A lot of these definitely hit home with me. Fortunately, I've managed to stay on track and get through them. Maybe not a head game, but one mistake I've made in the past is that when I had a bad day of eating, I would just assume the whole day was shot and continue stuffing my face. For example, if I was eating pizza, I figured I might as well eat the whole thing and just get all those calories in me now. Emotional eating can be another killer (eating to compensate for stress, tiredness, etc.).
Dave

Interesting post. I don't think thats a key in the first pic. Looks like a wing bolt

Rusty,

Great post. A big one for me is eating out too frequently. Once I corrected this, I started seeing results quickly. It's very easy to consume a 1,500 calorie meal or more when you are eating out. Restaurants aren't trying to help you get lean, they are trying to make a profit. You could probably prepare a similar meal at home and cut the calories in half.

Alykhan

Great Post Rusty. It's amazing what some discomfort can do to the human mind. Once you get thinking it can become easy to justify anything. Here are some of my own problems I face when getting lean.

"Well I already screwed up my diet today so I might as well eat this too". – This leads to massive overeating, example: Eat a bagel at work when you planned on fasting and all of a sudden it's eat everything you can find at work skip the workout and eat more crap at dinner just to "get all cravings out of the way" so you can start "fresh" tomorrow. When true logic would be "one bagel isn't bad I'll just eat a little less at dinner after my scheduled workout" there is no such thing as "ruining" your diet. If you eat something you wish you hadn't then don't blow the whole day justifying it was ruined anyway. It wasn't at all it's just "fat loss head games"

Another one is the cheat day fallacy. Sure it's fine to overeat from time to time for a big event but scheduling a cheat day will just lead to the justification that anything and everything is good to eat in order to "boost" your metabolism back to normal. This usually leads to feeling sick on the couch. In reality a special occasion or meal will come up that is high in calorie with just having a normal social life. It's best to eat light most days when you're not being social so you can enjoy a normal social outing guilt free. Not scheduling a "cheat" day so you can day dream about all the crap you're going to eat all week till the day arrives. But I've been there, it's a tough habit to break too.

One that has bugged me for a long time is "Well I did so well on my diet yesterday, so I can be a little lax with the food today and still be okay." This goes even past one day. If I go a week of eating less calories and can see the change in the mirror, I'll go ahead and pig out too much for a couple days straight to "reward" myself.

Another one that you mentioned was the appearance of gaining fat before starting to lose it. I'm still struggling with this one because it seems that I continue to break my good food habits everytime I look in the mirror and wonder to myself if what I'm doing is actually working because in the mirror it looks like I'm going backwards. I get discouraged and end up turning to food as an escape. I'm better at stopping myself than I was even a couple of months ago, so it's just a matter of time for me to stick with it.

I've gone from just under 210 to 162 at the moment, but I've become what you call "skinny fat" because when I first started, I was swayed by the bodybuilding mentality of nutrition. I'm now left with skinny legs and arms, with a noticeable gut. I'm able to fit into small sized dress shirts, medium t-shirts, and 29 inch waist jeans, but most of my fat is still concentrated in my lower back and stomach. Now that I'm starting to get my diet in check, I'm just waiting for my gut to start disappearing except it's looked the same to me in the mirror now that it did 2 months ago. This is the biggest mental block I need to get over.

Hey Rusty,

Do you know what I really overthink at times? What type of exercise to actually do to promote fat loss on a given day!

See, I have to change my workout every time. I CAN'T just do bodyweight circuits or Tabattas or boxing etc. all the time. It has to be a different workout EVERY time. The problem with thinking this way, however, is that I can really mess with my own head!! :-S

I know what works, Tabattas, Treadmill HIIT, bodyweight circuits, kettlebell circuits, Turbalence Training, metabolic resistance training etc….

….but sometimes I just overthink what type of workout to do, ya know? Its just a case of choosing an effective workout that you fancy doing and just doing it! Instead of overthinking whether Strength training + HIIT + steady cardio would be more effective than doing a bodyweight circuit, for example.

THEY ARE BOTH EFFECTIVE! Choose one, stick with it, go as hard as possible, enjoy and reap the fat burning benefits!

Theres my 2 cents worth!

DragonMatt

"We both stay lean because it is all about calories and not meal frequency." For me its about the type of calorie. I have never been able to maintain lower bodyfat percentages eating the SAD. Until I started eating "primal" and IFing I used to do all of the above misguided advice. My brother and sister-in-law still live by the "old" ways. They eat 6 times a day with "whole" grains and other "healthy" food while running at least 50 miles a week and gym workouts. I run barefoot for a total of 5-10 miles and do bodyweight workouts a couple of times a week and maintain 8% bodyfat while my brother sports about 12-14%. WEIRD, he is following the "tradition" and I follow new proven methods. Yet he will not look at me and agree that I'm on to something! Some people will not believe the truth because they have been forcefed misinformation for so long! I try and let people know about the good blogs I read (such as yours) to help them understand. Great post.

Here is another one, "The scale does not show I have lost weight, but I look better." I have found that the best measure of becoming more lean is the way your close fit. The bottom line is you want a loser fat %, not a lower weight.

I've heard John Barban talk about the difference between overtraining and underconditioning before. He's probably right (he seems to be right about most things) but I'm not sure it matters. Even if you are underconditoned rather than overtrained, it still means you're doing more work than your body can handle, and you need to scale it back a bit

I have been dealing with a similar head game recently. This last year I lost 130 pounds through great eating and busting my ass. Once all the weight was gone and I was feeling great I became lax in my eating, allowing a treat here and there. That snowballed into me eating a bunch of crap almost daily. "I justified it by saying I lost the weight once I can lose it again." I have gained back 14 pounds over the last 3 months and am trying to get control of this to avoid the yo-yo dieting effect. I have to get my diet dialed back in and get rid of the junk.

Another excuse I use that is related is thinking that I can burn off the calories from the donut, icecream or cookies I just gobbled down later with an extra long run or a intense session at the gym. After eating all that junk I hardly ever feel good enough to take it up a notch and most of the time barely complete my workouts as normal (I feel extra sluggish from the crap in my stomach).

It's a learning experience and like you said the first part to overcoming these head games is to recognize them and know you are not alone.

I went a long time without letting any of these head games effect what I needed to do. I was eating a strict paleo diet, moderating my portions, not eating before bed time, and barely ever cheating. I accomplished all of my goals, felt great, and looked great – it was really awesome.

But some stress creeped into my life for a little while and caused me to start binge eating. It was really a problem and I felt depressed.

Since then, I have been trying to clean up my act but have been unable to get back to where I was. I have witnessed a lot of these problems first hand but the major ones affecting me are:

Thinking I can overeat if what I'm eating is healthy. I will down uber-sized portions of nuts and fruit, thinking just because it is healthy I can indulge.

Thinking that if I ate too much earlier, then I might as well just give in to the cravings and start a new tomorrow.

Thinking that if I binge and eat everything I could ever want to eat for a whole day, I will be able to get back on track and never want to eat those foods again.

Anyone experience any of these and/or have some advice?

Good informative post!

Restaurants (eating out) were a struggle for me early on. I'm not saying eating out is bad at all. I just needed to be more disciplined. We might be out shopping at the mall where there are always restaurants in and around. We end up eating out for lunch or dinner and I always say to myself "i'm going to eat light". First of all if its a Chinese Buffet you can't eat light. Instead of eating a salad I would give in. My discipline has gotten much better as of late. I just have to make better choices and if I make a bad choice…….eat less calories the rest of the week.

What a great all-round fat loss post this is Rusty. So many people will read it and be pleased to find it addresses not just one of their many questions about why they aren't losing fat but so multiple questions!

Muscle Soreness – I know this one is true for many because in my 'gym bunny' days, I used to think eating more protein would help me repair quicker – it is sold to us as the 'building blocks' after all! Maybe I should have looked at cherries instead…(the benefits of which I have shared on LMD Fitness before – http://www.lmdfitness.com/nutrition/cherries/

Great work Rusty – this info is going to help a tonne of people!

Hi Rusty, not related to the topic but been bugging me for a while, if cycling and doing hill sprints can strenghten and tighten the legs and gluttes, can doing intense intervals on the elliptical strenghting and tighten the upper body as well, i will be very pleased if it does!!!
thanks a lot Rusty

Another note on "I'm Losing Weight, But Look Flabbier. Something is Wrong!" this can also be because when becoming thermogenic (the body going into a fat burning state) skin and fat loosens up and we will appear flabbier temporarily. It is a good thing…..

Really good post, you definitely covered a load of issues I think the majority of people pursuing fat loss encounter.

A few common mistakes of my own:
- more workouts = more rewards. ie. "I earned that banana bread today"
- Too many protein shakes! I've avoided them altogether for a while now and noticed a big difference
- always trying to get rid of that hungry feeling. Lately I've started to embrace feeling hungry and consider it a sign of progress.

Man Rusty you come up with great articles to keep ones' interest high and motivated to workout…..Regarding adding ab work….How many days a week do you suggest doing ab work (I still have a slight belly and some belly fat)…..How many sets of planks/ab wheel rollers/Bruce lee dragon?…..I am also curious about your unemployment diet….You said you drank 4-5 cups of green tea and only had a chicked salad at night to save some money…..How many days a week were you able to do this and for how long?…..It sounds like a even more restricted diet than the 7-10 stubborn bodyfat diet (3-4 chicken breats a day)…..Thanks and hope you are having a great summer

Rusty you are right on with this post. I have lost 20 pounds using your principles but lately I have been giving into my craving for ice-cream (hagen daazs and cocnut icy popsicles). McDonalds has a dollar ice cream cone that says 150 calories. Is there a way to have this everyday or every other day and stay lean and get leaner? I no longer eat white pasta or white bread or rice and have used Eat Stop Eat and also 16 hour fasts with 8 hour feeding windows. But i LOVE ICE_CREAM (at least the vanilla)Everyone has commented how much leaner I look BUT my arms are TOO DAMN SKINNY!!!!!!!!! I only do bodyweight exercises right now that consist of pushups/karate pushups/pullups/chinups/dips. My rep range is 12-15 and do this 3/week. Perhaps I need to do curls? Or add a weight vest or backpack with weights? I am tall at 6'2" and have super small wrists/hands/forearms/biceps. I have very long arms (think basketball player). also, I have stopped doing squats and deadlifts but want to maintain some mass on legs/glutes. Would weighted lunges and weighted step ups be OK? I stopped doing squats/deadlifts per your suggestion because I dont want a big waist nor back problems.Any tips are appreciated. Thanks Rusty

In terms of excuses….Well I think you are being hard on yourself Rusty…..WAY TOO HARD……You are able to discipline yourself to eat healthy and well lets say 6 out of 7 days…..So one day (your cheat day) you eat a lot of food or some "junk" food……Well the bottom line is that for the week you are still under eating in terms of total calories…..I suggest you read even more of the posts/articles under Martins Lean Gains……Dont quote me but I think he said he enjoys eating bigger meals with foods that leave him satiated….He uses a 16 hour fast everyday with a 8 hour feeding window…..And he eats his cheesecake…..Maybe you should try Martins eating suggestions for awhile….maybe Eat stop Eat is not where yoru body is at…..I think that hard training can stimulate hunger and teh body needs more food/nutrition to repair……I have no scince behind me just experience…..I crave more food when I lift heavy and/or bored and/or lonely ….You are doing great Rusty, try not to be so hard on yourself…..

Rusty, I'm no stranger to fat loss head games and I can identify with some of these on your list. I used to think that I can eat whenever I want if I work out 3 times a week…boy, was I wrong! Through the years, I have learned to identify these head games and worked on my mindset to help combat them. You're right. We get so many thoughts in a second and if we don't pay attention, all our efforts will just go to waste.

Anna

One of my bad workout habits is overthinking what I want to do and not giving a certain routine enough time to see whether it works for me (and my wife). I read a lot of stuff on the web and in magazines, and it seems there is always some "secret" that will speed up fat loss and muscle gain. My wife works out with me, and she thinks I just terribly complicate things. When I realize that and then simplify our routine, and then stick with it, good things happen.

My wife's bad habit is being afraid to step on the scale. I weigh myself every morning and then right before I go to bed, and I'll frequently weigh myself after a workout and at other times during the day. So I know how much my weight fluctuates based on when and how much I've eaten and exercised. My wife, on the other hand, will weigh herself only if she is feeling really skinny. This statement is obviously a generalization, but I think women place more of an emotional value on the number on the scale. To me, it's just a snapshot of where I am at a particular moment. As long as my morning wake-up weight stays in a certain range, I know I'm doing OK. I think my wife would benefit from thinking this way. The scale is not the ultimate judge of where you are, but it is a useful tool. Don't fear it, and don't get depressed over the number you see.

Following Diet Dogma= Only stay on the diet if it is strict Atkins…….strict Paleo…….strict vegetarian……etc….etc. Then when you can't be 100% falling off because of perceived failure.

Been doing an ESE style for a few months. No Rules….NO fail. Consistent results though.

Going back to my above post about the scale, I think that not using the scale correctly is a mind game. You always hear that starting an exercise program will cause you to build muscle; and since muscle weighs more than fat, you may not actually lose weight. While that is true, the number should eventually go down. If it goes up quickly, be honest as to whether it is really muscle.

I guess my point is that it is easy to have mind games in multiple ways with the scale. Being afraid of it, making too big a deal over normal daily weight fluctuations, getting emotional about the number, and not being honest about what the changes (or lack of changes) represent – they're all ways you can struggle with it.

I think another common excuse involves the people in your life who may not be that supportive. For example, eating to please parents or spouses (because they'd be offended if you didn't eat what they cooked or bought), or because the rest of your family eats a certain way and either they/you don't want to change their diets or have to prepare separate meals.

At the end of the day, it comes down to doing what is best for you and not letting the opinions of others affect you. It can be tough especially if you have trouble setting boundaries, but you just gotta remember that what you're doing is for your health and if you're in good health, it will also benefit people around you.

Haha I 've tried them all I would like to think I'm experienced enough but only recently I caught myself eating all the time cause I "worked out so much" …
I realised my weight was increasing I thought YEAH that's MUSCLE INCREASE but reality it was FAT … gave myself a slap across the face … and went back to eating like I did when I was lean.
YES its all in the head not the stomach!
Thanks cool post
Raymond

Great Article! It’s very true, people are bombarded with information on how to lose weight and gain muscle and people get confused. You are absolutely right about Calories. Calories are everything and then within those calories you should be getting the appropriate ratios of fats, carbs and proteins to build a strong healthy body. Fats are more calorie dense than carbs and proteins so it doesn't take much fat to reach your calorie quota for the day. The majority of tasty, inexpensive foods are carb based and that's why a majority of us eat too much carbohydrates.

I know it can be confusing, but here is a tip I guarantee will help you will lose weight. Eat more veggies and eat out less. Vegetables are low in calories but very high in body nourishing vitamins so you can eat as much vegetables as you like. As for eating out, all restaurants and fast foods are loaded with sugar, preservatives, salt and fat. Those things make food last longer, more addictive and cheaper which is there to keep you coming back for more.

My BIGGEST problem are the cheat days. Friday nights and Saturday's I allow myself to go out to eat and have drinks, sweet treats, etc. I obsess over everything that goes in my mouth during the week, so, to keep my sanity I relax on the weekends and often over indulge. I am about 80% to where I want to be…just wish I could cut out the weekend indulgence…unfortunately I don't see that happening.

Rusty,
I used to have trouble with my face looking too thin, even when I needed to still lose weight around my waist. Family or friends would usually say something like, "You are getting too skinny or you look sick." It was because they were just used to my face being fuller. For some reason, I lose it in my face really quickly.

I actually gave up dieting and gained some weight back in the past because it would depress me when they would say that. I always ended up without abs because of this. This past year I just stuck with it and got down until my abs are showing. Finally people are used to seeing me lean and I now look "normal" to them instead of like Skeletor!

Hey Rusty,

I've been following your site for a few months now, and I love your advice about it being O.K. to feel hungry. I grew up in a house where feeling lightheaded, or tired, or (especially) grouchy meant it was time for a snack! "I NEED to eat," was the idea.

Anyway.

I'm 25, 5'10", and weighed up to 158 during this past semester. Right now I'm down to 140. Just weighed myself for the first time in a long time today, and I'm shocked! I feel like I've lost too much weight. I've been hitting the weights, though, and doing a lot of bodyweight work (TACFIT-type stuff).

Rusty, please help! I've never gone near calipers but my bodyfat can't be high at all. How do I gain (or possibly regain) some muscle mass while keeping off the fat?

Thanks!
Chris

While you mentioned overtraining, I don't think the common "I've been good so I can cheat on my diet a little bit" has come up.

The best recommendation I have heard to get past this game is Tim Ferriss' idea in his "slow carb diet" article to plan periods for eating junk food. You're going to want to do it anyway, and this helps to keep it controlled and not hurt your overall progress.

Of course you have the doubts you give yourself, but what about the ones others give you?
I was dieting using IF and reduced my grains/refined food intake by about 90%. I lost probably 3kg over a month (i was 71-72kg before @ 5'11"). But people (ex girlfriends, friends, family) put ideas in my head with comments like "your looking a bit skinny" or "are you sure your eating enough". Eventually i questioned whether or not i had a warped view of my body and have slacked off for a month eating so much junk food. This time im going to try to block out the negative…i want my abs back lol

Great tips! For ideas on how you can take charge of your own health care, check out Whatstherealcost.org

I am still trying to recover from winning the World Cup so I will say something that has nothing to do with this post. We are always talking about how good "this" athlete or "that" actor looks, what they eat, what routine they follow, but I have to say that dancers really impress me (even ballet dancers). I don't know if they lift weights or what they do (aside from burning calories while dancing all day long) but talk about people in shape.

I think the most difficult part of fat loss is your environment. Often the "head games" can get incredibly difficult, but they can be managed if you set up your "space" right (I.E. no junk food around, only healthy whole foods, as well as making the majority of your meals yourself, nothing pre-cooked or instant)
That being said however, I know my greatest challenge has been my roommates. I have 3 roommates who are long distance runners, who always eat gratuitous amounts of food more than I do, and it is usually not that healthy. It is hard to fast/eat healthily when the person sitting across the living room from you is eating cookies and peanut butter (yep, chocolate chip cookies that he puts creamy peanut butter on), and he doesn't eat a few. Plus, they aren't fat. They aren't "lean" per se, but look better in clothes than I do. I think that this is what causes unnecessary cravings and "head games", or at least makes them worse.

Let’s see.. First excuse after losing weight was, oh, I can afford eating this.. .I’m pretty much at my goal..
No good, big no no especially if you are not 100% at your goal.. That excuse alone probably made me miss out on a perfect 6 pack this summer… Damn.

I know lots of people that say it is hard to watch other people eat so called “good food” while dieting and use that as an excuse.
My tip is to flip around your mindset.. If someone is eating junk or pigging out in front of you, try feeling bad for them, don’t have to say anything, but in your head, be proud of yourself for not giving in and joining them for a slice of pizza, quick order from McD or an ice-cream ect. Ect. Think how good it is to be fit and achieving your goals and when they are done eating, you can sit back with a smile and consider that little show an achievement.
Remember, there is nothing better than walking into a room, looking around and thinking.. damn I’m the healthiest/most fit/best looking (whatever) in here! LOL, a bit cheesy, but it’s true…!
Or as Rusty would say… nothing tastes better than being fit I like that saying.. I think I picked it up here on your page…

Last but not least… cheating and excuses are ok from time to time..
My friend wanted to lose weight, so a week and a half ago we sat down and I helped him get started.. on his 6th day of a “new healthy lifestyle” I caught him eating junk. (McD)
I couldn’t help myself and pointed out that that was not a good idea, however his reply was… If I can’t cheat sometimes, it is not even worth it.. I don’t want to give up all the “good foods” just to look fit.
Fair enough I said, you should diffidently be able to cheat, I do, everyone does, what would life be without weekend partying, pizza during a sports game, ice cream on a hot sunny day, but keep it at that.
I told him, if you can’t even go a week, let alone your first week… It will be along tough journey… good luck.
In other words… cheating and excuses are good, but limit them and hold off when you start until you have reached a certain point…

And finally, I am no saint… I skipped a run last night, my excuse was that it was late and I would be working out this morning anyways…
I missed my workout this morning, because I got up late and now I am 2 workouts behind… Damn!

Good luck everyone.. enjoy the summer… Sorry for the long input..! I just wanted to point out that excuses and cheating are awesome.. but limit them, we all know inside what is right and wrong..

Oh and to the Spaniard… Denmark should have won…

But if your willpower is good, I know it is doable. While I am not as lean as I want to be (I am 5'10" and 175lbs currently at ~10% bodyfat. The bodyfat percentage is just a rough estimate. I can see my 4 pack pretty easily, as well as a developing v-taper, but from last year when I tried to diet down I don't think I will ever see my lower abs. Never saw them at 7% bf, so gave up on that to a certain extent.

Buddy this happened to me too! I just kept it up and din't pay attention to their comments….

Rusty an awesome post as always,

There are so many head games and character traits that keep you from achieving the maximum results from your training. Living at home with the parents is a big one for me, they bring home junk all the time and being a mindless eater I just cannot resist haha.

Another psychological factor for me seems to be my refusal to train on a full stomach. If I eat too much throughout the day I find it hard to hit the gym as I feel that my HIIT will be worthless and just burn off food energy and not fat. If i do train and just do weights I will get that horrible pump that only bloats the belly more lol.

I think its important not too let these head games completely stop our training, enjoy the good foods we eat, train to feel good and be patient to get those desired results.

Excellent article Rusty. Very thought provoking – it made me think of head games I've played with myself and some common games guys who work out at gyms play in their own minds. The one that kept coming to mind was the old " I can make up for my (lack of) diet with my workout routine" head game. I used to tell myself I could do this because my routine was so intense. I eventually discovered that nutrition was as important as (if not more important than) my workout.

Keep up the good work on this blog.

Ray

I have been having an issue of late Rusty, I cant seem to drop any weight, even though I am doing IF as my method to drop the pounds, I am only eating once a day, 24 hour fasts, as I can handle this without issue, what i have been eating is…rice with veggies and meat and eggs etc…this would all be fried lighlty and mixed…I keep the portions small so im satisfied and not stuffed, yet I still havent seen my weight drop, it just looks as if Im just maintaining rather than losing, I have also upped my water intake, and fruit intake too for more fibre, I have been working out 4 times a week as well, do you think I need to increase intensity or what is it that could be effecting me at this moment? I wont give up either way, I will stick to my programme, but I just need some advice on how to make the pounds drop now.

Hi rusty, this is exactly what I have experienced. As long as you keep your calories in check, it doesn't matter what you eat. Ok, it does as whole foods keep you full longer and you can eat more of them as they're lower in calories. But it's exactly because of this caloric balance issue that I have a question for you.

I currently am quite skinny and have average definition. I want to gain the Taylor Laurner look and I currently look like Robert Pattinson instead (with a slightly protruding belly). I've decided to go on the stronglifts 5×5 plan on Mon/Wed/Fri. I play soccer on Saturdays
for 3h. I've decided to eat at my current maintenance level for 4 weeks and then recalculate it and continue eating at that level. I'll also be doing conditioning sessions of 45min each on Tues/Thurs. Do you think this would hamper my gains and recovery and that I should plan my conditioning sessions after my lifting instead? Also, will I get too bulky on this programme? There'll be back squats on the programme, as you know, but I won't be doing that ridiculous bulking that many bodybuilders do.

Also, do you think I should warm up for each exercise or just the first one? For example, after the 5×5 squats comes the bench. Do I have to crank speed reps with the empty bar, then progress in increments or just delve into the work sets of 5×5 proper?

Thanks. As always, your comments are highly respected!

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I would cut my conditioning sessions to about 20min max if I were to do them after my lifting sessions.

I'd have to say that for girls it's definately, I'm pmsing and i deserve it from all this hell. ha. but when that time is not around, my biggest problem is that i haven't really had a vegetable i can even make myself swallow. so i just eat alot of eggs, old fashioned oatmeal and fruit. Oh! and you forgot a major one! the "i can't afford healthy food, it's so much more expensive!"

@ Brittany, I just moved to the US from Denmark and FYI it is much more exspensive to eat good healthy food here in the US. It is sick… I could go a week off of Taco Bell for what a few days groceries cost.. LOL
And yes, I have noticed that lots of people think this way. It is sad..
Though I keep on saying to myself, what is most important, your money or your health…?

Hey Rusty,

Love this artice, just finished reading the Vacation blue print and it was great. I hit a plateau in lowering my body fat percentage and after following some of your tips I have lost a few more pounds and seem to have grown a bit more muscular physique and most of all I am motivated again. Keep up the good work!!

hey Rusty,

how about the "I had a hard workout, I deserve to eat more" one. Or the "I'll just fast tomorrow to make up for it" one. Or the "hell with it I'm stressed I need to eat to feel better" one. Or the "I look good enough, it's ok to chow down" one.
The thing that I seem to have a problem with is when I get ravenous and I can't stop eating, especially on my days off of working out.
The other thing is the "unofficial" calories I eat. I will remember my "official" meals but what about the snacking while I was preparing my meals, (the handful of nuts or raisins or candy) I think that kills my fat loss the most.

Hey thanks for this really good post. I like how you go into great depth. Also I would like to include that the monkey will probably be responsible for some of my nightmares
Also just to help some people out, there is a really good free ebook that will teach you how to lose weight the healthy way here.

http://buildmuscle.ucoz.com/

Thanks

hey rusty,
ok this sounds crazy but 2 mnths back when i was under strict rule of "losing hip fat" i performed fasting(limiting my calories to 400 cal per day) for a month straight with regular HIIT followed by jog. it was hard for me in the begining as i had college work, but i still followed and i did get positive results, but I was losing fat from my upper body too and i did nt want that cause i already weighed 99lbs back then and after 1 mnth i dropped down to 83 lbs. Then 1 mnth back I really did something very stupid I started eating a lot so gained back the fat that I lost around my hips.
so I am planning to go on a diet again with regular exercise routine. do u think its wise for me to go to the gym everyday(to lose fat and muscle),and also how long does it take to lose hip fat completely?
I really like ur post cause its really going to help me stick to my diet….
Another great post

Thanks a lot

The mental part of fat loss is a crucial aspect that is often overlooked. When people try to make changes in their life it's often very difficult (human nature).
The first thing you need to do is learn how to lose fat and/or weight, via websites like Rusty's and my own. The next thing you need to do is learn how to succeed. Fat loss success is just like any other thing in your life that you find worthwhile (career, weight loss, lowering your golf score, etc). It needs to be done with hard work!

Fat Loss Head Games – When Your Mind Makes Fat Loss Near Impossible. | Fitness Black Book…

Fat loss should be easy. It certainly looks easy on paper. What makes it tough is the fact that we tend to over complicate things. The human mind comes up with all sorts of ideas that seem legitimate ……

Hey Rusty,

I know your pretty big on Craig Bs. BW circuts for BW only training but i was wondering what a basic outline of a BW circut by you that would cover all the principles of your site ( upper chest focus, funcitional lean lower body, etc. ) would look like?
thanks

Hey Rusty,
I am currently working on a paper for psychology about the prefrontal cortex and serotonin levels after we work out. I thought I shared some results in my research since you have shared so much info with me. Here it is in concise format:

[1] Exercise improves your mood
[2] Exercise "exercises" your brain too. Makes you sharper.
[3] Its a snowball effect, the less exercise you do the less you want to do it and the lazier you become.
[4] For weight lifting, the ideal rep is 6 to maximize the release of endorphins which is "the feel good hormones".

That's it. Great post by the way.

Hey Rusty,

Some fat loss head games I've seen are people who pick up on something based on the fad.

For example, I have chosen to eat a primal/paleo diet as it made the most sense to me scientifically. In the end, it is another method for fat loss, but that is not my main motive. Longevity and health is the motive and fat loss is the benefit. Is it the best choice? For now it is. My opinion may change in time; I don't know. And while I'm eating this way 90% of the time, I still eat cake, pizza and stuff I like. Its about moderation for me for the most part. Occassionally, I like to get a large pepperoni pizza and devour the whole thing in one sitting. It doesn't throw off my diet or anything. You just enjoy, and get back to to what works.

But people will cling (we all have) to the I-D-E-A of a diet – low carb this, 6 meals a day that, etc. – when what they need to do is just find what works for them individually. Maybe 6 meals a day is best for some, like you said. Maybe eat stop eat is the way to go. Maybe salads for lunch but whatever for breakfast and dinner will do the trick. Who knows?

Good stuff, man. Thanks for the article.

Farley

hi rusty

for about 6 weeks i followed a strength training programme under a calorie deficit and even managed a couple of fasting days just to see if i could do it! i dont know that i would call myself a hardgainer but i tried the whole bulking thing and ended up flabby so now i'm trying to get lean and hopefully get over my fear of being tall and skinny.
however, do you think that everybody has a natural bodyweight that you will generally end up at whether attempting to get lean or gain size?
i weighed myself last week for the first time in over a year and was oddly back at 170lbs. although this time round i seem to be at less bodyfat than the less time i was at this weight having tried to lose fat.
the thing is, i'm still not lean as such, prob about 11-12% BF but for a 6ft2 guy, anything less than 170lbs does seem too thin. just wondering if the shrink wrap 'bonus' effect thing will help me put back on a little more size, but i guess i need to drop even more fat before its time for that

One of the things I struggle with is well meaning family members who are concerned about the way I look. Having seen me for so many years at a "normal" american weight of around 140-150 (I am 5'2" female) they have gotten used to that.

Now that I have reached 120 lbs and am developing a lean, toned physique thanks to so many of your methods including ESE (uh…I don't even TELL them about that one, lol!), I get some very concerned comments from them. They think I am too skinny – and when I tell them I am trying to lose 2-3% body fat they look at me as if I have grown two heads.

To me, I look great! I rather LIKE toned instead of flabby, lol! But I also do have issues with food, trying to be moderate instead of eating 3 donuts and then trying to exercise it off the next day. So their comments play mind games with me, making me wonder if something IS wrong with me…if maybe I have an eating disorder and AM getting too skinny. Then I sabotage myself by not doing my workout that particular day and in my head sort of trying to scale back on the intensity. Then, I don't reach my goals I've worked so hard for and instead go backwards!

I'm trying to remember that all the things you teach, Rusty, are completely foreign to them. They eat the SAD and the idea of being ripped on the beach is akin to being the president of the united states. Just not reachable. For ME – it is reachable and I will reach it! Thanks for another awesome post – and the comments are really encouraging too, knowing that I'm not alone.

Okay…I probably just have enough time to get back to people with questions…but keep those comments coming! This is a popular topic!

@ Constance,

Yeah…you are right, I don't think that is a key after all.

@ Ronak,

Most likely your gut will be the last thing to go…you will lose fat over every area of your body first. I'm kind of wired the same way. Keep at it and you will get there.

@ Gains,

I am not against going for it for an entire day every now and then, just tighten up your diet for at least 3 days to make up for it.

@ Kevin,

Buffets are a tough deal, especially since if you have the typical guy mentality of trying to get the most amount of food for the money. Crushing down 3-4 plates is probably fine if you are an active and growing teen, but not a great idea for someone who is in their mid 20's or beyond. That being said…fun to do every now and then.

@ Wolverine,

I haven't noticed a lot of upper body tightening from HIIT, except for the abs and mid section. The cool thing though is that the lower body fat will increase definition over you entire body…upper body included. One thing that does tighten up the upper body to a certain extent is jumping rope.It seems to add a little more detail to the shoulders.

@ Robert,

I do 2 focused ab workouts per week, but have done as many as 4 per week. I think 2-3 per week is plenty. I would recommend 2 plank holds for roughly 2 minutes. Followed by 4-5 sets of the ab roller. Vary up the reps on the ab roller every 4-6 weeks. I used to stick to lower reps done slowly, but once that becomes easy there is some benefit of doing sets of 20 reps. As long as you are in a calorie deficit and doing tough cardio this will work well.

@ Joseph,

You could have a dollar ice cream cone every day and be fine. Probably the best time to have it would be an hour after training (or playing basketball, sports, etc.). Try to increase the resistance on some of those body weight exercises to add some size to the arms. I think 12-15 reps is good for size…especially sarcoplasmic muscle growth, but you are missing the growth that comes from lower rep and heavier lifting as well. Lunges and weighted step ups are fine. Even squats aren't the worst thing to do for a few months to add a little size to the legs…I just don't think most people need to do them long-term. The problem is when people feel that the squat is the king of exercises and keep doing them, year after year. This is when they have the potential to ruin the physique in my opinion…and create a thick waist, big butt, etc.

@ Robert,

I allow myself junk food…I probably could have worded that section better. I eat large amounts of food every once in a while, just not crazy amounts that I used to eat. Martin eats some huge meals and I used to do that…I just get better results and it feels healthier if I don't eat massive portions. I love his "cheesecake mastery" posts. He also can take down a serious amount of meat.

@ Double J,

Yeah…I recommend ESE more than any other eating guide for that reason.

@ David – Stay Fit Nutrition,

Great pointer..nobody has every got fat from eating too many vegetables.

@ Christian,

You can either cut back on the weekend, or be stricter throughout the week. I actually think it is easier to tighten up a bit during the week. Honestly…eat for pure function Mon-Thursday and keep the total daily calories low…allow yourself to get hungry, etc. This is the extra push you will need to reach your goals.

@ Kelly,

The face will always change a bit when getting lean. Usually it is a great thing, because the face takes on a more angular and youthful appearance. Like you said, people just have to get used to it…kind of like getting a new haircut (for those who aren't hair challenged like me).

@ Chris,

I am convinced that you have to get hungry in some way or another if you want to get lean. Not only is it okay, it is almost unavoidable. People love to sell the idea of getting lean without ever getting hungry. This sells a lot of books, diet plans, etc…but it simply isn't accurate. It doesn't have to be miserable…when my stomach is empty and I'm a little hungry I find I have the most energy. A cup of tea is all it takes to settle the stomach…the cool thing is that tea has antioxidants as a bonus.

@ Liam,

The general and average population is heading towards obesity. It is true that the lean people are going to be the exception rather than the norm. Compared to the people that your friends and family run into on a daily basis, my guess is that you will look a little strange. This wasn't the case 100 years ago…or even 50-60 years ago. I have heard crazy obesity predictions that make me worried. It doesn't sound like you are obsessed. My view is that being lean is not the most important thing in the world…I just feel I will age more gracefully, with less health challenges if I avoid putting on a bunch of excess body fat. Being a little lighter also feels better in my opinion.

@ The Spaniard,

Speaking of the World Cup…all those guys look great…not too much muscle, lean, etc. I was rooting for Denmark, only because they were underdogs. I was happy when Spain won, however. Both teams deserved a win…it was a fun final to watch.

@ KenG,

Those marathon guys can eat crazy dense calorie foods and stay slim. It would be hard to be surrounded by that.

@ Denmark,

I was rooting for your country to win the World Cup. I saw a cool lead in story about your fans, your coaches, etc. It was hard to pick a side because from what I have seen in pictures and movies I love Spain as well. I was pulling for Denmark in the final. Maybe in 4 years?

@ KenG,

I don't think 6 pack abs are super important. I do like to teach people how to get them if that is their goal. To be honest a natural lean and somewhat defined build like a surfer is a great goal. If you look great in clothes and don't have a protruding belly and some muscle definition, then you have won in my opinion. Getting extra lean and all of that can be fun, but isn't important in the grand scheme of things.

@ Will,

You should allow yourself to train even on a full stomach…not as good as going on an empty stomach…but much better than not training.

@ Hazman,

Are you pretty hungry on 3-4 of those days…or hungry all the time. What you may be in need of is strategic re-feeds. every once in a while, you should have 2 carb heavy days and eat 3-4 meals on those days. Don't go nuts but eat a decent amount. You will look a little less lean after the second day, but now your body is ready to burn fat again. Go 5-8 days low cal…then another re-feed. This is a way to zig-zag your way to your goal. It takes some experimenting and tweaking, but can work well.

@ Clement,

I would recommend doing conditioning for just 20-30 minutes and do it on your lifting days…this will give you full rest days on Tues and Thursday…which is a better approach in my opinion. As far as 5X5 goes…I like to do the first set light, the second set with a heavier weight and then the 3, 4, and 5th sets with your "work weight". This is a safe approach and works well. Since you are only doing 3 work sets you can use a slightly heavier weight than if you did 5 full work sets.

@ katie,

You will most likely lose hip fat last…after you have lost fat on the rest of your body. It is hard to say how long it will take, but just keep making forward progress and you will get there.

@ ted,

That is a great suggestion for a post. I will make a note.

@ Jordan,

I do think people have a set weight to a certain extent and they can go above it a bit or below it a bit. I also think people look best when they don't stray too far from that set weight. John Barban has all sort of cool podcasts about this. Clink that link in this post that goes to his "Are You Overtraining" podcast…then dig around his site. Anyway…funny you should mention this. I graduated high school at around 180 pounds and was pretty lean…I lifted like crazy in high school and added a lot of muscle. I went up to 225 ish in a few years. Fast forward 18 years and now I'm in the 185-190 range. I'm slightly leaner than when I graduated high school. I have 3-4 times the muscle definition, but pretty close to that set weight. My body likes to be around 180-190. When I was 225 pounds, it just didn't look right. It is funny how it works. Dwayne Johnson looks great at around 220…and look lean and slim to a certain extent. Brad Pitt looks great at 160'ish. Dwayne is taller but is still much bigger for his height than Brad Pitt. When Brad Pitt bulked up for Troy, he looked "off". If Dwayne Johnson slimmed down to 185 it would look strange as well. They both look great because they are lean and around their body weight set point.

@ Sherah,

A lot of people do simply think being in great shape is just not attainable. A lot of people blame genetics and all of that. I don't think it is the most important thing in the world, but it feels good to be in top shape. I think exercise is important to do on a regular basis throughout someone's life time. My thoughts are if you are going to exercise any way, why not do it in a way which burns the most fat. So getting lean and looking great is just an added bonus of a healthy habit. The funny thing is that if you know what you are doing, you can accomplish this without having to do anything extreme.

Awesome comments everyone! Keep them coming,

-Rusty

Thanks again Rusty, that sounds good, do you think its just a plateu then, my body has gotten use to eating less that its adjusted to just maintain at that level, so a carb re feed, should kick start my system again, and then back to low cal, to burn fat once again, sounds like a good way of making it work, but what kind of carbs would you suggest? Vegetables and loads of it, or denser carbs such as pasta or rice etc with loads of protein too!

Thanks a lot for your comments, Rusty. I'll let you know how my training goes!

I think a lot of guys myself included want a six pack and if you diet to get one and don't have a decent amount of muscle mass you will look a little thin. I decided I was going to build a foundation first then focus on the six pack! Kinda like the cart before the horse without it…

One thing that hindered me in the past was getting too small… You bulk hard for a while to get some mass, only to see it all disappear when you cut down. It was a real mental block to get below a certain bodyweight (probably still is, but since I'm heavier I'm still above my "low water mark".

Also, I start second guessing myself after a couple of weeks on a diet (that's why I only diet for 4 weeks in a row these days .. diet hard and get it over with )

Also.. make a simple plan and stick to it. The 20/80 rule certainly applies. No need to over-complicate things. Keep track of the forest and don't lose yourself making a detailed study of the bark on the trees.

LOL Daniel )

I've definitely justified "I had a good workout, I can afford the calories" before. Now a good workout just pumps me up to eat healthier and put that good workout to good use.

My fat-loss-head-game that i've seen is the "if I eat this I can exercise it off later." I don't take exercise into account when I calculate my caloric needs. Period. It all works out over time. My body will take the calories it needs to function, I'm sure of it.

I think another one to add to the 'mind game' list would have to be that sinking feeling you get after youve just had a 'cheat meal' on the weekend. You think 'bugger it, ive blown it'

We often forget that we need to have such rewards to stay mentally sane and remain focussed in the gym, and it won't affect your fat loss, more than likely it will force your body to once again adapt and 'improve'.

Clint

Rusty… I think you covered just about everything but I'll add something. What about consistency? I have seen people jump from one thing to another to lose fat if it promises to do just that at the end. I have been guilty of this one myself when I first started out.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the "all or nothing" approach to fat loss, fitness, etc. I think it is patently wrong to view anything in such black and white terms. Life is lived in a "grey area." Fat loss in no different.

When people embark upon their fat loss goals, most will endeavor not to skip a workout, or meal. While that's laudbale, life happens LOL. Instead of viewing your program as a failure on account of one "mistake," people need to dust themselves off and get back on the horse. Success is about doing the right thing the MAJORITY of the time, whether that is 80-90%.

Too many times people will eat something they shouldn't have, or miss a workout, then think everything is a failure. Wrong. If they mitigate the damage by eating clean the rest of the day, or exercising later, then the damage will be minimal, in most cases.

To human, is too err. We are not cyborgs, therefore do not expect perfection. However, do your best, learn from your mistakes, and committ to this new lifestyle over the long haul, and you will be fine.

For some one like me who has 70 pounds to lose, I've had lots of problems keeping focus on what matters and what my goals are. But in my book the number one head game is "I've been losing weight, a little extra food would not make a difference" another big one is "I've got so much to lose, this is taking too much time" But the weigh took time to get on, it will take time to come off!!!

I totally agree with you, Rusty – losing weight is all in the mind. And I like the way you've put it as a "mind game".

We play games to make excuses, but we can just as well use "mind games" to benefit our weight loss.

I get really frustrated when diets address the nutrition, the exercise, and sometimes the motivation part, but they leave out the "glue" that holds it all together – the mind part of the equation.

IMHO the top 3 pitfalls, when it comes to making excuses for not working out or not being healthy overall, are:

1. Procrastination – man – that covers just about 60-70% of common excuses )
2. Not having a "WHY" – or a reason to be healthy or lose weight etc.
3. Not making yourself and your health a priority in your life! People always tend to think that their job is a priority, or their social life, or something else. The truth however, is that neither of the other priorities will exist if our health is not good…

Thanks for starting up a good debate )

How about – It's , I can "enjoy" myself, right!?

Unfortunately, the holidays, weekends, and other excuses start to become more frequent shortly thereafter.

Great post Rusty. The psychology behind diet and weight training is very intriguing indeed. Especially, since for the most part, we're all aware of these excuses we come up for ourselves, yet fail to avoid them.

I think one thing I'd add to the conversation is we should not underestimate the role FEAR plays in weight loss. For a lot of people there is an emotional attachment to food. I don't want to get too deep or philosophical here, but just Google "fear weight loss" and you'll see what I'm referring to.

-Mark

Sorry – first line of my comment didn't come through…meant to say:

How about: It's —insert holiday here— I can "enjoy" myself, right!?

Great post Rusty. One thing I have found is getting caught up in trying to fit all the "healthy" foods in to meals. It can lead to a massive amount of food if you are trying to get all the benefits of all the different kinds of foods in the one day. Eating a varied mix of meals over a week is generally enough to get all the nutrients and vitamins you need, trying to cram it all in each day will just mess with your head!

Great post — cuts through a lot of crapola. As a 51-yr-old guy who's been fighting the good fight against sloth and excess-poundage for a long time, I can tell you I've heard all of these trendy dodges a few times, and tried them all, too. It always comes back to the bottom-line issue of "calories-in vs. calories-out," and the fitness thing you can do in hundreds of ways…just so long as you actually do it. And keep doing it, and don't take long breaks from doing it. Break for injuries, don't obsessively overtrain if you're a pain-junkie, and work within reasonable parameters for your level of fitness, while always striving to be better.

Finally, I want to recommend the training program that worked the best for me: Joining the US Army at the age of 19. In boot camp I lost 25 lbs in 8 weeks, upped my strength tremendously, had ripped-abs for the first and last time in my life, and wore size 34 waist pants for the last time in my life. I'm still in pretty decent shape, but I struggle to stay in the 36-inch waist pants.

What's the Army secret? Well, it's pretty simple. You don't take days off, you start early in the morning and continue moving all day, and you mix it up with lots of different "fun" exercises, that force you to keep your head in the game. The pounds melt away as if by magic!

Very thought provoking post indeed Rusty. Good for you.

I purchased Tom Venuto's e-book "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle," a few years back, and can't begin to tell you what a valulable tool it has been. Tom does a GREAT job of addressing the psychology of fat loss, and how our subconscious mind is what dictates our actions on a daily basis.

It's the thoughts and emotions fermenting within our subconscious mind that will ultimately determine whether we are successful in our battle of the bulge. If you can change your self-image, and rid yourself of the negative self-talk that keeps sabotaging your attempts at fat loss, then you can be successful.

That all comes about by reprogramming the subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind basically guides you like a missle in route to its target. By reprogamming it with positive thoughts and affirmations, you can harness the powers within and have your subconscious mind become a goal seeking machine.

It takes a great deal of repetition and positive reinforcement to get to that point, but once you do, the fat will start melting off of you so fat your head will spin LOL. No longer will you be your own worst enemy, and instead will achieve things you never thougt imaginable.

Amen, to that brother!

Wow, I've used most of these excuses before… the challenge is training yourself to a level where you look for excuses to train rather than not train…. when you gain the habit to that level is when the difference is made.. I'm forwarding your post to about 20 people I know that I've heard these excuses from..

I wish someone would address the real problem of weight loss and dieting: sugar addiction.

Calorie restriction, satiety, will power and motivation are tremendously impeded because of sugar addiction. We all have time. We all know how to eat right and train right. But very, very few manage to part ways with junk food because its so addictive and gets you high. This is the real source of the mind games: dancing around with the guilt and rationalization of ones daily junk food splurge/binge.

If a successful method for getting the great drug of sugar out of our lives were created, it would end the mind games and clear the way for true fitness.

The hardest thing for me was to cut the amount of sweets, crisps, chocolate etc. So I just made sure each week to cut the amount down until now I just have a pack of crisps and a chocolate bar at the weekend as a cheat.

I do the eat stop eat, train weights 3 times a week and just started the tacfit bodyexercises mentioned in another post.

I eat a lot more healthier now but if I want a macdonalds I will get one if I'm out.

As long as I eat less of what I already eat I know I will lose weight. I choose to eat healthier because I know it will get me into better shape quicker and make quicker gains. But most importantly I enjoy what I eat now because if I didn't then I wouldn't stand a chance.

DragonMatt

You are right about your point, trying to cram a bunch of exercises in a single day is not advisable.

I have read on a blog called rosstraining.com about an ex boxer who has a simple 6 day workout program, he does weight training on one day and on the next he would work on the heavy bag and run up a steep hill, he would repeat this 3 times a week.

Simple but effective, the guy is in his 40s and the blog author says that the guy looks great for his age.

-Alex Allmert

[...] your mind right might be the most important factor in your fat loss quest.  Check out Fat Loss Head Games from Rusty over at [...]

[...] your mind right might be the most important factor in your fat loss quest.  Check out Fat Loss Head Games from Rusty over at [...]

I hate it when I hear people say something like, "I have already gone over my calorie range for the day, so I might as well go all out and eat everything in sight." No people, those calories count as well!

Rusty, as far as upping your metabolism, what are you thoughts on working the large muscle groups?
Many people that I have talked to (or that have talked to me) seem to really get stuck on dieting or fat loss almost to the point of paralysis.
I have encouraged people, that while they are sorting out their eating strategies, work and train the large muscle groups in an effort to maximize the ability to burn calories.
Thoughts anyone?

hi!
quick question..is it ok to use EZ BAR for military presses?
thanks

this article have covered all the elements which are really done in our mind

Its awesome because I am a big fan of this blog and I came here after getting a big meal of junk food and I was wondering why the hell, after so much effort, expectation and commitment to my goal I find myself doing the opposite voluntarily. It just seems crazy.

I live in Mexico and here food (and how calorie heavy mexican food is!) plays a big role in family attachment and celebration. So in some degree, food must be present anytime you want to reward or celebrate something.

So food is like a Happiness Token. If you are unhappy, eat to be happy. If you are happy, eat to be even happier!

If my life goes bad, Im gonna break my diet and eat this! Anything its worthwile, my diet sucks, life sucks.

If my life goes well, Im gonna break my diet and eat this! Ive just earned it, my diet has going well, Im reaching my goal, I deserve it.

As a fun, happy and social person my most frequent mind trick is a sense of "Pleasure and Rewards Stacking". Its weekend, Ive doing well at working out, Ive doing well at my personal projects, I find myself having fun, laughing, hitting on girls well, partying hard or just chilling out, being with my best friends feeling like a rockstar and sucessful and loved guy… just one more thing woul do things even better… TASTY FOOD! rejecting the chance to eat something delicious and forbidden would just ruin the perfect vibe! I must eat this and feel how awesome life is…

Thanks Rusty! My questions are…
you focus your nutrition posts at fasting and calories intake. But how the actual food that you take inside that fasting and calories affect you? Like… fasting then eating 800 cals of chicken and salad… VS fasting then eating 800 cals of ice cream, pasta, chocolate and cookies…

And… Do drinking tea or coffee breaks the fasting? Or do strenghet it?

Drinking tea or coffee during the fasting, I meant….

This is a fantastic post. I agree with most of it and have to say the list is pretty complete. Only thing I would add is that: Cheat days are not allowed because cheat days lead to cheat weeks.

Michael A,
I have to somewhat disagree. I think scheduled cheat days are an earned right though, and as such should be avoided until discipline had been proven. I was on a discipline heavy diet and had practically not cheated at all for weeks straight (somewhere between 4 and 8 weeks, losing 20-30 lbs in that time frame) and I'd basically been burnt out.
I decided to schedule a once a week, one meal cheat agreement. That Saturday night (for dinner) I had a king size Snickers bar and a 24 oz Monster. It was awesome, it was rewarding, and when I stepped on the scale the next morning to see I had done slight, though reparable damage, it pumped me up in a way. It told me that I was doing the right thing, it was working and I could enjoy myself a little.

Cheating needs to be done in small, moderate, spaced out doses. Cheat "days" are too much if you ask me.

Have to say I agree that the cheat days lead to cheat weeks.( been there don't that!)! If you have the will power… I guess it can work. The mind games are huge…. If you don't believe that you can have a lean body it won't ever happen! NO matter what you do…. You might get it for a while, but then you slack off…. and why the slack… what are you telling yourself? It is a never ending journey to think and do lean.

I'm 5'-8" and 145 lbs, age 48. Trying to loose those last few pounds in the belly, but now my face looks like a POW (was 160 at my heaviest). So I tell myself "your too thin", (and so does everyone else!). I want my face to fill out, but I still have a gut. I'm built like a ruler so the stomach sticks out. What can I do? Is this just a head game or do I have to look sick inorder to have a flat stomach?

HMMM…. definetly d 1 where i decide 2 diet den along d line i eat way 2 much of a particular meal nd den decide 2 eat every damn thing i see 4 d rest of d day nd den tell mi self dat i'll burn it all off d nxt day. still struggling wit it though, i jst kant get ova d hunga craving no more. nd ve been training for 6months so y is dis happening 2 me naww!!?? i'll try 2 get ova it in d cumming weeks b4 i head up 2 skul. but 4 wat its worth am gonna b eating gudddd 2dae lol!!

Great post. I definitely need these tips after my culinary-rich summer vacation! Any post suggestions for tips on what exercises to do to lose body fat without gaining too much muscle mass?
Merci!

Good article. Prete I would do high intensity circuit training for weight loss. Excercise choice is not as important as intensity. Try to get a full body workout. I do mini circuits with dumbells: Each circuit I rotate exercises without rest.

Circuit 1
Wide-Grip Pullup
Dumbell Squat
Swiss-Ball Plank

Circuit 2
Close-Grip Pullup
Dumbell Fly
Swiss-Ball Crunch

Circuit 3
Shrugs
Incline Dumbell Fly
Hanging Knee Raises

Circuit 4
Dumbell Row
Lunges
Calf Raises w/dumbells

Circuit 5

Circuit 5
Shoulder Press
Curls
Triceps Extensions
Hammer Curls

Circuit 6
Dumbell Front Raise
Dumbell Kickback
Lateral Raise

Do three sets of each exercise in the circuit and finish each set in no more than five minutes. Take no longer than two minutes to recoup before beginning the next circuit(IDEALLY 1 MINUTE). Rest for your muscles is built into the routine with core exercises in the first three circuits and with alternating isolation exercises in circuit 5 and 6. This workout routine will boost your metabolism like HIIT training but also increase your metabolism for days like traditional weight lifting training. This is a full body workout that will be completed in no more than 40 minutes. Take two days off between workout sessions and enjoy life!

Great post!!!!!!!!!! You summed it up perfectly. Just take action, measure your results, and allow said results to dictate your approach.

Hey I think your personal opinions a pretty informative. I think you are very accurate with your info

You summed up some pretty inappropriate schools of thinking when it comes to fat loss. I definitely agree with you on the note that fat loss, fitness, or anything else is purely a mind's game. You need to put your heart into it, acknowledge that it is going to take some time before you start seeing results.

[...] Black Book recently included a weight loss article that I really liked.  The article is really trying to address the most common excuses that people [...]

Glad that there are kind of self-help strategies here like this. One fault I think people encounter when fat loss seems more difficult is that they try to many things at the same time, like having short-attention span, especially when not seeing results in a few weeks or so.

Fat loss should be as simple as possible for us. We have to find a few guidelines that we can live by from reliable sources like Rusty's blog and get consistent with it.

Oh man. I know I've fallen for at least one of these at some point. And then like someone on the comment board said, there's this one where you eat a few bad things and decide to keep eating bad since the calorie deficit for the day has been messed up anyway. I fall for that the most!!

Rusty,

this is incredibly interesting!
It all starts in the mind, doesn't it?

Arnie always keeps saying:

"Make your mind work FOR you, instead of AGAINST you!"

I think it's so important that I'm talking at length about this in my weight loss Mind Motivators and in the Psychology of Weight Loss articles.

Procrastination, lack of perseverance, but funny enough, also lack of the correct info are often responsible for failure.

Think about it:
Many actually bring up the will and motivation, but their efforts are not rewarded because they're simply following the wrong information … and then they quit!

Imagine they had the best, most perfect and effective guidelines from the start, so would see rapid results straight away!

I'm sure a much higher % would actually pull it through then, don't you agree?

Mark

I think everyone can relate to the head games. The worst one is when your losing weight and it looks like your flabbier because as soon as you think your doing something wrong you lose that consistency you had.

Regular body fat tests and outside opinions for the win.