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To summarize the video I will touch on some of the key points:

1) When I talk about chronic dieting I am referring to people who always seem to be trying to lose weight. They are constantly on the lookout for the latest fad diet and will regularly complain that they still just can’t seem to get rid of these last 10 pounds.

As much as these people talk about wanting to lose weight, they never really seem to lose much.

2) Many diets will claim to be a lifestyle change. That’s funny Most of them are so calorie restrictive that it’s impossible to maintain eating such a little amount of food.

Lifestyle change is committing to eating healthy, wholesome, all natural foods, and following a regular fitness program for the rest of your life. Not eating 1200 calories for the rest of your life. Your body will soon adapt to that.

3) So this brings me to my recommendations. First of all I believe that a reduced calorie diet should last for no longer than 12 to 16 weeks. For many people this will be enough to get you to your desired goal.

Did I just say desired goal? Rather than just say I want to lose weight or I’m trying to lose this last 10 pounds, commit to a date that is 12 weeks from today. Give everything that you’ve got for those 12 weeks of fat burning and reach your goal weight and body fat percentage. Setting this date gives it an ending point and makes you realize that you will not have to diet for life.

Now the problem with most 12 week programs is that ending point. What are you planning on doing after you achieve this fat loss goal? You’ve got to look at the big picture. Will you go through a 12 week phase where you maintain this weight and body fat percentage? Will you try to build some muscle? You’ve got to have a goal beyond the goal.

What I’m really getting at is that you should treat a reduced calorie diet as a phase or a cycle. It’s something that you are going to strive for in the short term and then you move onto the next goal. This gets you out of the mentality of “I’m never going to lose this weight” or “I’m going to be on a diet for the rest of my life.”

Now you may be wondering, “What if I’ve got 100 pounds or more to lose. I know I can’t lose that in 12 to 16 weeks.” This is where my advice sometimes gets controversial. Someone who has a goal to lose 100 pounds may say that “I haven’t reached my goal yet, shouldn’t I keep going?” “I don’t want to build muscle, I need to lose fat.”

I say, yes you haven’t reached your ultimate goal of 100 pounds. You need to break your goals down into manageable short term goals and they all need to help you get to your end result. You could break your goal down into 4 12 week goals of 25 pounds of fat loss and that could definitely work and it has worked for many. But from what I’ve heard and experienced with people trying to lose 100 plus pounds is that the last 20 pounds seem to be the most difficult and their motivation is not as strong as it was in the beginning.

I definitely view the muscle building phase as a stepping stone towards your ultimate goal. Not only will you experience the benefits of shaping your body with a muscle building phase, but it will also give you a mental break from fat loss.

Having a new goal to aim for that doesn’t involve restricting calories can be very motivating. When the next fat burning phase comes around you will be refreshed and even more motivated to shed those unwanted pounds of fat.

The switch to muscle building will also provide a nice boost to your metabolism and prevent your body from going into starvation mode.

Now don’t go freaking out about muscle building. I’m not talking about adding huge amounts of bulk to your body. If you add 1 pound of muscle throughout your entire body you will not look freakish at all. In reality you will look more like what you are aiming for.

When I begin training a new female client I will often hear that they want nice rounded shoulders, defined arms, and firm legs and butt. You don’t achieve this by simply dieting. Many times I will not even tell my clients they are on a muscle building program. They give me great feedback and tell me they love how they’re body is looking. When I tell them I’ve got them on a muscle building program, they just about flip even though they were getting the exact results they were looking for.

It’s time that you overcome the fear of muscle building and look at the full benefits of what a it will do to the shape of your body and the motivation and boost that it will give you mentally.

Please feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think of my recommendation or let me know if you have further questions on this topic.

Have an awesome day!!!!

YOUR DREAM BODY AWAITS YOU…

Scott Tousignant, BHK, CFC

www.TheFitChic.com
www.UnstoppableFatLoss.com
www.TheFitBastard.com
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