I get emails all the time from people wondering how to lose stubborn fat, so that’s what I’m going to address in this article — how to loose it for good.
What Is Stubborn Fat?
Wow, what a question — what makes stubborn fat so stubborn? Well, there are actually a lot of reasons for this, and I if you want to get in depth with getting rid of your stubborn fat then I suggest you check out Lyle McDonald’s excellent (and exhaustive) book The Stubborn Fat Solution.
But here’s a basic run down of what makes stubborn fat so hard to get rid of:
- Already Low Body Fat – your fat isn’t stubborn yet if you’re grossly overweight. Most people won’t encounter REAL stubborn fat until they’re at least 10% body fat (men) or 15% bodyfat (women)… then certain areas like the lower stomach for men and the legs for women seem to be extra stubborn to burn.
- Sex hormones – women gain stubborn fat in their hips, butts and legs while men get a lot of it around their waists…
- Blood flow – these areas storing calories don’t get as much blood flow as areas where you easily burn away fat…
- Adrenocepters - the lower body (women) and stomach (men) stubborn fat cell areas have higher levels of the “bad” kind of adrenoceptors–the kind that blocks fat burning and blood flow (which makes it harder to burn fat in these areas)
So that’s an overview of why stubborn fat is hard to get rid of, now here’s your 4-step plan of attack to keep getting at it…
1. Realize Consistency Is Everything
Here’s the thing: stubborn fat shows how stubborn it is when you’ve already lost a lot of weight… when you’re already down to a generally low body fat level… and it’s just “those last couple pounds!”
So what you have to remember is that it will eventually come off, but it’s going to take time. Yes, I know you hate to hear it, but it takes patience to get these stubborn fat areas to melt away.
Just keep at it. If you keep working 1% towards your goal every single day, then you’re 7% ahead at the end of the week, 30% ahead at the end of the month, and over 300% further in your goal by the end of the year! Small actions each day really build up over time.
2. Keep Eating Clean
Probably the worse thing you could do is to just give up on your diet totally because you’re not seeing fast enough results.
That’s a no-no! While I won’t get into the details here, there are certain fat loss benefits to making sure you have “feed” days and “cheat” days in your diet to avoid stagnation and avoid your metabolism slowing down (if you’ve been going low calorie for a LONG time)… but that’s beyond the scope of this article.
In the meantime, keep eating clean, follow the The Perfect Muscle Building, Fat Burning Diet Plan and you should still be seeing progress…
3. Keep Up The Strength Training
Remember, the more you’re dieting, the less calories you’re eating — the more you need to give your body a “reason” to hold on to the lean muscle you have.
Your lean muscle is essential to your health and you want to ensure you’re burning away fat when you diet and NOT your hard-earned muscle (yes, even if you’re a woman). So keep strength training because this will give your body the excuse it needs to preferentially hold onto lean muscle and burn away fat first.
So stay on the DoubleYourGains’ 3-5 Strength Training, or even bodyweight training if you don’t have access to a gym during this time.
4. May Need To Add in More Cardio
Ok, so I’m a big fan of interval training, you know that by now. But I’m totally stuck in my ways and there’s a time and place for everything.
In my article, Aerobic Exercise – The ONLY 2 Times You Should Do It I talk about why doing aerobic cardio training AFTER your strength training sessions or interval training sessions can be especially useful when you’re trying to remove those last few pounds — fighting stubborn fat. So if you’re going to add to your cardio then I recommend you do it in that way.
Alright, well that’s and overview of why stubborn fat is so stubborn and a 4 step plan on how to lose stubborn fat — enjoy!
