Top 6 Priorities for Healthy Fat Loss

Here’s a quick reference guide with brief explanations of what should be prioritized in order to lose weight, maintain healthy muscle tissue, and improve your physical health through key lifestyle habits.

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Top Six Priorities for Healthy Fat Loss: (in order)

1. Modest Calorie Deficit (10%-15% below maintenance)

   • Many people will be surprised at our recommendation of 10%-15% below maintenance when the most common advice for fat loss is to reduce your daily intake by 500 calories. While a 500-calorie reduction will result in fat loss, this recommendation is not tailored to the individual client, and many people find that it is unsustainable for healthy fat loss, especially if you’re trying to build muscle at the same time.

2. High Protein Intake (0.8 - 1.1 grams per pound of body weight)

   • Clients are often surprised at how much protein we recommend. We recommend a protein-focused diet for the following reasons:

     • Protein has the highest thermic effect meaning it costs the body the most energy to digest and absorb

     • Protein helps curb your appetite (partly because it requires more work to break down)

     • Protein provides cellular structure (the cytoskeleton) and musculoskeletal structure (muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, fascia)

     • Protein repairs existing tissue and builds new tissue

     • Protein transports vitamins, minerals, and oxygen

3. Strength Training 2-4 times per week

   • Habitual strength training builds muscle, and higher muscle mass increases metabolic rate. Strength training also provides additional fat loss benefits by increasing energy expenditure after your workout via the repair and recovery process. In order to build new muscle tissue, you need a high enough protein intake to repair your existing muscle tissue with enough left over to create new muscle, hence our protein recommendation.

4. Daily Activity (7,000 - 10,000 steps per day)

   • Sufficient walking helps to tire your body, creates additional energy expenditure, and when done outdoors can help regulate your circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycles). A body in motion uses more energy than a body at rest (duh), but that motion does not need to be sprints or long-distance jogs (unless you want to).

5. Quality Sleep (7 - 9 hours)

   • Sleep is the most underutilized performance enhancement tool. So many people are chronically sleep-deprived that the idea of sleeping 8 full hours seems laughable. One night of insufficient sleep can cause temporary insulin resistance on par with Type II diabetics as well as increased sugar cravings and reduced cognitive restraint, meaning you’ll be more likely to crave junk food and much less likely to resist or redirect that temptation. Quality sleep is what allows your body to recover from your workouts, and your brain to form new pathways that will help reinforce your new habits.

6. Consistency & Patience

   • An average rate of weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week over the course of a month is an incredibly successful pace for sustainable fat loss. Do not let the scale be your only marker of progress. At Center Circle Health & Fitness, we prioritize fat loss over weight loss, meaning that body composition (gauged by circumference measurements, how your clothes fit, and progress pictures) and health outcomes will always be more important than the number on the scale.