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Are you struggling to get shredded, stuck on a dreaded fat loss plateau where no workout or diet you try is giving you the results you want? There can be a number of reasons why you’re not successful at getting lean. But if I had to guess, I’d say that at least one of the four reasons below is likely responsible for your stalled fat loss.
These tips range from nutrition to training to supplements. Get on board with them and your physique will be on the fast track to being shredded.
1) Increase your protein intake
You might wonder what increasing your protein intake has to do with losing body fat. A high protein diet only affects muscle building and strength levels, right? Fake. Consuming more protein could also help you lose weight.
Here is some compelling evidence. A study by researcher Jose Antonio and published in a 2016 issue of Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition place the trained subjects on one of two diets: one diet providing 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day (i.e. 200 grams of protein for a 200 pound person) and the other 1.5 grams per pound per day (300 grams of protein for a 200 pound).
Study results revealed that those who consumed 1.5 grams per pound per day lost an average of 5 more pounds of body fat over an 8-week period than those who consumed 1 gram per pound, despite consuming 500 more calories per day. It’s not a typo. The group consuming 500 more calories per day lost more fat. It’s safe to say that this happened because those extra calories came from protein, since higher protein intake increases metabolic rate and energy expenditure.
The bottom line is clear: to maximize fat loss, aim to consume 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day. Getting all of that from food would be great, but it’s not practical for most people. This is where protein powders come in; Not only are they convenient, but they fit very easily into any macronutrient-focused diet because most powders are mostly protein with very little carbs or fat.
If you are looking for a high quality protein powder, I have three great products to choose from, all of which are available at vitamin store: Pro JYMwhich is a blend of whey, casein and egg protein; Iso JYM, which is pure whey protein isolate (WPI); and JYM plantpurely vegetable, composed of pea and rice protein isolates.
2) Eat the right carbs at the right time
Of the three macronutrients, carbohydrates are by far the most confusing to people. Carbohydrates also tend to be one of the main reasons people hit fat loss plateaus and become frustrated with their results. Because I don’t want to confuse anyone further, I’ll try to keep my carb tips very simple.
First of all, cutting out carbs completely all at once (via a very low carb or no carb diet like keto) is one of the worst things you can do. Sure, you could have great short term results where you lose a ton of weight in a matter of weeks. Besides the fact that this short-term weight loss is mostly water and not fat, the main problem with drastically dropping carb intake is that once your fat loss stops, where are you going If you’ve already cut out all carbs, you can’t drop them anymore! This makes people frustrated and discouraged, which usually leads to stopping the diet altogether and gaining all the weight back.
Here’s a better solution: start your diet with about 2 grams of carbs per pound of body weight (which will allow you to enjoy lots of the carb-rich foods you enjoy), and stick with it as long as you are still seeing results in fat loss. Once you’ve plateaued and are no longer losing fat, reduce your carb intake by just 0.25 grams per day (down to 1.75 grams per day), sticking to that as long as you get good results. From there, repeat the process: Reduce your carb intake by 0.25 grams per day when the fat loss stops. It’s a much more sustainable and enjoyable approach.
So, what types of carbs to eat? Again, I’ll keep this simple. Choose low-glycemic carbohydrate sources such as oats, potatoes, vegetables, and fruits at all times of the day, except immediately after workouts. Post-workout, opt for fast-digesting carbs (i.e. sugars) from sources like white bread or any source high in dextrose (glucose). Pixy Stix and Haribo Gummy Bears are my two favorite sources of dextrose-rich post-workout carbs, and I also have a post-workout carb product – Fast Digesting Carbohydrates Post JYM. After workouts, fruit is actually not an ideal source of carbs; the fruit is high in fructose, which is not as easily processed by the body as dextrose or glucose.
So that’s carbs in a nutshell: don’t drop them too soon, go for fast carbs after workouts, and go for slow carbs any other time.
3) Take a fat burner that actually works
Don’t get me wrong, maximizing fat loss mostly comes down to good nutrition and a consistent training program that boosts metabolic rate and burns calories through adequate volume and high intensity (among other variables). But to get that little bit of extra leaning help, a fat-burning supplement can definitely help.
The problem is that most fat burners on the market are made up of stimulants and very few (if any) ingredients that are actually shown in scientific research to help the body burn fat safely and effectively.
When I started JYM Supplement Science in 2013, I was determined to formulate a fat burner that actually worked – but without the marketing hype promising some kind of “magic pill”. My first fat burner was Shred JYM, and it has proven to be a very effective product that I have taken myself (along with many thousands of others) for years. More recently, I came up with an even better fat loss product based on newer research. This product is my SS8 Advanced Fat Burneralso available on vitamin store.
SS8 contains 10 research-backed ingredients, some of which are also contained in my original Shred JYM formula. (I’ve listed all 10, including doses, below.) Collectively, these ingredients aid fat loss via three mechanisms: (1) help prevent body fat storage; (2) promoting the conversion of fat into “active” tissue; and (3) help the body burn more calories.
One good thing about SS8 is that you only have to take it once a day (via a four-capsule dose), with or without food. Of course, what’s really great about the SS8 is that it actually works to give you that extra little fat-burning boost!
SS8 Advanced Fat Burner Ingredients
- 400 mcg Chromax® Chromium Picolinate
- 5g Acetyl-L-Carnitine
- 555 mg of green tea extract
- 100 mg caffeine anhydrous
- 200mg ZumXr® Timed-Release Caffeine
- 5mg Yohimbe
- 500mcg Rauwolscine
- 40 mg CaloriBurn® (Grains of Paradise)
- 500mg of L-Tyrosine
- 50 mg of Capsimax® cayenne pepper extract
4) Optimize your training intensity
Your training should always align with your goals, especially when it comes to maximizing fat loss. The main training variables that directly impact fat loss are training frequency, training volume, exercise selection, and training intensity.
When it comes to training frequency, I mean the number of times per week you train each major muscle group. For fat loss, your best bet is to train each muscle group at least twice a week, possibly three times or more. A “bro split,” where you only train one or two muscle groups a day, and hit each only once a week, is do not your best bet for losing fat. Instead, you should either do a full body split where each muscle group is trained 3-5 days a week; a 3-day split repeated twice for six weekly workouts (each muscle group trained twice a week); or a 2-day split (i.e. upper-lower split) repeated three times per week so that each muscle group is trained three times per week.
Regarding training volume, if your frequency is consistent with what I just explained in the previous paragraph, your volume should be sufficient. Simply put, a relatively high training volume is ideal for losing body fat because it will cause you to hit more muscle fibers and therefore burn more calories.
Keep in mind that the volume or amount of work you do lifting weights also greatly influences how your body uses and stores carbohydrates. Essentially, carbohydrates are needed to fuel high-intensity weight training sessions and are also preferentially stored in muscles after exercise as glycogen. The net effect can be less energy from carbohydrates available to be stored as fat, which over time makes a dramatic difference in your body fat levels.
That’s why I recommend at least 20 sets per workout on all muscle groups you are training that day.
When it comes to exercise selection, you want to do as many compound (multi-joint) exercises as possible – instead of building your routine around isolation (single-joint) movements. Compound exercises like squats, lunges, presses, and rows will stimulate the most muscle fibers, which will burn more calories during and after workouts, and overall maximize your resting metabolic rate.
Finally, the intensity of the workout. The key here isn’t so much to go light as to train heavy, because the truth is that high reps and light weights and low reps and heavy weights can be very effective at burning fat. The important thing is to train to failure whether you go light or heavy. You don’t need to fail all your sets, but if you want to maximize fat loss, you should take at least most of your sets to the point of complete muscle fatigue.
Another variable that directly affects intensity is rest periods; Generally speaking, the shorter the rest periods between sets, the higher the intensity. That’s not to say you can’t lose weight by resting 2-3 minutes between sets, because you certainly can if your nutrition is on point. But for best results, try to limit rest periods to 60 seconds or less when your primary goal is fat loss.
One last thing: cardio. The research is very clear that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is far superior for fat loss than low-intensity steady-state cardio. You’re better off sticking to short, intense cardio sessions (like tabatas and work-to-rest ratios in the 1:1 or 2:1 range) rather than wasting your time with 30-60 minute sessions. on a piece of cardio equipment. Steady-state cardio has its place, but it’s not very effective for fat loss.
When it comes to training to maximize fat burning, keep it frequent, keep it intense, and always focus on “big” compound exercises.
The references:
Antonio, J., et al. The effects of a high-protein diet on health and body composition indices – a crossover trial in resistance-trained men. Int Soc Sports Nutr 13:3, 2016.
Romijn J, Coyle E, Sidosis L, Gastaldelli A, Horowitz J, Endert E, et al. Regulation of endogenous fat and carbohydrate metabolism as a function of exercise intensity and duration. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 1993;265(3):E380–91.
van Loon LJ, Greenhaff PL, Constantin-Teodosiu D, Saris WH, Wagenmakers AJ. The effects of increasing exercise intensity on muscle fuel utilization in humans. J Physiol.
This content is provided by our partners at PRO JYM.
