6 Fat Loss Tips for People Who Work Sedentary Jobs

For many of us, quarantine dramatically reduced the amount of physical activity we were able to perform on a daily basis.

At one point we were literally restricted to confines of our homes, and many of us shifted from working in a traditional office setting to working from our spare bedrooms.

And none of this was our fault.

Unfortunately, our bodies didn't care that it wasn't our fault, and a lot of us put on unwanted body fat due to the reduced amount of daily walking and increased amount of couch-sitting we all did while surfing through every streaming platform known to mankind instead of doing literally anything that would have required us to take an active step out the front door.

But there’s a silver lining.

Now that the evil forces of the “it-who-must-not-be-named” virus of 2020 have mostly been subdued, our freedoms to go here and there and anywhere seem to be reinstated, which means…

Everyone who got pudgy during the pandemic now has the resources they need to improve their body composition.

The only problem?

Some of us are still working highly sedentary remote jobs, which can absolutely be a legitimate obstacle for anyone looking to lose body fat and reveal a harder, leaner physique.

And, of course, this applies to anyone who works a sedentary job whether it’s in-person or remote.

So here are my personal tips for losing body fat if you work from home or sit on your butt elsewhere all day at work.

6 Fat Loss Tips for People Who Work Sedentary Jobs

1. Acknowledge that you're at a BIT OF A disadvantage.

As much as it may stink, the person who walks 15,000 steps per day due to their naturally active lifestyle or vocation (like a construction worker or a landscaper) is going to have an easier time staying lean than the office job guys and gals.

Okay, it stinks.

Now let's move on and quit lamenting an unchanging reality.

If you've got a desk job, you're at a contextual disadvantage, but...

Remember that energy balance always matters most for fat loss.

If that term is new to you, don’t worry.

Energy balance just refers to the laws of thermodynamics that state that you lose weight when you consume fewer calories than you expend. This is the classic “calories in versus calories out” discussion.

So what’s the implication?

You can still lose fat while working a sedentary job, but you’re going to have to be more cautious with your caloric intake than someone whose lifestyle allows them to be more active.

Once you embrace that small disadvantage, you’ll be able to start implementing new habits that fit the specificity of your own unique situation.

2. Get creative about squeezing walks into your day.

Even though plenty of us are working from home now, it’s always an option to be more creative and disciplined when it comes to finding ways to be active.

For example, could you get up early each morning and take a lap or two around the block while listening to a podcast before you settle into your home office?

Is there a Zoom call you need to be "on for" but not visible? Maybe you could walk outside with ear buds while on mute.

Are you a stay-at-home mom? Try to implement family walks and neighborhood adventures to the park a part of the daily routine.

The key is to be creative and solution-oriented when it comes to minimizing the negative effects of a primarily sedentary lifestyle.

3. Come to terms with the reality that your caloric deficit might need to come MOSTLY through a reduction in caloric intake.

Unless you’re able to carve out a ton of time during your day for exercise, it's highly likely that you're going to have to get into a caloric deficit primarily through a reduction in caloric intake instead of an increase in activity.

If you love food, that might not be the most fun in the world, but it might be an unavoidable conclusion if you’re serious about pawning off your spare tire for a slimmer waistline.

On the brighter side, bodybuilders and other physique competitors have been doing this for decades, so can know at the very least that you’re in good (and lean) company.

But what if you really don’t want to reduce your caloric intake?

Firstly, I hear you. I absolutely love eating, so I’ve opted to be the “do more eat more” guy instead of the “do less eat less” guy.

And to this point, remember that you always have the option of adding in more activity in order to eat a bit more food throughout the day.

However, the reality for most people working sedentary jobs is that there just might not be enough time in your day to walk, jog, bike, or row for 45-60 minutes.

Nonetheless, keep in mind that you always have three options when it comes to kickstarting a fat loss effort:

1. Eat fewer calories,

2. Exercise more,

3. Or implement a sneaky combination of both.

In terms of eating fewer calories, you’d probably be best-suited to prioritize lean proteins, voluminous "health foods" like leafy greens, an assortment of unique vegetables and fruits, whole grains, beans, and healthier fats like avocados, nuts, and seeds.

In terms of exercising more, I always encourage people to walk more because it can be done anywhere, it’s free, and it’s easy.

If you wanted to incorporate a bit of both, you could make one of the following example adjustments to get your fat loss journey started:

• Idea 1: “I’m going to set a timer for 20 minutes each morning and walk through my neighborhood during that time. And I’m going to institute a one-plate-and-done rule at dinner. No seconds! Just one well-portioned plate.”

• Idea 2: “I’m going to set an alarm for 11 AM, 1 PM, and 3PM. Each time the alarm goes off, I’m going to walk to the end of the street and back to move my body. And I’m going to swap my two daily sodas for sparkling waters.”

Lastly, this is great time to mention that intermittent fasting can be a powerful strategy for at-home workers.

4. Ditch (or redefine) your snack life.

Arguably the worst temptation of working from home is that your pantry is taunting you from a scalable distance of 20 feet at all times.

So firstly, don't even have that stuff in the house if you really want to set yourself up for success.

Because let’s be honest. It’s unlikely that any of your favorite high-calorie snacks like cheese puffs and Oreos have your top-notch pool bod in mind.

But if you can muster the discipline required to enjoy snacks in moderation, you might consider setting some basic parameters on your snacking habits.

For example, “I don’t snack until 7 PM, but then I allow myself one serving of my snack of choice as a small dessert.”

In most cases, you’ll be able to make room in your diet for one small treat per day like two Oreos or a small bag of Goldfish.

Or you could completely redefine what it means to snack altogether by reaching for apples instead of cookies.

All in all, the key is not to snack mindlessly during the day simply because you’re bored or you happened to walk by the pantry in a moment of weakness.

Snack strategically, and remember that portion control is always important.

5. Push for active hangouts with your friends.

For physique-minded people, it can be discouraging that our most common hangouts in life revolve around foods and drinks that tend to promote caloric overconsumption.

The classic combination?

Pizza and beer.

In an attempt to redirect the narrative a bit, try catching your friends on the front end of a social idea by suggesting an active hangout like walking downtown or going on a hike.

Or maybe you could even invest in a relationship one-on-one simply by having walking dates at a park or anywhere nearby that allows you to get moving.

Better yet? Make it a weekly or biweekly thing.

“On Mondays at 3 PM, I walk with my co-worker Mary around the parking lot for 30 minutes, and every other Friday I walk with an old friend from high school around a nearby lake in the morning before work.”

I've had several clients find both fat loss success and relational meaning in this methodology.

Again, it comes down to being intentional, creative, and disciplined.

6. Experiment with traditional cardio on the incline treadmill or the StairMaster.

I couldn't write an article about this without saying it, but there's no shame in using a machine to help you reach your goals!

If the weather is terrible, don't be Mr. or Mrs. Well It's Raining.

Stop being silly.

Go to the gym and hop on the machine that forces you to walk lest you fall on your face and become a raging, viral TikTok at the expense of your all-but-hardly-remaining dignity.

And if you're really sick and tired of being tubby? Get on the StairMaster.

I actually made an entire video about the StairMaster and how you could leverage it for your fat loss goals, and - spoiler alert - it works if you can survive.

BONUS TIP: CONSIDER HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING OR SOMETHING SIMILAR like crossfit.

Truthfully, I think the best way to combat the negative side effects of working a sedentary job is to start doing CrossFit (or something similar).

But before you write me and my ideas off forever because “CrossFit'“ is a death cult for ego-driven masochists who promote improper technique, let me explain myself.

The beautiful thing about CrossFit is that it forces you to burn a lot of calories in a very short amount of time.

As wonderful as walking is, it takes much longer to burn the same number of calories from walking as it does training in a CrossFit-like manner.

In short, CrossFit is a quick and effective way to burn a lot of calories while placing your body under the stress of heavy loads and unique planes of resistance, which over time leads to increased muscle growth and a more muscular looking physique overall assuming proper overload, diet, and recovery.

More specifically, I think this is particularly good idea for busy people who work sedentary jobs because it ticks both the “lift weights” and “improve your heart health” boxes all in one workout experience.

Plus, most CrossFitters wind up looking pretty jacked over time despite the sport’s focus on fitness over pure aesthetics.

But keep in mind too that you don’t have to do CrossFit to reap these same benefits.

You could adopt a CrossFit-like training style in your own garage with minimal equipment if you’re put off by the price of joining a local CrossFit gym, or you could join a gym with a similar fitness model like Orangetheory.

I just personally think CrossFit (when done well) is superior due to the more advanced weight lifting components than many other gyms fail to incorporate.

Summary

• Working a sedentary job for 40 hours a week does put you at a slight disadvantage when compared to fat loss friends with more active jobs simply due to a lack of caloric expenditure, but…

• Fat loss can always be achieved through a strategic reduction in caloric intake, which means there’s hope for all sedentary workers regardless of how much time you have (or don’t have) to exercise.

• Intermittent fasting can be an excellent dietary strategy for sedentary workers.

• It’s a good idea to eliminate or heavily monitor your snacking habits if you’re looking to lose body fat. Or, start making healthy snacking swaps like trading in your Doritos for clementines.

• When it’s time to hangout with your friends, try to direct your crew toward an active hangout like walking or hiking.

• For those who have the time, don’t be afraid to hit the gym after work just to crank out 15-45 minutes on the incline treadmill or the StairMaster.

• If you’re really looking to combat the negative aspects of a sedentary job, consider joining a CrossFit gym or trying Orangetheory as a time effective way to slash a ton of calories and build strength all at once.

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As always, I really enjoyed writing this article, so if you found it helpful, do me a favor and send it to someone in your life who might be living the desk job life and struggling to keep their weight under control.

Until next time,

-Andrew

How to Use Single-Day Fasting to Lose Fat and Build Muscle

You guys remember when Zoolander dropped in 2001 and Will Ferrell’s Mugatu character couldn’t stop obsessing over Hansel’s hotness?

That’s how I feel about fasting right now in the fitness industry.

Some people think it’s an amazing dietary strategy to help with fat loss (and sometimes even muscle gain) while others believe it’s suboptimal to having more consistent protein feedings across the day in order to maximize muscle protein synthesis.

Some people will tell you it improves insulin sensitivity and boosts natural testosterone levels while others would lead you to believe that it’s putting you at risk of muscle loss.

So which is it?

And why does it always feel like the fitness industry is exploding with conflicting claims?

These are good questions, which I hope to address (in part) in this article.

Here’s what you can expect:

• I’m going to avoid speaking about any health benefits of fasting outside of weight loss in order to respect my scope of practice. In other words, I’m not going to be taking a position on whether fasting can help us live longer lives or improve our hormone profiles.

  • So as for all of that insulin sensitivity and testosterone talk, you won’t see me addressing those claims (even though I find them fascinating and worthy of your own independent exploration).

• Instead, I’m going to tell you how to use fasting simply as a form of caloric restriction to help you improve your body composition primarily through fat loss.

• I’m going to provide practical examples of how I’ve used single-day fasting in my own body recomposition effort.

• I’m going to outline the advantages of single-day fasting when compared to other more traditional forms of caloric restriction.

How to Use Single-Day “Semi-Fasting” to Improve Your Body Composition

Although there are several ways to use fasting to improve your body composition, I’m going to focus the attention of this particular article on one specific strategy, which is…

Single-day fasting.

In other words, I think a lot of people would benefit from fasting for one entire day a week.

Sound crazy?

Maybe in context of our modern dietary patterns, but keep in mind that our modern dietary patterns have led 42% of people into a life of obesity, which is why I think a creative reconsideration of our eating habits surrounding the idea of sustainable body composition improvement is a very good idea.

So what’s up with not eating for an entire day? How is that supposed to help anyone with a body recomposition goal?

Simply put, it’s a very basic way of reducing your weekly caloric consumption.

In short, it helps you get into a caloric deficit to help you lose body fat.

We really don’t need to make it any more complicated than that, but we’ll dive into a bit more nuance in the following section.

That being said, if fasting for an entire day seems daunting and overwhelming, you could easily modify your strategy by fasting through the majority of the day and then enjoying one large, nutritionally-dense meal for dinner.

This is what I personally refer to as “semi-fasting” but only in the sense that you’re fasting for most of the day instead of complete 24-hour period. I understand that you can’t technically “semi-fast,” so take that terminology with a grain of salt.

Ultimately, it would be better described as a very low-calorie day relative to one’s normal intake.

When I do this myself, I usually have an 800-1,000-calorie smoothie packed with greens, plant-based protein powder, berries, bananas, nuts, and seeds around 5PM.

Or I might opt for an enormous tofu salad with a plethora of leafy greens drizzled in tahini and sprinkled with hemp hearts and walnuts.

The objective (for me) is simply to eat one nutritionally-dense meal with plenty of protein, which makes smoothies and salads great options given how easy it can be to pack them full of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins like protein powders or soy products.

What I like about this modified idea is that I never have to go to bed hungry, but I can still reap the benefits of a restricted eating window.

And, of course, eating once per day tends to be much easier to adhere to (for most people) than an overnight fast.

In fact, this modified “semi-fasting” approach is what you will see illustrated in the upcoming examples as I have applied it to my own lifestyle (as opposed to a full day of fasting).

Why might a SINGLE-day weekly “SEMI-fast” help with fat loss?

As I mentioned briefly above, there doesn’t seem to be anything “magical” about fasting when it comes to losing body fat other than that it serves as a very simple way of reducing your overall intake.

But I think another underrated benefit of single-day “semi-fasting” is that it helps you start thinking of your caloric deficit in the context of one week instead of a single day.

In fact, this is what I do with all of my fat loss clients and it's why things like carb cycling and high/low approaches work for bodybuilders.

As long as the caloric math makes sense at the end of the week, the fat loss is always systematic and exciting.

For example, you may have heard that 3,500 calories equal roughly one pound of body fat.

So, if you can get yourself into a 500-calorie daily deficit, you'll be cruising toward about one pound of fat loss per week because 500 calories multiplied by 7 days equals 3,500 calories.

Boom. Math, right?

But sometimes people get too caught up in the "24-hour-ness" of it all.

In other words, people focus too much on that 500-calorie daily deficit when they could be acting more strategically on a behalf of a 3,500-calorie weekly deficit.

I’ll use myself as an example here.

If my maintenance calories are around 3,300 calories right now, we could say that a daily intake of 2,800 calories might lead to approximately one pound of fat loss per week based on the math we just discussed.

Because of that, I could structure my weekly (non-fasting) eating pattern like this:

Standard static Weekly Calorie Example

The standard static example would look like this:

• Monday: 2,800 calories

• Tuesday: 2,800 calories

• Wednesday: 2,800 calories

• Thursday: 2,800 calories

• Friday: 2,800 calories

• Saturday: 2,800 calories

• Sunday: 2,800 calories

As you can see, this is simply the “eat the same number of calories everyday” approach that many people ascribe to for the sake of consistency and routine.

But a one-day “semi-fasting” example could allow you to eat more during the week while eating much less just once per weekend.

This is cool because you could choose to eat more carbohydrates to bolster your weekday workouts knowing you can rest up and eat less (or nothing) on Sunday.

Here is an example of what that could look like (and what I often do):

One-Day “Semi-Fast” Weekly Calorie Example

• Monday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Tuesday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Wednesday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Thursday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Friday, 3,100 calories (+300)

• Saturday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Sunday: 1,000 calories (-1,800)

In this example, limiting myself to just 1,000 calories on Sunday allows me to eat an extra 300 calories on each of those other six days per week. Keep in mind too that those +300 calories in parentheses are relative to the deficit, which means this entire week of eating is still designed for fat loss.

Three hundred calories may not seem like much, but that's an extra PB&J and a glass of almond milk that you could apply to a important pre or post-workout meal.

But again, this is just one way to do it.

If you really want to be a Level 1000 Fat Loss Ninja, you could nuance your daily caloric intake even further by biasing your calories toward your most intense workouts or even planned, higher-calorie social occasions while utilizing single-day fasting over the weekend.

Check out what I mean in the following example:

Level 1000 Fat Loss Ninja Weekly Calorie Example featuring a One-Day Semi-Fast

• Monday: 3,400 calories for a nasty leg day because you want that peach (+600)

• Tuesday: 3,100 calories for an upper body day (+300)

• Wednesday: 2,800 calories for a rest day (0)

• Thursday: 3,100 calories for a normal leg day (+300)

• Friday: 3,400 calories because pizza with the boys (+600)

• Saturday: 2,800 calories because math (0)

• Sunday: 1,000 calories (-1,800)

Do you have to make it this complicated? Of course not.

I just want to illustrate that you have the freedom to do so if you like the idea of heavily nuancing your caloric consumption based on fluctuations in your training routine and lifestyle overall.

All three of these options add up to 19,600 calories per week, which means the fat loss in each situation would be almost identical while all other factors remain equal.

Pretty cool, yeah?

You could easily do similar math with your own numbers.

Just remember that these numbers were calculated for someone with a maintenance calorie intake of 3,300.

I also have a few opinions on why I think this can work really well for people.

Advantages of “Semi-Fasting” Once Per Week

• It's easy to fast for one day when you know you get plenty of food the very next day.

  • I like to think of this as the "light at the end of the tunnel" effect. For those of you who have never fasted before, this may still seem extreme, but it's really quite doable once you commit.

  • Plus, if you've ever dieted before, you know that the worst part of dieting comes from being randomly hungry on a Monday and knowing it ain't getting any better for the next six weeks. This dieting pattern fights against that drudgery.

• You're unlikely to downregulate your metabolism by fasting just once per week.

  • I don't pretend to be an expert on metabolic downregulation outside of plenty of anecdotal experience from working with my own clients, but to me it just makes good sense that it might be better for keeping your metabolism churning along to duck your calories hard once per week versus committing to a peasant's 1200-calorie diet for weeks and months on end. It's almost like your body senses that there is no need to process energy more efficiently when it knows more food is coming soon. Anecdotally, I have seen this work time and time again. And, although I wouldn’t call it “biohacking,” I do think it’s a creative way to manipulate your caloric consumption.

• It gives your digestive system a break, which I personally think may have some exciting health benefits.

  • In my own experience, it can also create a refreshing feeling of emptiness as the fast goes on, which leaves me feeling acutely lighter.

• It exercises your discipline muscle.

  • In a modern gimme-gimme culture where we tend to complain about anything we can’t have instantaneously, I find it grounding to limit my food consumption once per week.

  • I also personally think this translates well into other areas of life.

• For me personally, my stomach starts feeling noticeably tighter around 1-2PM, but this is of course just my own experience and a small psychological benefit I enjoy.

Disadvantages of “Semi-Fasting” Once Per Week

• Some people will never be able to handle the acute hunger of even a half-day fast, and that’s fine.

  • I’m not here to try to convince anyone to be hungry if you’re not bought into the benefits beyond the hunger (and I mean that sincerely).

• It might be difficult to navigate certain social situations like dining out with friends if you and your significant other are social people on the weekends.

  • For my own lifestyle, Sundays tend to be very relaxed, so this isn’t an issue for me personally in most cases, but I think it’s worth mentioning in case it applies to others.

• Your Monday workouts might feel a bit lethargic if you don’t prioritize a massive, carb-heavy breakfast to replenish yourself from the low-calorie day prior.

  • And again, you obviously don’t have to choose Sundays for your “semi-fast.” This was just the example used consistently throughout this article (and what I do personally).

Summary

• I think single-day fasting is an underrated form of caloric restriction that could help a lot of people lose body fat sustainably.

• Single-day fasting can be a helpful strategy to help people think of their caloric deficits on a weekly basis instead of a daily basis.

• “Semi-fasting” once per week can allow you to eat more food during the week to fuel your most intense training sessions.

• Practically speaking, I personally like to fast through the first half of the day and then eat one large, nutritionally dense meal around 5PM.

  • This is usually a large smoothie or a big tofu salad.

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I really enjoyed writing this short article, so if you found it helpful, do me a favor and send it to someone in your life who finds body recomposition banter just as entertaining as you do.

Until next time,

-Andrew

Deceptively "Healthy" Choices That May Hinder Your Fat Loss Goals

It’s funny how my concept of “healthy” has evolved and grown over my lifetime. I can remember grouping foods into “healthy” and “not healthy” in my head for a long time. For example, I used to think of the following foods and food groups like this:

• Fast Food = “Unhealthy”

• Salad = “Healthy”

• Pizza = “Unhealthy”

• Fruit = “Healthy”

And, you can probably see where I’m going with my list.

This is how I thought about “healthy” and “unhealthy” for a long time. To be fair, learning to categorize foods to some extent is a great educational place to start, but as I personally learned more about nutrition, my definition of “healthy” evolved into something much more specific (for the better).

The reason that my view of “healthy” vs “unhealthy” foods evolved is because:

1. Whatever I had been practicing for my nutrition for a long time was not working. How did I know that? Because I wasn’t getting the results I wanted.

2. I wanted a more wholistic view of the word “healthy” from an educational perspective.

3. My goals became more specific, and thus my nutrition had to be more specific as well.

What I learned about my assumptions between “healthy” and “unhealthy” was striking - especially regarding some of the apparently “healthy” choices I had been making that actually turned out to be setting me back in a powerful way.

My goal with this write-up is this: I want to present a consideration of a handful of diet choices we commonly make that appear “healthy” on the surface but might actually be a hindrance to our diet goals when misapplied.

#1: Ordering or Buying Products that Contain “Superfoods” or are Ambiguously Thought of as “Nutritious”

This was a big hurdle for me personally.

When I was in high school, I remember starting to care more about my diet choices for the first time. I was an athlete and I wanted to make choices that wouldn’t “slow me down” on the field.

At least that’s how I thought about it.

So, I would put avocado on everything when given the option because the internet said avocados contain healthy fats, which they do, but that was my only thought about avocados at the time. Healthy foods will make me a better athlete, right?

I had also heard that nut butters were a good source of healthy fats, so I gave myself the green light on those as well.

Now, this increase in fat intake was great for me in high school because I looked like a scrawny alien twig, but if I were to implement that same viewpoint now as an adult while making a focused effort to lose body fat, it would most likely be setting me back due to the excessive caloric intake alone.

For that reason, it’s always a good idea to know the macronutrient content of your foods along with the micronutrient breakdown that may qualify a food as nutritious.

Because in my opinion, the last thing you want to be doing when trying to lose body fat is eating foods you think should be helping you when they are actually slowing down your progress or even pushing you in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, plenty of well-intentioned people unknowingly make that mistake all the time.

On a coaching note, part of what Andrew and I do with our clients is educate them on basic nutrition while providing structured macronutrient goals so that we can be as optimal as possible with their body recomposition goal. In other words, we try to guide you through a calorie-controlled approach to your goal without ignoring the overall importance of eating nutrient-dense foods.

#2: Blindly Ordering Salads at a Restaurant as Opposed to Another Entrée

Back when my novice definition of “healthy” sat on the nutrition throne of my brain, I began to order salads out at restaurants.

Because salads are healthy, right?

Actually, yes! Salads can be amazingly healthy for us, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get fat from eating too many nutrient-dense salads.

Think about it. When most of us order salads at restaurants, we cover them in things like:

• Croutons - Mostly carbs and extra fat

• Cheese - Contains protein, but generally an equal amount of fat or more

• Fatty Dressings - Most salad dressings contain a LOT of fat.

• Avocado - High fat content, even though they are nutritious

• Fatty Meats - A lot of salads (especially Italian salads) can pile on heaps of salami, pepperoni, bacon, prosciutto, etc.

• Nuts (especially candied/glazed) - While nutritious, these nuts contain a lot of fat. And, if they are candied or glazed, they will also include a lot of sugar which equals extra carbs.

Realistically, if you have a caloric plan in mind or are keeping a mindful eye on your macronutrient intake, you could add a few of these to your salad and still reach your goal.

But, these toppings become a problem if you decide to add three or four of these to one salad because it dramatically changes the caloric total of the entire meal. It’s the cumulative calorie effect that results in weight gain.

Some things to add to your salad instead of some of the ingredients above to add another element could be:

• Grilled Chicken - high in protein and will help fill you up with a much needed macronutrient, especially if trying to hold onto hard-earned lean muscle tissue

• Vegetables - For me personally, texture is a big deal, so adding veggies with a little crunch to them is great! You could even try chipped cucumbers, celery, broccoli, carrots, and/or peppers next time.

• Egg Whites - Whole eggs can be great as well, but I prefer hard-boiling an egg and then chopping up the whites for some easy extra protein

• Beans - Rinse out a can of your favorite beans and add some extra protein to your diet. This is a great option for those that eat plant-based diets.

• Fresh Herbs and Spices - Talk about taking flavor to another level without adding any unwanted fats! Try using some basil, mint, dill, or cilantro with your salad. Just make sure you know the herb you choose will pair well with your other flavors.

• Lemon Juice - I like using just a little bit of oil and then squeezing fresh lemon juice onto my salad as a dressing. As it turns out, a little bit of citrus can go a long way.

Again, depending on your goal, any of the options above could be a good substitution or mindful addition.

#3: The Misapplication of Intermittent Fasting

I have been effectively using intermittent fasting in my current fat loss phase, so I’m certainly not making intermittent fasting the enemy here.

I still consume three to four large meals during my “eating window” (which is 10 hours for me instead of the commonly recommended eight-hour window), and I also consume several high-protein snacks.

But, where does it go wrong for some people?

In my opinion, here are two common ways intermittent fasting is frequently abused:

1. You’re narrowing your eating window to less than eight hours and only giving yourself time for one or two large meals.

   • When we do this, we can sometimes negotiate with ourselves and eat foods that are less nutritious or have unfavorable macronutrient compositions since we are sacrificing an entire meal. In other words, we lose sight of nutrition in favor of a game of calories and calories alone. Just because you could eat a plate of nachos and cheese for 1500 calories doesn’t mean that is going to lead to the body recomposition outcomes you want.

   • I’ve also found that intermittent fasting can lead to more snacking, and generally the snacks we tend to pick aren’t as nutrient-dense or macro-friendly as something we might cook for a proper meal.

   • Eating one large meal can also make people feel sluggish and lethargic.

2. Your protein consumption might not be as optimal as it could be.

   • If your goal is to lose fat while maintaining lean muscle tissue and you choose to enter the intermittent fasting world, you may not be able to eat all of the protein you could benefit from according to most evidence-based guidelines.

     • And, as I mentioned above, typical snack foods tend to be high in carbohydrates and fats and generally low in protein. So, if you tend to be a snacker while practicing intermittent fasting, your snacks may be a limiting factor in your progress.

     • If you need more clarity about how you could go about calculating your own protein intake, check out this blog.

Again, intermittent fasting doesn’t have to be the enemy, but it is often touted as a very healthy diet strategy even though it can easily be misapplied.

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Feeling Motivated?

Like I said at the beginning of the article, it’s probably a good idea to be very careful about making sure that the “healthy” choices we are making are actually choices that help us move toward our goals rather than push us further back.

I also mentioned that part of a coaching relationship with an IVRY Fitness coach is a personalized macronutrient goal to help you reach a specific body composition goal. So, if you have always wanted to make a change but have continuously felt stuck because nothing you have ever tried in the past has worked, consider reaching out to us.

We have open coaching slots and are looking for highly motivated clients that want to make a significant change in their body composition.

Click here to learn more, The journey always has to begin somewhere, so why not here and now?