It’s a shocking state of affairs.
But too many men still think they need to exercise more to lose a belly.
You should definitely make time to exercise for physical and mental health.
But the reason anyone has a gut expanding their t-shirts is over eating or drinking.
Or both.
Now this area can be a minefield on the internet.
First, you have the ‘eat less move more’ crew who say it’s all about calories.
Second, there’s others who say it’s all about hormones.
Me?
Somewhere in the middle.
Calories matter.
Consume more than you need, you gain fat.
Consume enough to maintain weight, you stay the same.
So yeah, you need less calories to lose belly fat, side fat, back fat, face fat.
All the fat.
BUT.
If all you do is count and restrict calories without improving the quality of food and lifestyle?
You won’t look and feel better.
You’ll get smaller, lose muscle, and feel hungrier.
Restrict calories low and long enough you risk damaging your metabolism, too. Making it harder to lose fat or build muscle.
Hormones (health) on the other hand …
Build your health with better nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress management, and exercise.
Generally speaking:
– Drinking enough water.
– Eat more protein and colourful veggies each meal.
– Eat smarter carbs and healthy fats.
– Get MOST of above from minimally processed whole foods.
– Get stronger by lifting.
– And get enough quality sleep.
Your total calories naturally drops.
Your fiber and nutrient volume increases.
You recharge better from the stress of each day.
You have more energy, lose fat and build muscle easier.
BUT.
You can do all of that and still have a gut if you eat and drink like a numpty on top of it.
But it’s unlikely you’ll eat and drink anywhere near as much crap.
Because you’ll feel fuller longer, have more energy, motivation, and less cravings.
So what I’m saying is …
I like a health building approach where we ADD better things into your diet and life.
That’s your foundation for success.
But we also need to measure and track things, too.
I’m not a ‘calorie counting’ fan.
I think there’s lots of flaws and it takes A LOT of time and effort.
I use a simple hand sized portion method instead and it helps a lot of my clients drop fat and get in awesome shape.
I shared a free download ‘Calorie Counting Debunked’ last Sunday that will help with this.
Giving you a starting place for how much protein, veggies, carbs etc to eat.
Plus a guide to different body fat percentages and the relevant food and exercise changes to make to achieve them.
In case you missed that, shoot me a message and I’ll send it over to you.
Dean
Dean McMenamin is an Army veteran, father, dog-lover and body transformation coach to every day men all over the UK & Ireland. He's also a big eater of ice-cream.