Over the weekend I had a few conversations with friends and family primarily talking about different diets and the desire to lose weight. Over the past couple of months I've received compliments on how I've slimmed down and it's been great. But, I realized that many people have this misconception over weightloss and fatloss and the difference between being thin or skinny versus toned.
If you're a person who doesn't have the desire to workout then all you'd have to do to lose weight would be to decrease your calories. There is NO gimmick behind it at all. No fitness guru, nutritionist, or dietitian can argue that. It is simply that simple cut your calories, burn more then you eat and you will lose weight. But if you want to lose actual fat, it's going to take some work. You see some of the conversations I encountered over the weekend was that I was slim and toned because I worked out so much. No this is not entirely the case. Yes working out does help but that's not the primary reason why I am slim and toned. It's because my nutrition plan it geared toward fatloss and NOT weightloss. Yes, I'm at the gym often and I tend to workout 4-5x a week but I don't run countless hours on a treadmill, in fact I don't run at all really. Most of you reading this know I'm a CrossFit trainer and so you also know most of my workouts are done within 30 minutes or so. So to answer some of my family and friends NO I'm not slim because I workout a lot.
Most of you know people who start some crazy diet plan that guarantees weightloss and they stick to it for a while and then a few months later they can't keep up with it and gain all the weight back. Nothing new I'm saying here and basically it's because they severely cut calories in some way and it's nothing someone can sustain for a long time. That's why people who even workout and follow plans like this or just eat whatever they want never see any drastic changes in their bodies. There is nothing sexy about a skinny fat person but to each his own.
So how have I slimmed down and look more toned these days? I don't follow some fad diet. I don't count calories. I don't put some crazy ass HCG hormone drops in my food that promise me that I'll loose 21 lbs in 21 days (who wants to do something that drastic anyways!) I follow a nutrition plan that doesn't promise anything except a healthier life and a natural way to lose FAT. Understanding what makes you retain fat and what prevents you from looking slim and toned helps tremendously. I follow a Paleo or Primal way of life. I look slim because of this way of life, not because I workout so much. I have muscle definition and look toned from working out. Working out can be viewed as more of a bonus :-) It helps but its not the foundation, the foundation is what I eat.
I'm sure we could sit here and debate over how many hours we should workout etc and we can debate how much genetics play a role in your physique. Yes your genetics play a role. If you're a woman who is more top heavy versus bottom heavy it will take you twice as long to get a 6 pack versus your friend who is more bottom heavy. That's life! But in the end, your nutrition is the primary role in how you look. You truly are what you eat!
