Guide: Losing Weight & Toning Up - The complete plan of attack!

Wed 07 Apr 2010

Losing body fat is arguably one of the toughest training goals to achieve. In reality there is no quick and easy way to lose body fat. At its simplest, it requires sustained commitment to eating the correct foods at the right times and in the right quantities, and adopting an optimum exercise programme. This section aims to provide an overview of the considerations you’ll need to make when aiming to lose body fat and maintain a healthy weight, and provides you with information about which nutritional products can help you to achieve these results a lot quicker.

The Training

There are a number of reasons why people seek to lose body weight. These include; a reduction in body weight to increase power-weight ratio making jumping events easier, a reduction in energy expenditure during competition, e.g. running, to meet weight category restrictions, or more general goals relating to improved physical appearance and improved confidence.

For those looking to lose body fat, it is essential to be carrying out regular exercise in order to ensure that any calories ingested through the diet above those required for weight maintenance are being metabolised and used to meet energy demands, and not stored as body fat. As a general rule, low-medium intensity cardiovascular training, for example running and cycling, should be undertaken between 2-3 times per week. This type of aerobic exercise stimulates the mobilisation and release of fatty acids from tissue for use in energy production. As well as improved general health and wellbeing, this type of exercise will help you to both burn a greater amount of fat, and will train your body to favour fat stores as an energy source meaning your body will become more efficient at burning fat whilst exercising.

In addition, it is also beneficial to carry out some type of resistance exercise, i.e. weight training between 2-3 times per week. Weight training increases metabolic rate, meaning you’ll burn more calories, and also achieve the lean ‘toned’ look. Weight training sessions should last around 45 minutes, and should be kept intense throughout. As a guideline, sessions should focus on 3 sets per exercise with a rep range of 10-15 reps per set. As with every exercise plan, it is important to progress steadily, setting yourself achievable goals, otherwise you could burn out or risk injury.

The Nutrition

As we've mentioned, fat loss will be maximised when there is a sustained commitment to maintaining an optimal nutrition and exercise plan. It’s well known that to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more. Whereas those looking to add muscle bulk and mass will aim to consume more calories than that required to maintain a stable body mass, the opposite applies for those looking to lose weight. You’ll need to create a calorie deficit, which essentially means you need to burn more calories through daily activities and exercise than the amount consumed through the diet.

At this point it is important to note that creating a calorie deficit does not mean starving yourself of all food, it means making the right food type selection, and eating food stuffs at the right times in the right amounts. Selecting suitable foods means you can still ensure good health, maintain lean muscle and promote fat loss whilst still consuming the reduced calorie intake required to lose fat. In order to speed metabolism (conversion of food into energy), it is advisable to eat 5-6 small meals evenly spaced throughout the day. This serves a number of purposes; it reduces hunger meaning you are less likely to binge on unhealthy snacks, it maintains an up-regulated metabolism, keeps blood sugar and insulin levels stable meaning a constant energy release, and ensures you are feeding your body the necessary nutrients to promote fat loss and support muscle growth. Alongside a training program this approach to nutrition will provide energy, aid recovery and assist your fat loss goals. Many people think that eating more regularly will lead to fat gain. However, by eating less regularly, but enjoying increased portion size, you are actually slowing metabolism as your body is not required to convert the food you eat into energy as often. This means energy levels drop, and your body will look to other sources for energy, one of which will be muscle tissue.

OneOn Nutrition have developed a number of sports products based around key research to assist with fat loss. Everyone knows dieting is tough, by introducing the right nutritional supplements as part of a tailored nutrition and exercise strategy; you could reach your weight management goals much sooner. So we know we need to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day in order to augment metabolism. For many, a hectic work life, and busy social life means finding the time to prepare 6 meals a day can be challenging. A great way round this is to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner as normal, and use supplements between meals to ensure nutrient intake remains high and metabolism stable. Whey protein shakes and meal replacements will help you to do just this. Not only will they help to promote recovery and maintain muscle mass alongside a suitable training programme, but they will also reduce hunger, helping you to achieve fat loss goals. OneOn whey protein provides a low-calorie high-quality protein source. By providing your body with adequate protein, you will ensure synthesis of muscle tissue is maintained, immune health is boosted and precious muscle tissue is not broken down to meet energy demands. A fat burner product, such as the OneOn Fat Burner capsules, when used alongside a tailored diet plan and training programme can help you to lose more fat. If you have made sure that your diet is right and you are training hard and still not seeing the results you crave, this product could help to give you that little bit extra to make all the difference.

The Supplements

Visit the Weight Loss section to view a wide range of supplements designed to support your weight management goals. These include our hugely popular Fat Burner Capsules and Fat Burner Stack.

For our female customers, OneOn has recently launched a new Female-focused supplement range. Carefully designed just for girls, taken alongside a healthy balanced diet and training routine, these supplements offer top-quality nutritional support for women seeking weight management, toning and body sculpting.