We all need some body fat. It stores energy, helps to insulate and protect the body and has a number of important biological functions.
However, there may be times when you want to reduce the amount of body fat you’re carrying, whether that’s because of how you feel, how your clothes fit or because you’ve been advised that losing weight would benefit your health.
There isn’t a quick fix for losing body fat. Fundamentally, fat loss happens when your body consistently uses more energy than you take in through food and drink. But that doesn’t mean you have to embark on an extreme diet or punishing exercise regime.
Small, sustainable changes to the way you eat, move and live can make a significant difference over time.
If you have a medical condition, follow a special diet, have a history of disordered eating or are unsure whether weight loss is appropriate for you, seek advice from your GP or another appropriate healthcare professional before making significant changes.
So, what can you do? Here are 15 ways to support healthy, sustainable fat loss:
1. Get enough sleep
Sleep might not be the first thing you think about when you want to lose body fat, but getting enough good-quality sleep can make it easier to maintain healthy habits.
When you’re tired, you may find it harder to stay active and more difficult to make the food choices you’d normally make. Sleep and appetite are also closely connected.
Rather than worrying about whether a particular number of hours will make you lose more fat, aim for a regular sleep routine that leaves you feeling rested and able to function well during the day.
2. Start strength training
Strength or resistance training involves making your muscles work against resistance. This might mean using weights or resistance bands, exercising on resistance machines or simply using your own body weight.
As well as helping you become stronger, resistance training can help you maintain and build muscle.
This can be particularly useful when you’re losing weight because the goal isn’t simply to make the number on the scales smaller. Ideally, you want to reduce excess body fat while maintaining as much lean muscle as possible.
You don’t have to become a dedicated weightlifter either. Squats, lunges, press-ups and resistance-band exercises can all form part of a strength-training routine.
3. Include enough protein in your diet
Protein is an important part of a balanced diet. Your body needs it to maintain and repair tissues, and protein-rich foods can also help you feel full after eating.
Good sources include beans and pulses, eggs, fish, lean meat, tofu, tempeh, nuts and seeds.
Including a source of protein with your meals may make it easier to feel satisfied while you’re reducing your overall energy intake. It can also help you maintain muscle alongside regular activity and resistance training.
You don’t necessarily need a “high-protein diet” or protein supplements. For most people, the aim should be a varied, balanced diet that provides enough protein for their individual needs.
4. Rethink what you drink
It’s easy to concentrate on food when you’re trying to lose body fat and overlook the energy you’re getting from drinks.
Sugary soft drinks, speciality coffees and alcohol can all add significant calories without necessarily making you feel as full as food would.
Switching some of these drinks for water or unsweetened alternatives is one relatively simple way to reduce your overall energy intake.
What about diet drinks?
Non-sugar sweeteners provide few or no calories and may be useful to some people when replacing high-sugar products. However, they shouldn’t be seen as a shortcut to weight loss. The World Health Organisation advises against relying on non-sugar sweeteners as a long-term strategy for controlling body weight.
5. Choose high-fibre carbohydrates
Carbohydrates don’t need to be avoided when you’re trying to lose body fat.
Instead, think about the type of carbohydrates you’re eating.
Wholegrain and other fibre-rich foods such as oats, wholegrain bread and pasta, brown rice, beans, pulses, fruit and vegetables can provide valuable nutrients and fibre. Fibre also helps you feel fuller for longer.
Highly processed foods that are high in refined carbohydrates, added sugars and calories can be easy to overeat, so swapping some of these for higher-fibre alternatives can be a useful change.
Rather than thinking in terms of “good” and “bad” carbs, concentrate on the overall quality and balance of your diet.
6. Increase your cardio
Cardiovascular exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, running, cycling, dancing and swimming.
These activities increase the amount of energy your body uses and can support fat loss when combined with an appropriate diet.
You don’t necessarily need to spend hours in the gym. Walking more, taking the stairs, cycling to work or adding regular swimming or exercise classes to your week can all increase your activity levels.
Current UK guidance recommends that adults aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, each week, alongside strengthening activities.
7. Try higher-intensity exercise if it suits you
High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, involves alternating short periods of more intense exercise with periods of recovery.
It can be a time-efficient way to exercise and some people really enjoy it.
However, you don’t need to do HIIT to lose body fat, and it won’t be suitable or enjoyable for everybody. Brisk walking, swimming, cycling, resistance training and many other forms of exercise can all contribute to an active lifestyle.
The best form of exercise is usually one that is appropriate for your fitness level and that you’re happy to keep doing.
8. Pay attention to portion sizes
What you eat matters, but so does how much you eat.
It’s possible to eat a nutritious diet and still consume more energy than your body needs. Foods such as nuts, seeds, avocado and oils can all be valuable parts of a balanced diet, for example, but they’re also energy-dense.
You don’t necessarily need to weigh and measure everything you eat. Becoming more aware of portion sizes, eating slowly and noticing when you’re comfortably full can help you understand how much food you actually need.
If you’re struggling to work out where your extra calories are coming from, keeping a food and drink diary for a short period can sometimes be illuminating.
9. Consider whether intermittent fasting suits you
Intermittent fasting is an approach that limits eating to particular times or involves periods when little or no food is consumed.
Some people find that this structure makes it easier to reduce their overall calorie intake. Others find it difficult to sustain or simply prefer a more conventional pattern of meals.
Intermittent fasting isn’t essential for losing body fat, and the fact that you’re eating within a particular window doesn’t automatically make your diet healthier.
If you do choose this approach, what you eat and your overall energy intake still matter.
Fasting isn’t appropriate for everybody, so seek professional advice if you’re unsure whether it’s suitable for you.
10. Make small changes you can maintain
It’s tempting to overhaul everything at once when you decide you want to lose body fat.
The trouble is that an extremely restrictive diet or ambitious new exercise routine can be difficult to maintain once the initial enthusiasm wears off.
Instead, think about changes you could realistically continue making six months or a year from now.
Perhaps you could walk part of your commute, cook at home one extra night a week, reduce the number of takeaways you have, change your usual afternoon snack or add two strength-training sessions to your week.
A small change that becomes a habit can ultimately be more useful than a dramatic change you abandon after a fortnight.
11. Choose healthier sources of fat
Despite its name, eating fat doesn’t automatically make you gain body fat.
Fat is an essential part of a balanced diet, but it is energy-dense, so both the type and amount you eat matter.
Unsaturated fats can be found in foods such as olive and rapeseed oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and oily fish. These can be included as part of a balanced diet in place of foods that are particularly high in saturated fat.
The important point for fat loss is not to simply add large quantities of “healthy fats” to what you’re already eating. Portion size and your overall energy intake still count.
12. Fill up on fibre
Fibre-rich foods can help you feel fuller and are an important part of a healthy diet.
Good sources include vegetables, fruit, beans and other pulses, wholegrains, oats, nuts and seeds.
Increasing the proportion of fibre-rich foods on your plate can therefore be useful when you’re trying to reduce your overall calorie intake without constantly feeling hungry.
If your current diet is relatively low in fibre, increase it gradually. Suddenly eating much more fibre can leave some people feeling bloated or uncomfortable.
13. Keep an eye on alcohol
Alcohol is another source of calories that can be easily overlooked.
A few drinks over the course of a week can make a noticeable contribution to your overall energy intake, particularly when alcohol is combined with sugary mixers.
Alcohol can also affect the choices you make around food. That late-night takeaway can become much more tempting after a few drinks.
You don’t necessarily have to stop drinking alcohol altogether to lose body fat, but cutting down can be one way to reduce your calorie intake.
14. Find ways to manage stress
Stress doesn’t magically create body fat, but it can make healthy routines harder to maintain.
When you’re under pressure, you might sleep less, exercise less, reach for convenient foods or find yourself eating for comfort rather than hunger.
If that sounds familiar, think about what helps you manage periods of stress. That might be walking, exercise, spending time outside, taking proper breaks from work or making more time for sleep.
You don’t need a perfect, stress-free life to lose body fat. The aim is simply to make your healthy habits easier to maintain when life gets busy.
15. Give it time
Healthy, sustainable fat loss is rarely an overnight process.
Body weight can fluctuate from day to day for all sorts of reasons, so judging your progress by a single number on the scales can be frustrating.
Look at longer-term patterns instead. You may also notice changes in how your clothes fit, your waist measurement, your strength or how easy you find particular forms of exercise.
If you are trying to lose weight, current NHS guidance recommends aiming for gradual weight loss rather than trying to lose a large amount very quickly.
What about stubborn areas of fat?
Losing body fat doesn’t necessarily change your proportions in exactly the way you’d like.
You may reach a weight you’re comfortable with and still have a small, localised pocket of fat around your stomach, thighs, hips, upper arms or another area that makes you feel self-conscious.
Losing weight and body contouring aren’t quite the same thing.
Aqualyx isn’t a weight-loss treatment and it isn’t an alternative to a balanced diet and active lifestyle. It is an injectable aesthetic treatment designed to reduce small, localised areas of fat and create a more defined contour.
Aqualyx contains a solution based on deoxycholic acid. When injected into a suitable area of fatty tissue, it disrupts the fat cells. The contents of the affected cells are then cleared naturally by the body over time.
It’s not suitable for everyone or every area of the body, and results vary. At your consultation, we’ll discuss the area you would like to address and whether Aqualyx is an appropriate option for your aesthetic goals.
Happy with your weight but not a stubborn area?
If you maintain a healthy lifestyle but there’s a small, localised area of fat you’d like to reduce, you can find out more about Aqualyx body contouring or book a consultation with Medikaur.
We’ll talk about what you would like to change, assess whether the area is suitable for treatment and give you a realistic idea of the results you might achieve.
