Welcome to Trim That Fat

Hello there! Before you continue reading, let me put your perhaps sceptical and cynical mind at ease. No, this is not a web page forged for the purpose of promoting a particular product like a dangerous drug or unrecommended weight loss 'aiding' foods. This page was designed by a real human being with honest intentions looking to shed light on his own experience of the relative content of this site.

Now, with any scepticism unequivocally swept away, I would like to tell you that my name is Simon, I am 23 years old living in the south-east of the United Kingdom. I won't ramble on with details of my daily activities, routines, life prospects or hobbies, but I will tell you that I am a former fatty. Not the sort of disgraces to humanity you may see on television programmes about tubbies looking for sympathy, advice and a Big Mac. You can see a picture of me to the right - this was me at 16 stone. I don't have a photograph of my stomach or any other parts of my physique available (it's not like I wanted others to see my flabby exterior), but hopefully the double chin and huge cheeks will serve as proof that I had plenty of excess fat.

During Summer 2011, I lost my girlfriend. I won't dwell on it, and no - she didn't ditch me for my flabby physique. To make a long story short, I made the decision shortly after our separation to lose weight for the last time. I mustered the motivation and determination for two reasons. Firstly, all my friends were working, so I'd have little time to spend with them and thus be lonely. Secondly, every time I looked in the mirror I was a constant disappoint to myself - I would wear clothes suitable for skinny people, and kid myself into thinking that I was indeed skinny by wearing these outfits. So, combining the lack of social time with my disgust for what I had become, I joined the local gym and rapidly trimmed the fat away. As previously mentioned, I was just below 16 stone when I began, and as I write this now, I am 12 stone and 10 pounds. That's a loss of approximately 45 pounds (3 stone and 3 pounds), and I managed to achieve this in a mere three months.

With the story of my motivation and achievement voiced, I have designed this website to provide help, advice, guidance, tips and perhaps a kick of motivation for those wishing to accomplish what I did. I've detailed tips for tracking weight loss, diets and what foods to eat, exercise and more in the content below. I hope this site helps you on your journey. :)

» The Reality Check

Before you read on, you need to check the reality of what you may be about to do. But before even that, you need to know if you hadn't guessed from my introduction, that I went for the rapid weight loss process. I was not at all interested in losing six pounds over three months and patting myself on the back. If you do not like the sound of immediate weight loss and results, then look elsewhere for advice.

Right, the reality check. If you want to lose weight quickly, effectively and notice results, you will need to exercise, that is just fact. Don't bother scouring the Internet looking for lazy solutions to trimming your fat. I won't bore you with the science of your body's metabolism system or the 'what goes in must come out' rule, but exercise is utterly essential, if not mandatory. You will also need to change your diet radically if you treat yourself to fatty meals, snacks and treats on a daily basis. You will also need consistent commitment and motivation. Whether you think you deserve a large and frequent fat-filled treat after a few days or you just plainly give up, neither of these will further your development (obviously).

Frequent exercise combined with honest and good eating, being truthful to yourself and dedicating yourself one-hundred per cent is the only way to succeed. Don't kid yourself or cast a pretense that you're making progress while slumping on the sofa eating a chocolate bar just to make yourself feel better. You may not like the regular sweating, change of diet and ultimately change of lifestyle, but the result is extremely rewarding. 

Finally, the spot difference rule. You probably hear obese people ignoring the excess fat on their legs, ankles, arms, face etc and focus their depression on their stomach. The fat gut, commonly excused as a 'beer belly' by cynical alcoholics, is often the most revolting part of your flabby exterior, mostly because it's the most obvious part. If you're looking to trim away your belly fat, forget it. This is called 'spot difference', and it doesn't exist. As you gradually lose weight you won't be any to identify exactly where it's disappeared from. When you begin dropping large numbers from your weight you will start to notice certain areas that have improved.

» Sweating the Fat Off!

As mentioned above, the most critical aspect to losing your excess fat is to burn it away, using whatever means you see fit. Some people like to go for a gentle walk every day, whereas others prefer to spend hours stamping on a treadmill. I joined my local gym, went there every day and burned off anywhere between 200 and 500 calories each day.

The work-outs I underwent included power-walking on the treadmill (I rarely ran, I chauffed really badly and it was excrutiating!), moderate cycling and mounting a cross-trainer. The cross-trainer came later into my weight loss stint and undoubtedly proved most effective. The problem I have with the treadmill is that you are required to create all the momentum, which can be exhausting. The cross-trainer somewhat carries you as you move, so less effort is exerted to achieve what I discovered to be greater results. The cross-trainer is also great for motivational weight loss using music, as it's easy to get caught up in a rhythm using this equipment. When you've really gotten into the groove of the cross-trainer's momentum, you can feel your hip fat bobbing up and down, which is superb for shreading fat from your abdomen and hips. Ranging from a moderate to a rather fast speed, I managed to burn off 300 calories in 30 minutes on each session (10 calories a minute). After this, I would cool down with a cycling session, which you can do at whatever speed you desire (of course) and burn off calories at whatever pace you see fit.

The gym isn't the only way to sweat the fat away. I often went for gentle walks around where I live. Walking a mile around my housing estate burned off 140 calories, and took around 40 minutes to do. It's a much slower and somewhat less productive way to exercise, but it's gentle, easy to do and doesn't require special clothing. If you plan to walk outside to burn calories, I highly recommend purchasing a stepometer with calorie burning functionality, to keep track of your progress.

Don't think that walking is an unproductive and ineffective weight loss solution either, some experts and other cardio nutters recommend it as opposed to running or jogging. Walking still stimulates the muscles in your body and causes fat to burn, just not as rapidly as running would. So if you're not a fan of kitting-up for running, drowning in a pool of sweat and gasping for air, then walking is not a poor alternative. Just be honest with yourself - don't replace a 30 minute jog with a 30 minute gentle walk and pretend it's just as effective. Compensate for the amount of exercise lost through the gentler option and add more time to your work-out to make up for it. As said before - kidding yourself achieves absolutely nothing.

You may think you wouldn't have time to visit the gym regularly. Time passes at the gym a lot more slowly than you may imagine - after completing a 300 calorie burn on the cross-trainer, a mere 30 minutes had passed in my case. Combining driving to the centre, changing, exercising, showering and changing back into casual clothing, I only spent around 90 minutes of my day undertaking the most crucial stage of rapid weight loss. If you're truly committed, you should be able to find the time before or after work/university.

» Managing Your Diet

What goes in must come out. That is a popular expression heard in weight loss missions and there is a degree of truth to it. First of all, I will tell you about my diet. I followed this principle of canceling out your intake, as I believed it was the best way to produce results. Your body weight fluctuates relative to your calorie/fat intake and exercise and general bodily movements during your day. Some people will eat a mountain of food with little exercise and still lose weight and vice versa. Your rate of weight loss (or gain) is unique to you and there really isn't a mathematical equation for figuring out your ideal intake and burn-off. You just need to be sensible and practical. So, in regards to my diet, I added the following recipes, snacks and random foods to my weight loss programme:

- Chicken, red onion and mushroom stir fry: This was a regular favourite, as it was easy to cook, full of nutritional value and very tasty. You can marinade or garnish the chicken with anything you want (I often chose paprika or herbs).

- Salad: Don't run for the hills in a burst of prejudgmental "EWWW!". I was on the same side of the fence as you when I considered salad - tasteless and unsatisfying bits of garden greens in a bowl. So, to solve this problem, I had iceberg lettuce bits, cucumber, red onion, bacon, breadsticks and crutons, with a splash of olive oil and balasmic vinegar. It was rather satisfying and relatively good for me (the crutons aren't particularly healthy, nor was the addition of vinegar, but for sheer flavour they were winners).

- Steak: Steak is a popular meal favourite for meat lovers, including me. Look for the right lean, off-the-shelf steak and you can be chomping away on your favourite meat containing between just 120-180 calories with little fat. Team it with a fried egg, mushrooms, bacon etc and you'll have a superbly tasty meal with the knowledge that it isn't damaging your routine.

- Water biscuits: The traditional cracker + spread combination was always a lunch time favourite. Water biscuits are tasty, virtually fat free and have only between 10-15 calories per biscuit. With the addition of a light spread, the total calorie count would come to around 25 calories per biscuit. Never underestimate the tasty goodness of water biscuits!

- Crisps: Fried crisps are often feared by weight watchers, and rightfully so. They are small packs of fat-filled horror for people looking to shred the excess weight. However, there are plenty of baked alternatives out there, including family favourites like French Fries (84 cals; 3% fat GDA), Skips (82 cals; 7% fat GDA), Monster Munch (100 cals approx) etc. I always bought the Fries, as they are very tasteful and hardly damage your otherwise intact progress.

- Cheestrings: Calcium is vital for your diet, and well, Cheestrings are very yummy! They are low calories (around 60 per stick) and low in fat too. Recommended as a decent snack.

- Breadsticks: Plain, mini breadsticks are excellent for filling a void in your stomach between meals. The little breadsticks from Tesco only have 7 calories per stick with no fat. So if you're feeling peckish, chomp on half a dozen of these and you'll feel good until your next meal.

- Yoghurts. Muller Light yoghurts are free of fat, have less than 100 calories per pot and taste absolutely amazing, particularly the toffee and vanilla with sprinkled chocolate flavours. Not only that, they are truly filling, ideal if you've just had a light lunch.

- Drinks: I'm a fizzy drink addict, admittedly. So in order to carry out my weight loss mission, I had to kick the sugary drinks to the curb. Luckily, there are a few fizzy alternatives that kept me happy. My favourite was Pepsi Max, which isn't recommended if you're concerned over caffiene intake. Others include 'Zero' or 'Free' versions of Sprite, 7up and Fanta. They are all extremely low in calorie and, of course, have no fat or sugar at all.

Those are just some examples of my means of eating healthily. Another issue to be addressed is portion size, which is up to your needs, though it is commonly said that a slightly smaller portion to each meal can drastically reduce your overall intake. We then come to the controversial issue of calorie counting - should you do it? My advice would be to do it, but not frequently, otherwise it'll become a horrible habit. If you want to be super careful about your intake and ensure you burn off what you eat each day, then I do recommend it, but not as a long-term exercise. It can quickly become an obsession, which can end up becoming a serious clinical issue. I would burn off around 500 calories per day, so I would ensure that I ate around 800 calories on the same day.

» Committing to the Project

Devoting yourself to such a demanding project can be a daunting prospect, especially if you get the occasional whiff of chips, pizza, burgers and whatnot. Many times in the past I've grasped any motivation I once had to lose weight and exchanged it for a mouth watering slice of deep pan pizza. This raises one of the many issues faced by fellow fatties having trouble committing - the temptation of treats can become too overwhelming, and once you've had a small bite it's difficult to stop.

In order to overcome this frankly massive problem, you need to get into the right mind set of course. Whenever you encounter the choice of having a small treat remember one thing - it is an extremely temporary pleasure. The flavour and satisfaction will disappear seconds after consumption and in the end it will be utterly worthless, yet such small pleasures can completely ruin any fat burning exercises you've powered through. For example, a vigorous 15 minute work-out on a cross-trainer burns between 150-180 calories depending on how vigorous. A typical chocolate bar (i.e. short, temporary pleasure) contains well over 200 calories. So if you think treating yourself after a sweaty work-out with a chocolate bar is rewarding, it really isn't in the grand scheme of things! So remember - small sweety treats and large fat-filled meals are a superb way of ruining your devotion to the project, and all provide nothing more than a short sensation. It simply isn't worth it. 

Enough of the negatives - commitment is a positive step, so let's address the good stuff. Setting your commitment in stone may be challenging at first, but it will become a lot easier when you begin actually losing those pounds. I found myself heavily committed to my personal weight loss programme when I stepped on the scales each morning and saw a lower number every time. So if you manage to stick to your programme in the beginning, wait until you see the pounds drop off and you'll become more focused than ever. It's a lot more difficult to abandon a project when you start to see real results.