How To Prevent Feeling Like Crap When Losing Fat

If you listened to some people you’d come to believe that losing fat was a form of torture where at the end it requires vast amounts of will power and dedication to get even the tiniest of results. And honestly the way that most people go about losing their weight (and hopefully fat) it can very well be that. But it doesn’t have to be. Look will power is great and certainly something that you should develop but not when it comes to improving your health and losing unhealthy body fat. There are much easier and less stressful ways to get rid of your excess weight even though they go against what is commonly proscribed by most.

When your body ungoes changes (even if they’re positive changes) there is going to be an adjustment period. This is with all different method some have adjustment periods that seemingly last the entire time you’re doing it. Like the classic eat less and exercise more that is proscribed by doctors and personal trainers to lose weight that while can be effective (depending mostly on what exactly it is that you’re eating less of) it sucks. It doesn’t make sense to eat less when you’re doing more. If you go from do a lap in the pool and so isolation curls to squatting and deadlifting heavy you’re going to eat more plain and simple (and you should be eating more).

As we’ve discussed at length what matters most is what you’re eating and the hormonal effect that the food has on your body at least as far as losing fat goes. Though that factor is important no matter what your overall goal is. Now with this being said when you take out carbohydrates (especially sugar, which can act like a drug to the brain, though not quite as powerful) you’re body isn’t going to like that at first. This is going to result in a couple of different things. For example when going low carb many get what is commonly called the “keto flu” which isn’t actually a flu and something that can for the most part be prevented.

Keto Flu & Other Changes

Alright so while I don’t neccesarily recommend you go full keto (unless you want to and feel that would be best for you, make sure no matter what diet you follow to do research and test on yourself) you can still experience some of the “keto flu” by going low carb. Meaning that you may feel fatigued, tired, a bit sick, craving for carbs (especially sugar), irritability, difficulty focusing, trouble getting to sleep, and stomach issues. Sounds pretty great right? Now before you go running in the other direction let me explain some things. First off this generally last no more than a week, when (and only when) you take certain actions to ensure that this “flu” either doesn’t happen or is minimized to as short as time as possible.

When you go from burning glucose as energy (from carbs) to burning ketones your body is going to go through and adjustment period (your body goes through an adjustment period even if you don’t go full keto). During this phase there are certain things that the majority of people do that make it much worse. So as I have lain out some things that you should do are get rid of sugars, processed carbs, and grains. This going to take away glucose from your system in a large amount which was your bodies main energy source. So your body obviously still needs energy so it needs nutritious foods that are going to provide that energy.

This is why simply taking away food (eat less) without replacing it with other things is going to cause problems, so not only do you need to make sure that you are getting rid of the things that are bad for you but that also you are replacing those things with things that are good for you. Meaning you still need nutrients and such and when you get rid of inferior sources you can just let your body go without any replacement. You need to replace it with superior sources. So when you stop eating bread you start eating more eggs, when you stop eating sugar you start eating more green vegetables, when you stop eating potatoes you start eating more grass fed red meat. You get the general idea, green vegetables are particular important to getting all the vitamins and such that you need so you don’t feel bad (organ meat is another great source of nutrients).

What Else To Do

Alright so we discussed that the number one reason that people feel like crap when trying to lose fat and going on a diet is because they remove without replacing which always ends up in them going back to where they started (once they get tired of starving themselves and feeling like crap that is). So in addition to making sure that you’re replacing not just getting rid of there are other things that you can do to make your transition as pain free as possible. Again none of them are as effective as making sure you’re replacing the bad stuff with good stuff but they help.

Like with everything in life your overal levels of health are going to matter. So say you’re obese and going on a diet to lose weight you’re going to have a different experience than someone who simply has some gut fat from drinking too much during the weekend that they want to lose. Likewise a fifty year old woman is going to have a different experience than a 20 year old man. So anything that you can do to improve your overall health is going to help with the transition. I know this is probably blindingly obvious but most seem to forget this when they get all caught up in the minutiae of starting a new diet and all that it entails.

So make sure you’re drinking enough water, make sure you’re exercising, make sure you’re getting some sun, make sure you’re not chronically stressed, try to get as much sleep as possible, nothing crazy and all things you’ve no doubt heard but all play a crucial role. These are things that you should always focus on regardless but especially when transitioning these things are going to be even more important than usual especially in making the transition as pain free as possible as well as short as possible. The healthier a body is the better and quicker it’s going to adapt. Regardless realize that this uncomfortable period is only going to be for a short amount of time and the rewards are more than worth it.

Summary

Alright this holds especially true if you’re going on a keto diet, a valid option especially when it comes to fat loss. But even just going low carb is going to result in changes in your body. There will be usually be an adjustment period. This is fine and normal, nothing to worry about. Make the best of it. The healthier that you are the quicker and easier it’s going to be. But if you’re not healthy then it’s going to be a little bit longer but the end result is even more needed for you. Regardless the things that help with the transition are things that you should be doing anyways, the transition just gives you even more reason to do the right things. So be ready for a change there will be a little dip but then you’ll start feeling better than ever.

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it.

-Charles Sledge