Do you want to burn fat and keep it off? Riva Siggins is an online coach who “loves food and movement.” She regularly shares tips on the best ways to burn fat and build muscle with her hundreds of thousands of followers. In a few new posts, she goes over the do’s and don’ts for sustaining fat loss. “It’s been over 5 months since I was in a deficit, yet I’m feeling the best I have and have been able to navigate out of a deficit whilst still maintaining the results I achieved, so I wanted to share some tips to help you maintain the results you achieve in a fat loss phase,” she writes. She also notes that “you shouldn’t be in and out of deficits all year round, it’s simply not healthy or optimal for your body.”
Do Reverse Diet
Her first tip? She suggests reverse dieting. “Work out your new maintenance calories and then reverse out of your fat loss phase properly,” she says in her post, “up to your new maintenance.
Do Increase Food, But Only the Healthy Kind
Next, eat more, but don't eat unhealthy food. “As your food increases, don’t just add in lots of processed foods and foods high in saturated fats (these are fine in moderation, but try and prioritize more whole foods, complex carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats,” she says. “These will leave you feeling fuller for longer, and you’ll likely find you feel super hungry for the first few weeks coming out of a deficit.”
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Do Maintain Exercise
Also, don’t stop moving. “Still keep a good baseline of movement in; don’t just stop going out for walks or doing any cardio. These things are good for your overall health and also help increase your NEAT and daily output,” she suggests.
Do Keep Prioritizing Protein
“Keep prioritizing protein,” she says. She adds protein powder to her oats every morning, “which means I’m starting my day with over 30g protein,” she says. She also prioritizes lean protein sources like chicken breast, white fish, and 5% fat beef mince. “It’s the most filling macronutrient and the building block of new muscle,” she says, “and coming out of a deficit and into a maintenance phase means you’ll be in an optimal place to build some new muscle.”
Don’t Skip Meals
In another post, she goes over 6 things she had to stop doing – even when she was trying to drop fat fast. The first no-no is skipping meals. “This is just going to increase hunger and make it harder to stick to a deficit. Prioritize 3-4 meals a day for stable energy levels across the day,” she recommends.
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Don’t Label Foods as Good or Bad
Next, don’t label foods as good or bad. “All foods serve a purpose,” she says, explaining that “you want the large proportion of your daily calories to come from high-quality foods where you get more nutritional benefits and volume, e.g., complex carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats.” However, “that doesn’t mean you can’t have processed foods and sweet foods in moderation” and “you’re not a bad person for eating a chocolate bar, and if you fit these foods into your deficit calories, you’ll still drop weight.”
Don’t Only Do Cardio
Don’t rely on only cardio. “To drop body fat, you need to be in a deficit, but you want to try to retain as much muscle as possible,” she says. “If you just do cardio, you’ll lose a lot of muscle, and it’s not necessary. I always recommend proper resistance training and then having a weekly step and cardio goal to help increase daily output.”
Don’t Copy Influencers Calories
What works for someone else probably won’t work for you. “Copying other influencers' calories” is another no-no. “Everyone is unique, and the calories you should be eating will depend on your individual factors, e.g., height, weight, age, gender, activity level, and the goals you want to achieve,” she says.
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Don’t Train Every Day
Training every day is also not something she recommends. “Rest and recovery is just as important as sticking to your calories and training. If you’re overtraining, you risk injury burnout and will feel constantly fatigued,” she points out.
Don’t Neglect Carbs
Neglecting carbs is another big mistake. “Carbs do not make you gain weight. Eating in a surplus does,” she says. “Carbs should actually take up the biggest proportion of your daily calories even when your goal is fat as they are our bodies preferred energy source and complex carbs like brown rice, pasta, oats, and potatoes take a long time for your body to break down so will give you energy for a longer period of time.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.
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Protein Brownie Batter
5. Fruit JuiceShutterstock