What is the secret to body weight training weight loss?

Is there one thing that is the key to success?

Can anyone lose weight using the right body weight training program?

Yes. If they know the secret to effective weight loss.

Exercise to lose weight?

People always ask what are the best exercises for weight loss. Of course the simple answer is those exercises that burn the most calories per unit of time. Exercises using the entire body or at least the large muscle groups burn the most energy. Exercises that break down muscle tissue enough to require repair increase caloric burn. This is due to the “afterburn” or rebuilding of the muscle tissue during the recovery phase. Complex moves like kettlebell swings or burpees with a plyometric jump will really burn some calories.

But this is not the most important factor when trying to lose weight using body weight training.

Aerobics to lose weight?

Everyone wants to perform aerobic workouts to burn calories and lose weight. Runners and bikers are everywhere. On the street, on the trails and in the gym. The belief is that after about 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, you get into “fat burning” mode. So most runners and bikers go 30 minutes or more. And many train several times a week. Some are fit. Some are not.

The fit ones can likely thank their genetics. The fat ones can blame their parents if they want. But the bottom line is that they don’t know the secret to weight loss. And it is certainly not long, slow and steady aerobic activity.

The secret to body weight training weight loss is not how you move your body. Not how quickly, not how far and not how frequently.

Eat to lose weight?

The secret is the fuel. What you feed the machine is 80% of the battle. You simply cannot out-train a bad diet. Don’t try to do it. The likely result will be weight gain, not loss. Yes you'll actually get fatter.

And here’s why.

The typical weight loss adventure begins like this:

• Joe Buddha Belly finally decides he has to get on a fitness program. He just has to lose the spare tire before summer. Incidentally, it is January 2nd of the new year.

• So Joe decides that if he can just burn more calories through exercise, the fat will melt away leaving washboard abs by June. Sounds reasonable but does this ever work?

• No it doesn’t work because the real reason Joe is dragging around the big gut is that his diet sucks. He eats crap.

• And what happens when you start exercising? You get hungrier. And when you are hungrier, you eat more. And when your diet is bad, you’re eating more bad stuff.

• This is why you cannot out-train a bad diet. The excess calories burned from exercise will never exceed those consumed from crappy sources. It is simply the wrong formula.

The secret to weight loss from body weight training is eating real food. The eating is far more important than the training.

It really is that simple. Eat real food. You can lose weight using this approach without the exercise program. A properly designed fitness program can accelerate the weight loss provided you are fueling the body with real, energy dense, natural food.

What is real food?

Real food looks nearly the same on your plate as it did when alive in nature. It is a piece of meat or fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and maybe dairy products, depending on your personal sensitivities. You can tell what real food is by looking at it. It rarely has a label listing all the stuff in it. Most real foods are just a single item; beef, apple, almond, kale, etc. You get the idea.

How to start?

The easiest way to start moving towards a real food diet is eliminating all the stuff you buy in boxes and bags. These will typically be grain, soy or legume based products. You definitely don’t need them. You shouldn't really want them. However, you may love them. So it can be a challenge.

The solution is simple. Eat real food. Simple doesn’t mean easy unfortunately. You are addicted to this crap. But if you want to lose weight bad enough, you can make the change. It does get easier once you have converted to real, wholesome, energy rich foods.

You can do it.

What is the secret to weight loss using body weight training? Get the eating right first. Then focus on the training. Just eat real food.