Strength Training Before Nutrition for Improved Fat Loss

When it comes to weight loss, many people immediately turn to diet modifications. Insert the Carnivore, Intermittent Fasting, Whole 30 popularity. The common belief is that cutting calories is the most effective way to shed pounds. However, strength training can be more effective in achieving fat loss goals. Let’s pause for a brief moment to note the difference in fat loss and weight loss. Fat loss leads to improved body composition and the desired look that most people imagine. Weight loss means a reduction of scale weight with no regards to composition. Many people experience huge weight loss only to feel awful because they lost as much lean body mass as fat. Strength training offers unique benefits that can be particularly advantageous for those looking to lose fat. Many times when we begin with someone and the focus is solely on nutrition, their attention can become fixated on what they’re giving up (sweets, excess calories, drinks etc.) and the only thing quick to notice is increased hunger. Let’s look at why if you’re looking for a bigger impact on your fat loss goals, picking up a barbell might be your best answer. 

Habit Stacking

No matter how you exercise, everyone can agree that exercise is a positive health habit. We are more likely to habit stack good nutrition paired with our workouts than make nutrition changes by themselves. This might seem simple, but most people won’t chug a milkshake the meal prior to a training session. It would make them feel sick and ready to vomit the entire session. After a training session, our body feels good and we mentally want to replenish our body with good nutrients. With those two meals, you’ve likely made better nutrition choices than you would have otherwise. Maybe you have to strength train early in the morning, this will lead to you cutting out your evening drinks, leading to improved sleep and recovery. Stacking these habits happens more naturally when strength training is the driver instead of being focused on our hunger due to a caloric deficit. 

Increased Muscle Mass Boosts Metabolism

When losing weight, we will lose muscle along with fat. It’s important that we preserve as much muscle as possible during weight loss. Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it burns more calories at rest compared to fat tissue. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants who engaged in strength training increased their resting metabolic rate, which results in more calories burned throughout the day, even when not exercising. This metabolic enhancement can aid in weight loss and make maintaining a healthy weight easier over time.

Strength Training Increases Capacity

By strength training we increase our physical ability with how much we can lift, how well we can move, how much energy we have, and our confidence to things that improve our life. This builds a lot of momentum towards wanting to continue for long term success. If we chronically are in a caloric deficit, we’re lowering our capacity because our input is lower. Most people that begin at Showtime don’t eat enough quality calories to help their body perform to reach their goals. This is a difficult bridge to cross because traditionally people have been told to eat less to be skinny. Skinny by any means isn’t desirable. We’re trying to build more resilient humans. 

Nutrition is Long Term, Strength Training is Compounding

Being promised quick fat loss is something that will never go out of style. The vehicle for delivery will change over time, but it will be the same song and dance with more promises than sustainable results. Fasting, Keto, 75 Hard, GLP 1 medications, and everything else will boast big results, but where is the follow up? If we don’t learn healthy habits with our GLP 1 medications, we lose muscle mass and end up with less metabolic health. Nutrition changes take a long time to have an effect if they’re sustainable. Strength training has compounding effects that build and build whether it’s muscle, weight lifted, improved nutrient absorption, and many more bonuses. We’ve been told that nutrition miracles happen in 8-12 weeks, but it’s simply not true. Nutrition is a lifelong pursuit that constantly adjusts based on the season of life you’re in. If you’ve been dieting for the last 20 years, you’ve missed out on the opportunity to build some quality muscle. The good news is you can start today. 

Nutrition is something we need to be aware of and make work for us and our goals based on our current life situation. We shouldn’t be in a caloric deficit for years at a time, but we also shouldn’t be in a caloric surplus forever. A barbell is medicine to support your long term goals, but the marketing behind that is a few decades behind the marketing of supplements and other promises. 

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