5 Foundational Habits for Fat Loss
Josh Allen • May 30, 2024
For most people who want to burn fat, working out is a great place to start. When it comes to fat loss and exercise, your goal should be to workout at least 3 times a week. If you are at this level but still find yourself struggling to burn fat it is time to do something new!
But before you go adding more exercise or cardio to your week to burn more fat, consider these fat loss foundations first!
Hydration
- Most of us are dehydrated from drinking little water, skipping fruits and vegetables and drinking caffeine and alcohol.
- Your body burns fat better when it is hydrated because your cells need water for the metabolic processes they are responsible for.
- Follow hydration basics like starting each day with ‘super water’ and drinking the proper amount each day.
- Bottom line: Muscle = water. Dehydration therefore means less muscle. When you are hydrated, you have more muscle which means your body fat % is less.
Nutrient Dense Calories & Supplementation
- Most people struggling to burn fat fall into one of two groups: Those who overeat high calorie low nutrient density foods (ie: processed food) and those who eat 'healthy' but not enough.
- Those who overeat low quality foods should shift to consuming more whole foods (grains, veggies, fruit and meat) from the earth that are nutrient dense.
- Those who under eat are often skipping meals. A busy lifestyle leads to missed meals which provide essential nutrition for fat burning. We find clients who stick to 3 meals and 2 snacks in a day do best for fat burning and energy.
- Supplements like fish oil, magnesium, vitamin D and zinc are essential because we are not getting it from our diets. Read more about foundational supplements here or email us to learn what are the best supplements for you.
- Bottom line: your body needs to be healthy first by eating enough nutrient dense foods before it can burn fat and put on muscle.
Remove Inflammatory Foods
- This supports the last point of us under eating nutrient dense whole foods. When we consume a diet high in inflammatory foods, we are likely to consume high calories but with less vitamins and minerals.
- Eating inflammatory foods also causes a list of other problems that take away our ability to burn fat. Zapped energy, compromised digestion and systemic joint inflammation are just a few things we get by eating these foods.
- Most lean people either completely avoid or strictly minimize products with wheat, sugar, dairy, corn, soy and refined vegetable oils (ie canola oil).
- Bottom line: You can not burn fat if your body is focused on healing damage caused by these foods.
Sleep
- We are waaay too busy. Unfortunately we are often busy watching Netflix or our ‘smart’ devices until late at night which takes away from our sleep time and affects our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
- No matter what anyone tells you, your body thrives on 7-8 hrs of quality sleep each night. Make this your mission if you want to burn fat, have exceptional energy and live a long functional life.
- Growth hormone is primarily released between 11pm - 1am. If you are awake during this time, you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to build muscle, repair tissue and burn fat.
- Bottom line: Prioritize sleep! Develop a good sleep routine that limits electronics, considers light, temperature, sound that supports the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Fix Digestion
- Do you eat on the go, in front of screens or swallow your food with minimal chewing? If so, your digestive system is under stress. More stress means more fat storage.
- Focusing on chewing 30x’s before swallowing, sitting at meal time, eating without screens and walking after meals to help your body digest better. Better digestion = better fat burning and muscle building.
- Bottom line: If you are not chewing or digesting food properly then you are not extracting what your body needs from the food you eat. Furthermore, healthy waste elimination (daily bowel movements) is an essential part of digestion.
If you want to burn more fat, feel more energy and live a better life master these Foundations first. Start with choosing the habits above that could be the easiest for you to begin with. Then over time try to stack more habits while keeping the original ones. Remember, fat loss is not an overnight process but rather the result of accumulating habits over time.
If you need support with any of the above please reach out to us anytime or consider joining one of our Transformation Coaching Programs such as 1on1, LeanDads or soon to begin Femme Fusion.
Andrew has been a Nova member for 9 years. One of his long standing goals was to do his first triathlon. He has been working towards this for years and just at the end of August he did it!
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Do Hard Things Now, So Life Becomes Easier Later Modern humans default to the easy way but it's not our fault... Throughout human history, we were wired to survive constant hardship - scarcity of food, threats from predators, harsh environments and manual labor for everything. Our DNA evolved for survival in these conditions, not for modern living. Imagine an early human stumbling across a fruit tree. It made sense to gorge - there was no telling when the next meal would come. The human who gorged had a higher chance of survival than the human who only ate a few pieces of fruit. Practicing self-control in an environment of scarcity would have been a death sentence. Likewise, if given a chance to rest instead of walking miles or hunting, rest was the obvious choice. The problem? Our genes haven’t caught up with modern life. Today, food is everywhere. We don’t have to fight to meet our basic needs. Technology does the heavy lifting, cars replace walking, entertainment is on-demand and calorie-dense foods are always within reach. Left unchecked, our instincts will always lean toward easy options like overeating unhealthy foods (that are so easily accessible) or driving to the store instead of walking. In other words, we’re still hardwired to take the path of least resistance. But here’s the catch: Choosing easy now often means a harder life later and choosing hard now often means an easier life later. Most modern humans are overweight, stressed, tired and dealing with chronic health problems because we’re following outdated survival programming that no longer serves us. It’s time to become aware of these defaults. To override them. To consciously choose the hard thing - because doing hard things is what actually makes life easier in the long run. Hard things like: Going to bed on time instead of watching another episode Preparing a healthy meal instead of grabbing fast food Moving your body instead of sitting all day Walking or biking to the store instead of driving Managing stress with deep breaths and fresh air instead of pouring a drink Looking at your habits instead of masking symptoms with medication It might feel uncomfortable because it goes against everything your biological programming is urging you to do. But that’s exactly why it matters. Don’t think of it as punishment or sacrifice. Think of it as an investment. Every time you take the stairs instead of the elevator, cook instead of order out, or put your phone down to truly rest, you’re building a life that’s easier, richer, and more fulfilling down the road. And remember: Do easy things, and you’ll have a hard life. Do hard things, and you’ll have an easy life. Most of the above information is probably not new to you. That’s because we live in the information age with the internet and now AI - we already know what it is we need to do. The problem however is implementation. This is where having a customized plan and accountability comes in. If you know the hard things you need to do more of but struggle with breaking past your ‘default mode’ then contact us for a complimentary consultation HERE .
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We are back with our second series of 'Pod Calls' available exclusively to our Nova Health Club members. Don't miss these unique sessions to help you level up your health and wellness game! What is a Pod Call? A Pod Call is a live online (webinar like)_ session with a Nova coach, offering support and insights on key health topics like fitness, nutrition, recovery and overall wellness. Why did we create Pod Calls? Our goal is your success and your health goals can not be built on fitness alone. After delivering thousands of personal training sessions, we noticed a disconnect between fitness sessions we were delivering and the other pillars of health (and lifestyle habits that happen outside of the gym). To get the most out of your health and your fitness sessions at Nova we need to link other pillars such as mindset, nutrition, stress and recovery. Training coaches who care about your results will agree that a couple hours of personal training each week is not enough time to workout AND learn everything you need to know about maximizing those workouts... Things like how to eat before or after workouts, what recovery habits should be practiced or the link between stress and working out are all subjects that you need to know on your health and fitness journey. Pod Calls are dedicated sessions where we teach you essential health and fitness insights that we can't often cover during your gym workouts. We hope you take advantage of these expert-led sessions that will enhance your workouts, teach you new concepts about health and bridge the gap between fitness and overall wellness. Upcoming Pod Calls (all times in EST) Mon Jun 2, 2025 (6:00pm) Topic: How To Eat Carbs For Better Energy, Muscle & Fat Loss Coach: Josh Allen Wed Jun 4, 2025 (2:00pm) Topic: Hip Mobility Using the 'CARS' (active session) Coach: Kim Vo Sat Jun 7, 2025 (12:00pm) Topic: Benefits of Single Leg & Arm Training for Overall Strength Coach: Matthew Nadler Tues Jun 10, 2025 (6pm) Topic: Releasing Neck Tension Coach: Zack Fernandez Wed Jun 18, 2025 (1:00pm) Topic: Training The Backside of The Core Coach: Colin Soltesz Thu June 19, 2025 (7:00pm): Topic: Ayurveda for Healthy Ageing Coach: Kayla Hutchinson These calls are free for Nova members and Zoom links for each call can be found in the Nova Mighty Networks platform. If you are not a Nova member and would like to attend any of these please email Info@NovaHealthClub.com for a seat. We look forward to seeing you then!
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