When it comes to losing body fat and building muscle, I have 3 steps.

The first 2 steps to follow are:

1. The 3 Rules to Eating Healthy and

2. The 4 Components of the Optimal Fitness Routine 

If you've missed the blogs on the previous two, be sure to read those after you've finished here.

The 3rd step to losing body fat is one that affects every single one of us in some way shape or form.

This 3rd step has been revealed to me through 7+ years of coaching thousands of people to achieve their health and fitness goals.

It has become so apparent to me, that it's something I discuss with every single one of my clients.

There are a lot of people who will eat healthy meals, and workout consistently, but have plateaued.

They feel like they're doing the right things but can't find a way to lose the extra 5-15lbs.

It was a huge breakthrough for me as a coach when I identified that it's because of one or more of four things.

Every time I bring these four things up people know what I'm talking about.

Every time I bring these four things up people get a little red in the face.

These four things are what I have coined the "4 Fat Loss Destroyers." They are as follows:

1. Not enough water

2. Too much alcohol

3. Too many sweets 

4. Too much snacking

This is the time where you have to look at yourself in the mirror, have an honest conversation, and identity which one of these is holding you back, or which ones of these are holding you back.

Which one is your Achilles heel?

Do you drink coffee all day long and maybe drink one bottle of water?

Do you have a glass or two of wine every single night?

Do you have a late night sweet tooth that just needs to be satisfied every night after dinner?

Are you someone who brings a bag of chips or pretzels to work and mindlessly grabs handful after handful throughout the day?

Identify the one that you struggle with the most and let's come up with a plan for ensuring it doesn't hold you back any longer.

Our bodies are made up of ~60% water. Water is critical to our cellular health and our performance.

So, how much water should you be drinking?

My simple protocol for water intake to optimize health and performance is:

If you can work towards that goal on a daily basis, you're going to be in a great place with hydration.

Alcohol is always a touchy subject. If you're someone who completely abstains from alcohol, then you can skip over this section.

If you're someone who battles with alcohol addiction, then please seek further help on this topic as that is not my area of expertise. 

That said, I have coached and helped hundreds of people who drink alcohol regulate their intake. 

There are frequent social gatherings that come up during which drinking alcohol plays a major role.

That's not to say when you go to a birthday party, a wedding, or a vacation that you should not enjoy a cold beer, a glass of pinot, or your favorite cocktail. 

Not at all.

I would never ask anyone to do something I'm not willing to do myself.

And I love all of those things myself - in moderation.

What's most helpful is coming up with a strategy that makes it so you're drinking intentionally rather than mindlessly.

One of my clients said it best, "Now, I don't drink to drink. I drink to celebrate."

This can be a great mindset to keep you on track.

My protocol for alcohol regulation to promote fat loss is:

Again, alcohol consumption can be very different for each one of us but if we can be intentional about our alcohol consumption rather than mindless that's the most important mindset to adopt.

How many of us finish dinner and we want a little bit more?

Our sweet tooth presents itself and we have the urge to satisfy it.

When it comes to eating sweets, I coach people to identify three different types of days:

- Days with no sweets

- Days with healthy sweets

- Days with unhealthy sweets

How many days this week to you want to completely abstain from eating sweets? 

Identify that number.

How many days can you select a healthier option for a sweet? 

There is no shortage of people who post online lists of healthier sweet options and recipes for you to choose from to help satisfy your sweet tooth.

And how many days are you not going to care? 

There are going to be certain days when you go to a party, or on a holiday, or you had a rough day at work, when you just want some ice cream.

Or you want some cake. Identify how many of those days there are going to be on a weekly or monthly basis.

If your sweet tooth frequently gets the best of you, I've found this 3-day strategy to be very effective with hundreds of my clients.

Are you a teacher who frequently falls victim to the temptation of the teacher's lounge?

Do you work in an office that has a bunch of chips and candy bars in your break room?

So many of us are frequently tempted with unhealthy snacks, which makes it nearly impossible for use to constantly avoid them.

That's why my strategy is very similar to that of eating sweets. Identify days when you're not going to snack, days you're going to bring healthy snacks with you, and days you're going to allow yourself the unhealthy snack.

However, for snacking in particular, I've found the second type of day - healthy snacks - to be the most effective long term.

Often times, when we get the trigger to snack, whether it's because of boredom, stress, or hunger, it's impossible to simply avoid, avoid, avoid.

At some point our willpower to avoid is going to run out.

But if we can switch our energy from avoid to eating something healthy it can be powerful.

To help you with your sweets and your snacking you can get my list of: 10-WT Approved Healthy Snacks and Sweets to help you overcome these bad habits.

To sum it up, if you're struggling to lose fat, identify which of the following is your Achilles heel. 

Do you:

1. Not drink enough water

2. Drink too much alcohol

3. Eat too many sweets

4. Eat too many snacks

Pick one to improve initially.

Create a game-plan for how your'e going to improve based on my protocols from above, and work on it.

Don't expect to completely change over night.

Stay persistent.

Try a number of things until something starts to catch on.

And over time, watch the excess body fat begin to melt off.

For your convenience, here again is my list of 10-WT Approved Healthy Snacks and Sweets.

To helping you lost body fat and build a body you're proud of,