#5 The obvious – poor quality foods (e.g. fast food) and not enough vegetables for solid micro nutrition. And PORTIONS – double whammy when it’s large portions of poor quality foods.

#4  Not enough good quality sleep. You need to be well rested and preferably happy and relaxed to optimize fat burning. Five hours is not enough sleep for most people!

#3  Skipping meals. Your body starts slowing down its metabolism and storing energy as it does not know when you will eat next. And skipping meals often leads to overeating certain foods when you are finally hungry. Masking hunger with caffeine does not work either.

#2 Overestimating the role of exercise. Exercise is great but the majority of our clients have exercised regularly and some intensely for long periods of time (sometimes years) and they get stronger but see no change in body fat. Exercise builds muscle but you’d have to run a marathon and not eat afterwards to burn 3000 calories (not even 1 pound of fat!).

#1 SUGAR. Too much sugar over time creates insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia (Code for too much insulin in your body. Insulin manages blood sugar levels but it is also is responsible for fat storage). And this can come from cookies, carbs, pop, alcohol, Starbucks and fruit. On average people ate 5 lbs of sugar per year in 1905, the average is now over 100 lbs per year. Even super “healthy” people are getting too much sugar in many cases.

Find out more about how to eat to burn fat and lose 2-3 lbs of body fat each week. There is a scientific method that explains this perfectly. Free weight loss workshops, private consult or pick up the Dr. Tran book at our clinic.