The New Rules Of Burning Fat

(...Or Why Everything You Think You Know About Weight Loss Is Wrong)

- Scarlett Wrench

IF LOSING WEIGHT FEELS LIKE A MIRTHLESS CHORE, THEN YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG. TEAR UP LAST YEAR’S RULE BOOK: THIS IS THE NEW WAY TO GET RIPPED AND (HONESTLY) ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE

1 Have a Lie-In

The “rise and grind” mentality is hitting snooze on your progress. Let’s put it to bed

The OLD rule

By the time most of us have hauled ourselves out of bed, the Rock is uploading his muscle-building efforts on Instagram. The pre-dawn period is when the magic happens, you know.

The NEW rule

To paraphrase sleep scientist Matthew Walker, it took 3.6 million years for Mother Nature to hard-wire the notion of “eight hours’ sleep” into us, and mere decades for us to undo it. Now the average Aussie scrapes by on an inadequate six hours and 58 minutes – leaving you exhausted and prone to weight gain.

“Sleep is the unsung hero of fat loss,” says performance coach Artur Zolkiewicz. “Those who log fewer hours see an increase in cortisol, which can lead to muscle loss and a disturbance in appetite regulation.” In a University of Chicago study, men lost half as much fat when they rose after 5.5 hours compared to when they slept for 8.5 hours, regardless of their diet. If you’re sleep-deprived, you’re better off doing a 30-minute session at lunch than an hour of zombie-shuffling at the crack of dawn. Consider sleep your new steady-state cardio.

2 Carbs Are King

It’s high time that protein was dethroned as the ultimate fat-fighting macro

The OLD rule

Picking up a plate of meat and eggs the minute you drop your dumbbells is the ultimate fat burning finisher move. Carbs? No thanks – they’ll only bulk you out.

The NEW rule