If you’re like me, LeBron James and March Madness consume a large portion of your life. I enjoy most sports, but basketball is my favorite. I’m enthralled with the basketball year-round. Thanks, Twitter. Most of my attention shifts to basketball posts on Instagram. Sorry friends.
I like basketball. I get basketball. There are some complex strategies to the game but overall, there are a few simple things, that if done correctly will allow you to win. You know...like not letting the other team score. And scoring some points for yourself.
As basketball fans, we have grown to understand basketball and the fundamental ways to win a game.
Fully understanding how losing fat works, is a different beast.
Sure, LeBron is one of the best basketball players ever. Most humans on earth know that. Basketball fans can dive into the reasoning that he’s one of the best.
Similarly…
Sure, if you eat “healthier” foods, you’re going to lose fat. But why or how does fat loss work? That explanation is something that people often struggle with.
If you’re a basketball fan (or understand basketball more than fat loss), this is the start of understanding how fat-loss works, through basketball comparisons.
Let’s jump it off…
There’s No Clear-Cut Method To Being Successful
First off, a basketball game is not won by reaching a certain amount of points before the other team. They don’t throw the ball out there and play until a team scores 100 points to determine the winner.
Losing fat isn’t black and white for every person. There aren’t objective things that you can do, that absolutely guarantee fat loss.
Sure, just like basketball, there are strategies and methods that may allow you to be successful. But just by doing those things, winning the game is never guaranteed.
Not every person can do the exact same things and lose fat, just like not every basketball team can score 100 points and be guaranteed a win.
You Have A Set Amount Of Time To Execute
There is a set amount of time that teams have to play their best. Teams have to do the right things within the allocated time frame – four, 12-minute periods (NBA) – in order to win the game. In life, you get 24 hours each day to make progress with fat loss.
The actions you take within those 24 hours, as a whole, dictate if you’re successful.
Mistakes Don’t Mean You Lose The Game
In basketball, mistakes are made every game:
- Turnovers
- Throwing up a string of missed shots
- Losing track of the player you’re guarding
With fat-loss, it’s difficult to be perfect for an entire day. There are going to be some areas that aren’t ideal:
- Eating two donuts at breakfast
- Missing your workout
- Having an extra beer with your weekend lunch
If these mistakes compound into having a day/game full of mistakes, you’re not going to win.
However, the great thing about your day-to-day life when it comes to fat loss (and for your favorite basketball team), is that the outcome is not determined on that one mistake made. You have a period of time to be your best. One mistake doesn’t cause a loss, unless you let it compound into multiple mistakes.
It’s a long game filled with plenty of ups & downs. There is hardly ever going to be a day that is absolutely perfect. Mistakes happen for every human trying to lose fat and every team trying to win a game. The important aspect is that you’re doing the “right” things most of the time and not letting the imperfections compound into a loss.
The Offense & Defense of Fat Loss
A girl that I used to date said it best:
“All they need to do is make their shots and stop the other team from scoring.”
When you say it like that, it makes basketball quite simple.
To take this one simple step further, making shots is what you do on offense and stopping the other team from scoring is what you do on defense. Simple.
There’s an offense and a defense to losing fat.
What I’m about to say is going to be the most difficult to understand in this entire post. So stick with me.
To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit.
Think of a calorie deficit as winning a basketball game.
To win a game, you need to make shots than the other team, or stop the other team from scoring as much.
In order to win the fat loss game (be in a calorie deficit), you need to either:
1. Eat less calories than are needed to stay at the same body weight
OR
2. Burn enough calories, from exercise, that puts you into a calorie deficit.
**Hint: Those most successful with fat loss typically have a combination of both.**
Offense equals Exercising
In basketball, when you focus on offense, you are focused on getting the basketball in the hoop.
Being a good offensive team is beneficial because the more you can score, it becomes less important to play stingy defense at all times.
The more you do it/practice it, or better you are at it, you don’t have to be as strict with your nutrition (defense) in order to see results.
There Are Different Strategies
Every basketball team plays offense differently. Some focus primary on shooting three-pointers, others want to get closer to the basketball more often, and some are a balanced mix of both.
Similar to offense, you can exercise in many different ways. You can focus more on lifting or cardio, or a balanced mix of both. There is truly not one singular way to exercise that is objectively better than the other. It’s more about what you can stick with, and enjoy, to be successful.
You Still Have To Play Defense
However, it’s risky to put all of your focus on offense because there are games where you’re simply not going to make shots.
Putting all of your focus on workouts, and not really worrying about nutrition (defense) is risky. There are days where your workouts just aren’t going to be that good, or miss a workout. If you don’t put any focus on nutrition (defense), and put all of your efforts towards offense (exercising), you’re going to be easily defeated when things don’t go as planned.
Defense equals Nutrition
In all actuality, you could do a minimal amount on offense and if you don’t let the other team score, you can win the game.
Realistically, you could do zero exercise and if you’re nutrition is strict as hell, you’re going to lose fat.
You Have To Take Something Away
On defense, you’re trying to limit the other team from going over a certain amount of points, by taking away something they do well.
When you’re dieting, you have to take away some “unhealthy” items from your diet in order to see progress.
Here’s an example…
You’re playing a really good three point shooting team. In order to limit the points they score, you need to try to stop them from taking as many three point shots.
When you’re trying to lose fat, there are going to be some items that are slowing your progress. Like pizza. To lose fat, you’re going to have to take away a portion of that pizza from your normal routine.
It’s Not Easy
You have to be able to play good defense even when you are going against an elite player. You have to game plan, focus in, and be disciplined to slow that player down.
There are unexpected events that get thrown into your life, that could interfere with your fat loss progress. To name a few, think about these: weddings, a night out with friends, Friday donuts at work, a big bowl of chips and salsa at your favorite Mexican restaurant. The list could go on longer than LeBron has been in the NBA.
Despite the different situations that you are put in, discipline comes in to play.
It’s easy to say “Hey, don’t get James Harden drive to the basketball with his left hand”. It’s a lot more challenging to go out there and actually do that on a consistent basis.
Similarly, it’s easy to come up with a game plan for what meals you’re going to eat throughout the day. However, that game plan becomes difficult when you actually get to your favorite Mexican restaurant and they bring out the chips and salsa before you order.
It’s not easy to be disciplined in these challenging situations. But to be successful, it’s a must.
Finding A Balance:
The level of perfection required to see success by focusing solely on either offense (workouts) or defense (nutrition) is unrealistic to expect on a regular basis. Find some type of balance between the two is essential.
In order to win a game, you need some balance of offense and defense. Obviously, you can be focused more on one aspect than the other. But to win the game, you have to score and you have to play some type of defense.
Sure, your defense (nutrition) could be impeccable or you could be the best three-point shooting team ever (aka a workout beast). But if you are completely neglecting one side of the equation, then you’re going to be in a bad position when things aren’t going your way.
And for that, playing both sides of the game is important.
Summary: Keys To Success
- In order to establish yourself as a good team, you have to win more games than you lose. To be successful with fat loss, you have to string together more good days than bad days to see progress.
- There is not one objective way to lose fat or win a game. Every single person/team is different.
- You are given a certain amount of time each day to be successful. It’s about what you collectively do throughout an entire day that determines your success.
- Mistakes happen. Your response to those mistakes, specifically making sure they don’t compound into large scale mistakes, are more important than being perfect.
- Exercising is like offense. The better you are at it and/or the more often you work on it, the less you have to worry about defense (nutrition). But this isn’t the best strategy. It’s not ideal to leave your entire fat loss journey up to exercise. Also, not that sustainable either.
- Nutrition is like defense. If your defense (nutrition) is perfect, you can win the (fat-loss) game without offense (exercise). This isn’t the best plan of attack either, but it’s true.
- Having a good balance of offense and defense (workouts and nutrition) makes for the easiest path to success.
Now that we have the basics covered, I’ll be diving into more specific strategies of nutrition, training, and general fitness goals in my next few write-ups. Of course, the basketball comparisons will remain for the foreseeable future. Hopefully you’re a basketball fan!