By Will Duru, BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, Award-winning Personal Trainer with over 10 years of experience in strength training and optimising recovery.
Losing 5kg of body fat can feel incredibly hard if you do not know what you are doing. But if you do know what you are doing, it is completely achievable in 8 weeks or less.
I am going to keep this simple. To lose body fat, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. That is it. That is the entire science behind fat loss. Everything else is just detail.
I see this every year as a personal trainer. As soon as spring arrives, Clients come to me with the same goal. They want to tone up and lose some belly fat so they can wear their favourite dresses, jeans, and trousers without feeling too tight around the waist.
The good news is you do not need to starve yourself or spend hours on a treadmill. You just need to make a few simple changes and stick with them for 8 weeks. Here is exactly what I tell my clients.
Five Things I Tell Every Client Who Wants to Lose 5kg
1. Start walking more
This is the easiest change you can make, and it makes the biggest difference. Aim for 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day. Take the stairs instead of the lift. Walk to the shops instead of driving. Go for a long walk on the weekend and throw a backpack on if you want to make it harder. Walking burns calories without putting stress on your body, and it does not make you hungry the way intense cardio does.
2. Start bodyweight training
You do not need a gym membership to start training. Bodyweight exercises like press-ups, squats, lunges, and planks are enough to build lean muscle and increase your metabolism. If you are not sure where to start, open the 12REPS app and go to the Trainer Program section. There is a weekly bodyweight program in there that I designed for people just getting started. It tells you exactly what to do, how many reps to do, and how long to rest.
3. Control your portions
Eat your meals on smaller plates. When you eat off a big plate, you fill it up and eat everything on it. A smaller plate means you naturally eat less without thinking about it. You are not cutting out any foods. You are just eating a bit less at each meal. Over time, that small change adds up, and your body starts using its fat stores for energy.
4. Drink more water
Try to have at least 2 litres of water per day. And no, coffee does not count as water. Neither do juice nor fizzy drinks. Plain water. It helps your body burn fat, keeps you full between meals, and stops you from reaching for snacks when you are actually just thirsty. Carry a water bottle with you everywhere.
5. Reduce your sugar intake
Sugar is one of the biggest reasons people struggle to lose body fat. It spikes your blood sugar, makes you crave more food, and adds empty calories your body stores as fat. Cut out the obvious stuff. Sweets, biscuits, sugary drinks, and the sugar in your tea or coffee. If you need something sweet, use a small amount of organic honey. After a couple of weeks, your cravings will drop, and you will not miss it.
Put It All Together
None of these steps are complicated. Walk more. Train with your bodyweight. Eat off smaller plates. Drink more water. Cut out sugar. Do all five consistently for 8 weeks, and you will lose that 5kg. You do not need to be perfect. Just be consistent. If you have a bad day, make the next one better.
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