Female fat loss experts

 | Ultimate Performance

We are the world’s leading experts in female fat loss.

Our tailored personal training programs have helped over 10,000 women worldwide lose fat, tone up and make head-turning transformations. Our vast experience in fat loss has been honed over hundreds of thousands of hours of painstaking trial and error.

A slow-burn scientific process over years and years – working with thousands of women of all ages, shapes and sizes to truly master our craft. Data and real-world know-how drive our proven methodology. So we can consistently deliver fast and effective fat loss results for every woman who walks through our doors.

 | Ultimate Performance

Answers to your fat loss questions

Women often find fat loss success harder than men. Hormones, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and menopause can all make losing fat more challenging.

We share the answers to your most common fat loss questions from our expertise in working with thousands of women…

How does estrogen affect weight loss?

Women worry that estrogen will affect their weight loss efforts. While estrogen can affect where you store fat, we know it will not prevent you from losing fat – if you are in a consistent calorie deficit.

Women typically will store more fat in the hips, arms and thighs for reproductive purposes.

Our trainers regularly track 15+ fat loss sites with our female clients to give us valuable insights into typical fat loss patterns.

Women will often lose fat first from upper body sites, such as the arms. Lower body sites, such as the hips and thighs, can often take longer to lose fat.

This pattern reverses in women who are pregnant or lactating. The body will preferentially tap into lower body fat stores first.

Estrogen can increase cellulite too. However, losing weight and getting leaner will reduce the appearance of cellulite.

How does the menopause affect training?

Women often gain weight around menopause.

Hormonal changes and other factors, such as a lack of exercise, unhealthy eating, and not enough sleep – all create a catalyst for this unwanted weight gain.

Women can experience lower mood, less drive, increased appetite and cravings, disturbed sleep and impaired cognition.

Introducing a regular training and exercise routine can help improve many of the symptoms of menopause.

Strength training improves insulin sensitivity – meaning the body can better process, store and uptake carbohydrates rather than store them as fat.

Training weights increases metabolic rate, aids sleep, improves bone density, and increases functional strength and muscle mass, which can help prevent the likelihood of falls in later life.

How does the menstrual cycle affect weight?

Weight loss for women isn’t always linear. A woman’s weight may fluctuate at different stages of the menstrual cycle due to water retention and changes in metabolic rate.

Water retention may cause a temporary spike in body weight as estrogen surges during days 10-14 of your cycle.

Metabolic rate also tends to be slower during the follicular phase (days 1-14). Hunger and appetite should be more manageable due to higher estrogen levels and a stronger leptin response.

Body temperature increases by around 2°C during the luteal phase (after ovulation) and metabolic rate increases slightly as a result.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms start around day 21 in the late luteal phase.

Cramping, mood swings, low energy and hunger cravings can impact dietary choices and ability to exercise, which can have an impact on weight management.

Weight loss fluctuations can be alarming for women on a weight loss program.

Your personal trainer will help you track your cycle to better understand your body. Together, your trainer will help you develop strategies to manage stress, increased cravings and low mood, and help you eat and train effectively during your cycle to maintain weight loss progress.

Can I train for weight loss if I’m pregnant?

Maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy is important for both mother and baby.

Almost 50% of pregnant women in England are overweight or obese, statistics show.

But pregnancy itself can contribute to weight gain and the associated health problems it can cause. Pregnancy is a big risk factor for obesity in women. Women gaining weight during pregnancy, never losing the baby weight, having another child and gaining more is a common scenario.

Training is an effective way to reduce excess pregnancy weight gain. It can decrease the risk of gestational diabetes, reduce post-natal recovery time, reduce the risk of caesarean births, low mood or depression.

For obese women, exercise can reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia and reduce pelvic and back pain.

If you have the all-clear from your doctor or midwife, it is safe to train through pregnancy. However, the focus of your training may change from before you were pregnant. You may need to adapt exercises based on how you feel and what stage of your pregnancy journey.

Read our comprehensive guide for an in-depth look at how to train during each trimester and exercises to focus on.

'Maximum results, minimum time' - Female fat loss results

Thousands of women of all ages and abilities. Consistently outstanding results that go way beyond just a ‘before and after’.

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 | Ultimate Performance

Diet and supplement smarter for fat loss

Nutrition is vital if you want noticeable fat loss results – but 99.9% of personal trainers don’t give it a thought. We examine your diet history, your body composition stats and your goals alongside 150+ data points before you even start. It means we can create the perfect diet and training plan tailored to you for fat loss.

There is no magic to what we do. We focus on core nutrition principles. ‘Eat from the land’ with a focus on high protein, nutrient-rich meals that support optimal health and a calorie deficit needed for fat loss. We give you the education and accountability you need with your diet to get lasting results.

You don’t need pills and potions for fat loss – your diet, training and daily activity do all the ‘heavy lifting’. We find that most clients will benefit from a small number of supplements to plug any nutritional gaps on a fat loss plan.

We only recommend science-backed supplements that are shown to enhance performance, recovery and results on a fat loss program with thousands of our clients.

 | Ultimate Performance

Game-changing tech for fat loss

Our ‘Transform’ app technology records your body fat storage patterns so we can give you the most effective fat loss plan possible.

It lets us analyse where you store fat – revealing powerful insights about your metabolic and hormonal health.

We do this by taking body fat measurements from 15 key sites to create a unique hormonal profile of you. It helps us identify any potential issues with your hormones, health or lifestyle that might be stopping you from losing fat effectively.

We can use this unique data to personalise your training, nutrition and supplement protocols to reduce fat, improve health markers and enhance your results.

 | Ultimate Performance

Female fat loss myths busted

Losing fat and getting in shape can be an uphill battle for women. Fitness myths about fat loss only hold women back and make this struggle harder.

The answers to some of the most common fat loss myths might surprise you…

Does lifting weights make me bulky?

Many women still believe they will look ‘bulky’ if they start lifting weights.

Looking at the thousands of women who have achieved eye-catching transformations with us at Ultimate Performance should show you that this is a myth.

The biggest risk for appearing ‘bulky’ comes from lifting weights but not changing your body composition.

If you increased your muscle size without reducing your body fat stores, the surface area of your body would increase. One pound of lean body mass takes up around 20% less space than a pound of body fat.

What is required – and what we focus on with our female clients – is a combination of weight training alongside a calorie deficit to promote fat loss and body composition change.

This helps our female client develop the coveted ‘lean and toned’ look.

Women should not fear lifting weights. Lifting moderate to heavy loads will help promote strength and hypertrophy without making you look bulky.

Resistance training is a particularly potent health tool for women, as it helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis, age-related muscle loss and improves fertility.

Beyond its health benefits, weight training can help you become a more confident and independent version of yourself.

Is it harder for women to lose weight?

Fundamentally, the science of weight loss for women and men is the same.

Create a calorie deficit by reducing energy intake, and increasing energy expenditure and you will lose weight.

However, weight loss is less ‘linear’ for women, and the process of losing weight can be harder.

The menstrual cycle can make weight loss tougher for a number of reasons.

Water retention can cause fluctuations in weight. Hormonal changes can modulate metabolic rate. Cravings and appetite can increase, which makes dieting harder. Pain, low mood and other PMS symptoms can impact the ability to train with intensity.

Women have lower satiety signals than men, which can result in a higher drive to eat.

When they are primary caregivers, women are more likely to sacrifice their own health and well-being to care for others.

Working with a professional personal trainer can help give women guidance and accountability, emotional support, and expert strategies to navigate the menstrual cycle so they can lose weight more effectively.

Is cardio best for fat loss?

Cardio is just one tool we can use to increase energy expenditure and lose weight.

But it is not necessarily the ‘best’ for fat loss.

Yes, cardio will increase your calorie burn – and if you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight overall.

But we cannot determine where this weight is lost from (fat, muscle, water etc).

Most people don’t just want to be smaller or weigh less on the scales – they want to lose fat specifically and feel more ‘toned’.

We do this by creating a calorie deficit while encouraging the body to retain lean body mass by lifting weights and eating a high-protein diet.

Cardio can help us achieve this calorie deficit. But there’s nothing magically ‘fat burning’ about it. Some forms of cardio can also interfere with your gym training and impair your recovery.

We find that walking is often the best way to minimise stress and burn sufficient calories to achieve the results our clients want. A target of 10,000 steps per day is a good place to start for most people.

Will training on an empty stomach burn more fat?

‘Fasted cardio’ is still a hot topic in fitness – but studies repeatedly show there is no difference between training in a fasted or fed state for fat loss.

Training on an empty stomach doesn’t magically burn more fat. Fat loss is determined ultimately by your energy balance – the amount of calories you consume and burn over the day.

That doesn’t mean to say there are no benefits, however.

Some people will feel they perform better on an empty stomach. Some people will feel their output and performance is much higher in a fed state.

Ultimately, it is up to your individual preferences when you feel most energised so you can get the maximum benefit from each workout possible.

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