Rachael Attard Lean Legs Program: How to get your dream body by summer and burn fat

A personal trainer has answered the weight loss and fat burning questions she’s often asked by clients – and explained why resistance training is the key to fast results.    

Sports nutritionist and scientist, Rachael Attard, from Queensland, is famed for her leg slimming workouts and has been responsible for countless body transformations across all three body types. 

The mum posted a Q&A on her Instagram page, covering the benefits of walking, why monitoring your hormones is important and why running isn’t always the key to weight loss success.

DO YOU NEED TO DO INTENSE WORKOUTS TO LOSE LOTS OF WEIGHT?

‘Not at all, you can lose weight without doing any exercise at all and just focusing on your diet,’ Rachael said.

‘You can’t lose weight if you just exercise and don’t eat well – diet is the most important thing when losing weight.

‘Exercise will help you get results quicker and of course it has so many other benefits. You can really do any type of exercise you want, with a good diet, and lose weight.’ 

HOW DO I NOT MESS UP MY METABOLISM WHILE IN CALORIE DEFICIT? 

‘In order to lose weight you need to eat healthy but also in a calorie deficit (meaning you eat less calories than you burn),’ Rachael said.

‘Eating a calorie deficit will reduce your metabolism over time so the best way to avoid a damaged one is to not go the extreme – a 500 calorie deficit is the maximum. Don’t starve yourself.

‘Take a break after eight weeks – have a week off and eat whatever you want – and have two higher calorie and carb days during the week (carb cycling).

 ‘Don’t cut out any foods, having balance will help you long term.’

WILL RUNNING EVERY DAY + A CALORIE DEFICIT HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

‘Yes but there are better exercises than running every day,’ Rachael said.

‘Running every day can cause more problems (over training, injuries and high cortisol which leads to weight gain.

‘I would recommend three times per week maximum for running and be sure to always include resistance training. A 300 calorie deficit.’

I CAN’T LOSE WEIGHT, IS THIS HORMONE RELATED?

‘If you are eating the right amount of food and eating healthy then yes there is a 99 per cent chance that it’s hormones,’ Rachael said.

‘All hormones affect weight loss and if you have one hormone imbalance it’s likely the others are out as well.

‘I would highly recommend seeing an integrative doctor for some testing.’

SHOULD I DO CARDIO TO LOSE WEIGHT?

‘Cardio can definitely help with weight loss. High intensity cardio especially burns lots of calories,’ Rachael said, reminding her client to keep running to three times weekly maximum.

‘I would also include resistance training, this will make a huge difference to your weight loss.’ 

DO YOU HAVE TO COUNT CALORIES TO LOSE WEIGHT?

‘You don’t have to count calories – you can eat intuitively and eat when you’re hungry and eat when you’re full,’ Rachael said.

‘But this is hard for a lot of people and most of us don’t realise how much (or how little) we’re eating until we actually count it.

‘I recommend putting your calorie intake into My Fitness Pal app just for one to two days to get an idea of how much you’re eating. Then you can decide if you need to eat more or less and eat intuitively from there.’

HOW MUCH WALKING IS GOOD FOR RAPID WEIGHT LOSS?

‘Walking is amazing for slimming down your legs but it’s not the best exercise for weight loss,’ Rachael said.

‘Resistance training is and then high intensity cardio. You can definitely still do walking (and I encourage it) but I would add in other types of workouts too.’