Why The Best Way To Train For Fat Loss Is STRENGTH Training

If you're working out just to burn calories, you're missing the bigger picture.

Training purely to "burn off" food is not only inefficient, but it's also one of the least rewarding ways to approach fitness. Instead, you should be training for strength and performance.

Here's why shifting your focus will lead to better results, greater motivation, and long-term success.

1. The Truth About Calorie Burn in Your Training

Many people believe that exercise is the key driver of weight loss because it burns calories. But in reality, your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is made up of several components:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): The energy your body burns at rest to keep you alive (about 60-70% of TDEE).
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): The calories burned through daily movement like walking, fidgeting, and standing (about 15-20% of TDEE).
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The energy required to digest and process food (about 10% of TDEE).
Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): The calories burned during structured workouts (typically only 5-10% of TDEE).

This means that the number of calories burned during your workout is a small fraction of your total daily expenditure. Focusing on calorie burn in the gym is an inefficient way to manage body composition.

2. Training for Calorie Burn is Unrewarding and Unsustainable

When you train with the sole purpose of burning calories, you set yourself up for frustration. Here’s why:

It’s hard to measure progress. If your goal is simply to "burn calories," you’ll struggle to see tangible improvements beyond what’s displayed on your fitness tracker.
It's mentally exhausting. Constantly trying to "earn" or "burn off" food creates a negative relationship with exercise.
It doesn’t drive long-term motivation. Progressing in performance-based goals (e.g., getting stronger, lifting heavier, improving endurance) keeps you engaged and motivated over time.

Instead of training to "burn off" last night's dinner, imagine training to set new personal records, build functional strength, and see your body improve in ability week after week.

3. Strength Training Builds Muscle and Boosts Metabolism

One of the biggest benefits of training for strength and performance is muscle growth.

Why does this matter? Because muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

For every 0.5kg (1lb) of muscle you gain, you burn an extra 6-10 calories per day at rest. That might not sound like much, but over time, this adds up—especially when paired with increased NEAT and proper nutrition.

Strength training not only helps you maintain muscle mass but also enhances your body's ability to efficiently burn fat, even when you're not working out.

4. Train to Be More, Not Less

Think about why you want to lose weight. Most people say they want to feel better, be healthier, and gain confidence. But then they train with the mindset of being less—smaller, lighter, burning calories away.

A better approach? Train to be more:

More energised throughout the day
More capable of handling physical tasks
More resilient against injury and aging
More confident in your body’s abilities

When you shift your mindset from "I need to burn calories" to "I need to get stronger, move better, and improve my performance," everything changes.

You start enjoying your workouts more, seeing progress beyond the scale, and achieving a body that looks and feels better long-term.

What’s Next? Start With Strength. Start With 6.

If you’re ready to move away from ineffective calorie-burning workouts and start training with a performance-first mindset, join my START WITH 6 nutrition challenge on March 31st.

This challenge is designed to help you build sustainable habits, fuel your training properly, and achieve long-term body composition results without the burnout.

DM me "START" on Instagram to get first access when the next intake opens up!