I receive emails weekly about dieting for fat loss. Go to any book store and you will see hundreds of books devoted to some method that is the “magic” diet sure to help you lose 50 lbs with no work. If only those methods were true.
To achieve fat loss you must be in a calorie deficit for a period of time. There is no “diet” that holds the key to your long term fat loss success. The only thing you should be concerned with is consuming fewer calories than you burn daily. Diets that eliminate one of the three macronutrients are an effort to provide a plan to place you in a lower calorie environment. Diets that eliminate fats or carbohydrates are not balanced and I do not recommend them!
So how do you achieve fat loss?
You do the opposite of what you did to gain weight.
You eat less and exercise more!
Keep in mind the message I posted last week about balance. Do not cut your calories too low or exercise too much.
Start tracking all the foods you consume and make specific notes of how many calories you consume daily. I like the use of nutrition apps that allow you to enter foods right from your smartphone. Track everything that you consume for 30 days and you will be well on your way to lasting weight loss.
After a few weeks of nutrition recording work at consuming foods that are lower-calorie and nutrient-dense. Foods such as fruits and vegetables should be prevalent. You may find that certain foods provide more satiety. Start consuming more of those to manage lower calorie intake with hunger. Foods good for satiety are fruits and vegetables and high protein low-fat foods such as chicken breast or other lean proteins.
Do not limit foods that you enjoy but rather consume them in smaller amounts and record everything.
So if one of your goals is to lose bodyfat start recording everything you consume in an app and work at keeping your calories below those suggested. The apps do a nice job of providing you a baseline of calories needed to meet your goals. You may need to adjust slightly up or down as the days and weeks pass but the key is to start journaling.
Stay Strong,
MT
This is exactly what I started doing in May! I’ve lost just over 60 lbs, slow and steady I have reinvented my entire daily routine! So anyone else reading this – it’s worth it and it works! I haven’t felt this well in close to 20 years.
Hi Sarah. Thank you so much for your comment. I know right, the basics just work. Sarah, thank you and Bub for your time this week. Bub had a great message for the funeral and I know my dad would have loved it! We gotta get together much more!