The hardest part of the fat loss process is believing that this time will be different. But, it can be if you’re willing to remove the usual complications associated with weight loss and commit to a different approach.
After helping thousands of people lose weight, the key to building an effective fat loss plan is knowing where to start, building a plan that is sustainable (think easy over restrictive), and having guardrails to help you stay on track.
You’ve been fed a steady diet of misinformation about what your body needs in order to look its best.
No one diet is best for fat loss. And, that’s maybe the hardest idea to accept because of diet culture. It is a gross overstatement to say that avoiding any one food is “all it takes” to lose fat.
It doesn’t matter if it’s carbs, fat, wheat, dairy, gluten, sugar, late-night eating, or processed and/or packaged foods. And that’s not a guess. Yale researchers took a look at many diets and compared low-carb, low-fat, low-glycemic, Mediterranean, mixed/balanced (DASH), Paleolithic, vegan, and elements of other diets.
Their findings? There isn’t a clear winner because all can work for fat loss. The real secret is relying on a few principles (more protein, fruits, and vegetables, fewer processed foods), and finding a plan that you can stick with for a long period of time.
The diets that work all share one common trait: help you create a calorie deficit that you can maintain for a long period of time.
That second part — the duration — is the most underrated and important part of making fat loss last. Most people have experienced losing weight, but it’s usually for a short period of time, somewhere around 2 to 8 weeks. It feels good when it happens, but it’s incredibly frustrating when the weight loss stops and the pounds find a way back on to your body.
No matter what dietary strategy you choose (low-carb, counting macros and calories, etc.) or workout plan you follow, you can’t escape the physics of fat loss. To lose fat, you need to consume fewer calories than your body burns every day. This is called a “calorie deficit.” It’s like gravity.
Because you’re eating fewer calories than you need, your body will burn stored fat for energy. This is how fat loss happens.
Here’s another way to think of it: Your body needs a certain number of calories just to handle its daily functioning, such as keeping your heart beating, fueling your brain, powering digestion, and helping you move around.
This is called your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). When you think of your metabolism, this is what we’re talking about.
You can create a calorie deficit a few different ways, but it’s most efficient to do with a combination of diet and exercise. And, we’ll show you exactly how to make that happen.