When the question is to lose fat and keep it off, most people will look for an easy solution.
However, your body is a machine and it is YOUR responsibility to understand how that machine works and what you can do to maintain it.
A bad approach often leads to eating disorders and loss of motivation, instead of sustainable results.
In this article we give you the best tips that you can use in your daily life to start losing weight (and keeping it off).
The contemporary problem
Human beings have been around for hundreds and thousands of years and for most of that time we have been kind of starving.
Starvation is something the body knows very well and that is why the body can undergo metabolic adaptations, allowing it to survive on little to no resources.
And here comes the big but.
It is only in the past 30 years of human existence that we have had such easy access to a multitude of foods.
Plus, those foods, many of which are bad, can be delivered right to your door, without you having to do anything other than get up to pick up your delivery.
If we follow that line of thought, we can conclude that the modern lifestyle is literally fattening!
Today's consumer society deprives you of exercise and gives you a lot of junk food to choose from.
What we are trying to tell you here is that the very first steps you need to take on your weight loss journey is to take care of your physical activity levels, as well as your nutrition.
Fat loss 911
The fundamental principle of weight loss is called "eating in a calorie deficit".
This essentially means that the body receives less energy (food) than it needs to maintain its body weight.
What this means to you is that the most important factor in weight loss is the AMOUNT OF FOOD rather than the type of food. (Yes, you can lose weight with burgers. )
Now the amount of energy you need each day to maintain your< body weight and body functions is called "Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)".
Your TDEE is individual and depends on the following factors:
1. Gender
2. Age:
3. Length
4. Weight
5. Non-practice activity
6. Exercise activity
7. Food consumption (digestion takes energy)
Very simple, if you consume more than your TDEE, you will gain weight.
If you consume less than your TDEE you will lose weight and if you are around your TDEE no massive weight changes will be observed.
NOTE: Click here to determine your personal TDEE.
Macronutrients
Now, although you can eat any food while dieting and still lose weight, the choice of food sources is important.
During a period of weight loss, you not only lose fat, but also lean body mass (LBM).
To avoid a biological disaster, you MUST do everything possible to maintain that lean body mass.
So what you need to do is maintain a moderate calorie deficit, consisting of whole, nutritious food sources with adequate amounts of protein and fat.
This will ensure that most of the weight you lose is fat.
Not only that, but with a moderate deficiency, you will still be able to maintain the healthy functioning of your body and you will also have enough energy for all daily activities.
So to put it simply, if you are moderately deficient and eat mostly nutritious foods and exercise well, you will be able to maintain most of your lean body mass and your energy levels will be high.
Keep your weight
Okay, so we now know that a moderate deficit that favors nutrient-dense foods is the best way to lose fat sustainably.
But how do you actually keep your weight?
The majority of people who go on a diet gain 100% or more of their weight in twice as short a time as it took them to actually lose it. And this is the EXACT reason why you shouldn't think of your diet as something that has a start and end date.
It is a healthy habit that you must create and keep with you for the rest of your life, to meet the needs of your organism.
If you want to maintain your weight after reaching your goals, do the following:
1. Reverse Diet - Gradually increase calorie intake by 50-80 calories per week
2. Keep an eye on the weight - you shouldn't gain drastic weight.
3. Continue to train - Increase working weights, sets and reps
In addition, during the period of eating with a calorie deficit, you should take a diet break every 2-3 weeks.
This essentially means going back to maintenance calories and what this will do is it will help keep your metabolism up, making the whole process more bearable.
Conclusion
Losing and keeping your weight off starts with the basics of what you put into your body.
To achieve sustainable weight loss, you must resort to a moderate calorie deficit and nutritious foods.
Remember, this shouldn't be a drastic, quick process, but rather a gradual change over time.
In the second part of this series of articles, we will tell you more about training and how you can use it to accelerate your fat loss and keep the body healthy.
