How to lose fat consistently with a sustainable method
- Mauro
- Oct 26, 2017
- 14 min read
Ready to turn your weight loss into fat loss?
Quick Summary
This is a longer blog post so I decided to provide a quick summary that you can decide if this article is for you or not.
You will discover the system by following these steps in this particular order ..
1) Calorie deficit
The creation and calculation of a calorie deficit and why it has the most important role for fat loss.
2) Macronutrients
Key facts about protein, carbohydrates and fats.
3) Micronutrients
The macro importance of micronutrients in our organism.
4) Tracking your nutrition
Why counting what you eat matters.
5) Meal timing
How much does meal frequency matter?
6) Refeed Day
Fuel for the extra mile. The lean bulk day of the week.
Do you want the step-by-step instructions to implement this system?
Cool :-)
Let’s jump right into the good stuff. This is for three kinds of students…
1. The ones who are already in a diet.
2. The ones who are struggling in a diet.
3. The ones who are planning to start a diet in the near future.
Is that you?
Good.
Because you’re at the right place, my friend ..
The Fat Loss Guide
The Fat Loss Guide is the system I’m going to walk you through today ..
Step-by-step.
This is not a how to lose 10 pounds in 10 days method.
If this is what you are searching, please don’t read this post.
I am going to show you a system that gets you an overview on fat loss.
This is the ignition key..
You are the driver...
Sound like a good deal?
Here we go ..
Do you know which is the most effective diet?
The one that can be practiced the longest.
And how do you know that? Simply, the less you suffer, the longer you can practice it. Understood?
Good…
The more you enjoy, the more you can continue it and the more fat will be burned.
Sounds simple, right?
Let’s start..
Our first chapter covers the unit of energy. The numbers behind nutrition.
At school we were taught that adding numbers increases the total result. To lose fat, we will subtract numbers.
First, we have to create a ….
1) Calorie deficit
This is by far the most important step.
A calorie deficit means, you should eat less than your body burns.
As soon as you do that, you will lose WEIGHT. Yes, weight – but not necessarily fat. Yet!
Does that mean it is possible to only eat chocolate and lose fat?
For a short time .. YES … But remove this thought from your mind.
Before you continue reading ..
Promise me something first ..
Your goal is 100% for yourself and not to please anyone.
Love yourself and others will love and accept how you are.
OK?
We continue..
...
1.1 Definition of a calorie
A calorie is a unit with which the energy quantity of nutrition is determined.
The energy consists of the following three main nutrients:
1g of protein provides 4.1kcal
1g of carbs provides 4.1kcal
1g of fat provides 9.3kcal
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1.2 Calculation
First step. Finding out how many calories your body burns.
Cool – are we going to find out the exact number my body needs?
No...but approximately.
At the time I am writing this post, there is no tool to find out the exact number of calories you are burning.
Surprisingly, you will still lose fat after reading this post.
The difference between the formular I am going to show you and any calculator in the internet is very small.
Since we are going to adjust the calories in the future, this small difference doesn't really matter at all.
Formula = Bodyweight (lbs) x 9-14.
•Men Less active = 10-12 x bodyweight (lbs)
Active = 12-14 x bodyweight (lbs)
•Women Less active = 9-10 x bodyweight (lbs)
Active = 10-12 x bodyweight (lbs)
As an example, we take a man with 187 lbs who is a bit active.
12 x 187 = 2244 kcals. To make it easier we bring it up to 2250 kcals.
This number (2250kcals) is already a deficit. So don't reduce anymore calories at the moment.
Weight yourself daily. After taking a dump and before breakfast.
Write down the weight and take the weekly average. This will show you the real results.
There are days where you will not lose any weight or even add weight.
That's normal. This are the so called fluctuations.
When you notice no decrease of your weight after a period of 2 weeks, re-adjust your calories.
But ... don't do this in the first 4 weeks. Your body needs time to understand the "change".
This time you will be taking away again 10% from your actual calorie intake.
Why do I have to adjust it, Mauro?
Let’s say you start at 187 lbs with a deficit of 250kcal a day.
When you arrive at 170 lbs, the base changes.
Your calorie intake may change from 2500kcal to 2250kcal.
The deficit of 250kcal is now gone. If you don’t decrease your calorie intake, you will keep your way.
Got it?
And remember….
Wait 2 weeks for a decrease. The longer the diet is running, the less weight and fat you will lose.
The process repeats itself until you reach your desire goal.
Note: I don’t recommend you lowering your calories below 25kcal per KG body weight.
Going lower could be very dangerous for your health.
Got it? Good..
We are moving to step 2.
2) Macronutrients
This chapter has 3 main characters:
Protein
Carbs
Fats
Before explaining their role, we take a look at the definition of macronutrients.
The science of nutrition defines macronutrients as "general nutrients primarily used for energy production in the human body."
From now on, we are calling them MACROS.
Macros also serve to build new tissues and contribute to the synthesis of essential hormones.
It is known that macronutrients together with water cover approximately 98% of the food.
Let’s dive in deeper in to the biography of our characters.
2.1 Protein
Our organism only attracts small amounts of energy from proteins.
Animal sources...
...and plant sources..
For short- and long-term energy storage, the body prefers carbohydrates and fats.
They are nevertheless involved directly in the energy exchange and serve to split fats and carbohydrates.
Enzymes and transport proteins, which are obtained from amino acids, serve to break up the energy carriers.
Up to now, sports science knows 20 amino acids in individual combinations in the proteins. Eight of these are essential and can’t be specifically synthesized by the organism.
They must be provided as external sources (protein-containing nutrition) to your body.
The task of proteins is to build new muscle, skin or nerve cells. Without proteins it would not be possible to build new tissue in the area of DNA replication.
This means that if the body is not adequately treated with protein for a long period of time, it is exposed to a life-threatening situation.
Simply written:
No protein, no life.
This could be a Bob Marley song.
Before creating another song, I’ll introduce you the next character.
He’s already impatiently waiting, which is not ideal for his insulin levels ;-)
2.2 Carbs
It is not necessary to absorb carbs to survive.
So, no carbs… survive.
This basically differentiates this element from the other two (proteins and fats).
They are the most important energy carrier for human metabolism. The human body prefers the carbs to energy production, which is of great importance for the performance of muscle work.
Another feature is the direct influence on the insulin level. This regulates the anabolic and catabolic metabolism. The carbohydrate or sugar molecule is distinguished as follows
Monosaccharides Simple sugars: glucose, fruit sugar, etc.
Disaccharides Double sugar: milk sugar, cane sugar, maltose
Oligosaccharides Multiple sugars: Raffinose, Stachyose, Verbascose
Polysaccharides Multiple sugars: starch, dextrins, glycogen, fiber
The human body can immediately gain energy from it and the insulin level shoots up, but this performance increases, a rapid reduction of the physical and mental condition.
A longer holding time is found in long-chain carbohydrates. Whole grain products or vegetables provide energy evenly over an extended period of time, and this allows constant maintenance of the sporting performance.
Another effect is the longer-lasting saturation effect. The right to exist is justified for both types of carbohydrate.
2.3 Fats
With 9.1 kilocalories per gram, the fats have the highest energy density compared to other macronutrients. This makes them ideal for use as energy carriers.
Like proteins, fats are essential nutrients without the organism can’t function perfectly.
Hormone production is regulated by fats.
A distinction is made here between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Both have different tasks and also characteristics, which perform in their own way for the body achievements, without he would get into trouble.
Saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids need the body to cope with aerobic endurance stresses, in order to ensure the oxygen saturation of the muscles over a longer period of time.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids are used for hormone production. They have an indirect influence on both anabolic and catabolic metabolism.
The focus should be on healthy saturated fatty acids in the daily diet. Like coconut oil.
Source: suziesgoodfat.com
Simple and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as found in nuts, fish and oils, guarantee an optimal supply.
Omega-3 fatty acids are the measure of all things. They inhibit inflammatory processes in the body and strengthen the immune system.
2.4 Fibers
Doesn't really count as macronutrient, but is very important.
Benefits are lower blood pressure, cholesterol, helping to have a healthy gut, and even lower the risk of cancer.
Eating whole, nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, whole-grains and legumes will get you to the necessary amount of fibers.
You fiber intake should be around 20g or 25% of your carbs.
Still with me? Cool..
The introduction of these 3 characters was a bit long, but I want you to know their most important tasks in our body.
The combination of the 3 equals nearly your whole daily calorie intake.
Combine them in the % right way and your fat loss is almost guaranteed.
This is the second most important part after the calorie deficit.
…
Since quality is more important than quantity….
Choosing the If-It-Fits-Your-Macros (IIFYM) way, could destroy your diet.
Why? ..
When people only count numbers, and put quantity over quality, the diet is programmed to failure on longer terms.
So be sure to keep an eye on the good and healthy foods.
Wait a minute..
No low carb diet? Yup
No high carb diet? It can be classified as a higher carb diet, but we keep it neutral.
Why this approach?
Remember? The diet should be long to resist.
Try out 10 weeks on low carb and you will remember those weeks the rest of your life. At least I did.
Enough said.
Did I told you that Macros has a smaller brother called Micros?
This is the third step on our journey.
3) Micronutrients
Information about carbohydrates, proteins and fats can be found everywhere.
And most likely, you've learned a lot about how important they are to achieving your goals of a successful diet.
On the other hand, the importance of Micronutrients is immense and often underestimated.
That’s why I like the quote “The macro importance of Micronutrients”.
Micronutrients are vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, and K) trace elements (iron, zinc, selenium and manganese), minerals (calcium and magnesium), secondary plantings (carotenoids, flavonoids), essential fatty acids (fish oils) and amino acids.
Here is a list of micronutrients with their sources in nutrition
All of them protect the human body from free radicals and are vital.
They are essential for health, fat loss & muscle building.
Growth or energy production would not be possible without the use of micronutrients.
So basically, we need both of the brothers.
If you have a minimum (!) of 2-3 servings of vegetables and 2-3 servings of fruits daily, you should easily hit your intake.
.
.
To make sure you stay on the right way, we need to write down what we eat.
Luckily to live in 2017, there exist apps (can you imagine?) that are showing you exactly how much of macros and micros each nutrient contains.
No guessing, no calculating. We call it tracking.
50% done!
An awesome other half is waiting..
4) Tracking your nutrition
I recommend you to track your calories and macronutrients at the beginning.
It’s like learning an instrument. First you have to learn the notes, before you go all alone.
Your advantages
Plan your meals
Get an overview of everything you eat
Save money (protein is contained in multiple nutrients and often overdosed)
Feed your body with the amount of nutrients it needs.
Learn how your body is working
The simplest way to track your calories is with an app on your smartphone.
I use the App MyFitnessPal. For me it has the best overview and the most foods in my country.
You have multiple options to check your daily calories, macros and micros.
Feel free to choose the app which fits you the most.
Before you judge or think it’s way too complicated or unnecessary, try it out.
This is a real exposure of multiple products you consume daily.
You will be shocked where the sugar is hidden, which products contain the same ingredients but have a huge gap in their prices or that lentils contain up to 20% more protein than meat per 100g.
Yap, this is raw data. The truth is being told here.
Set it up and get an overview of what you eat.
When I first started counting calories, people laughed and criticized me.
Maybe you will go through the same path. Maybe not.
Remember one thing…
You are doing it for yourself.
When someone criticizes you (yeah, it actually happens)...
…and you are losing fat for someone else, you might not be as confident to continue your challenge..
Thoughts like “is he or she right? Should I stop” could become reality.
And then you stop…
.. and start to be unhappy after a while..
See? This is why at the beginning I wanted you to promise me to do it for yourself.
But if you read until here, you are a winner. And winners never quit. :-)
I hope this makes all sense, because it is time for…
5) Meal Timing
Have you ever asked yourself when you should eat how much of what?
After reading this chapter the guesswork will be gone.
There is no difference between eating 2 times a day and 8 times a days as study have shown.
More important is to adapt the meal frequency to your lifestyle.
If you are very busy, it may be a benefit to eat 2-3 times a day.
I prefer having 2-3 big meals, since they keep mo saturated for a longer time compared to 6-8 (birdsize) meals.
Your hunger will probably increase the more you split your meals.
Satisfied? Cool, continue the process.
If not, change the meal timing so it adapts your lifestyle.
Alright so far?
As said before, find the way it pleases you most and you will have success.
It is not necessary to put an exact 1 to 1 timetable when to eat.
There are so many variations to practice – it always depends on your actual stage of life.
When you travel .. life is different …
When you stay at home .. life is different …
On the weekend … lifestyle changes
Flexibility is the key point. The more flexible you can handle it, the likely it will be to practice it on in an ENJOYABLE way on longer terms.
But this shouldn't be an excuse to eat a bunch of crap.
A good amount of discipline will always be necessary.
If you are serious about reaching your goal, you will have that.
Believe me.
..
The most important part here, is that your life RULES your nutrition. And NOT in the reverse mode.
Meal timing should adapt to your life and daily schedule.
It is you who should be riding the horse – and not the horse is riding you.
You don’t want to be this guy who goes every 2 hours to the toilet to eat tuna, eggs and potatoes from his Tupperware. Do you?
Respect the following rule - it will work.
Have fun, enjoy life and don’t overcomplicate things.
Where meal timing can matter is before and after your workout.
The so called pre-and post workout meals.
We focus here on protein and carbs.
For the pre-workout, the most important macros are short-chain carbohydrates, that are very ffast available.
They will fill (before working out) or refill (after workout) your gloycogen storages.
The protein absorption is 2-3 times better after your workout.
It's good to have your post-workout meal during the first 3 hours of your workout. The closer the gap, the better the absorption.
Practical example
Pre-workout could be ½ or 1 banana, dates or other dried fruits
As post workout meal, this would be white rice, potatoes or dried fruits with a good amount of protein.
25-50g protein and around 50g+ carbs
To measure the effect and ingestion of carbs, you should have a look at the glycemic index and glycemic load.
Take a look here:
What next?
5.1 Water intake
There are 3 easy ways to keep in mind on how much you should drink.
Rule 1
Daily water intake of 1liter per 45 lbs body weight.
Rule 2
Per every hour of training, you should add 1l to be on the save side.
6) Refeed Day
Have you ever seen Fast and The Furious?
Can you remember at least one scene where they push the button for nos.
This gives an extra boost during the last mile.
The same can be said for a diet. When you are coming to end, week after week of losing fat you are…
Feeling exhausted…
Maybe sometimes tired…
And hungry...
Honest people who diet for more than 10-12 weeks will confirm you this.
Your metabolism is like a car.
If you drive a long way, you should always be sure to put enough fuel in it.
And the Refeed is where the extra fuel comes in. The nos, which BOOSTS your metabolism.
The course of your diet without Refeed Days
With Refeed Days
Awesome, right?
A refeed day is usually a day in the diet where the calorie intake is increased for a short period of time.
Why should you do this?
Being for longer time on a calorie deficit is for your body like being on “survival mode” in a videogame.
The benefits are:
Decrease of being hungry
Better mood (You = happy)
Increased metabolic rate -> better for fat loss and leptin (a hormone responsible for satiety and metabolism).
Due to the "refeed", the hormone leptin (aka hunger hormon) will be increasted (=less hunger).
So how do we wake up mr. leptin?
…
There are many ways to create a reefed day.
I’m not letting you do the guesswork neither here.
Just one example.
If you like it, take it.
If not, feel free to find your method.
Since there are so many out there, most people use a different one.
The following example serves to implement a moderate refeed day.
How often should you do it?
This depends on the amount of body fat.
Do it once a week for a body fat percentage up to 12%.
If your bodyfat should be higher than 12%, do it once every two weeks.
This graphic should give you an overview where you are stated at the moment.
For the guys...
and girls...
Source: Builtlean.com
Not sure yet? Measure it with one of these five methods:
Continue reading when you are pretty sure you know your bodyfat percentage.
..
What changes is our macro set up for this one day.
This is what it looks like.
Protein = keep the same
Fats = not higher than 25%
Carbs = about 25 - 40% more than you usually eat
When you step on the weight the next day, you might have gained a little weight (read weight). Not fat.
It is like reversing your diet. In short terms, your weight may increase a little.
For long terms, the weight fat loss will be better and you are likely to stick to your diet for a longer time. Which ultimately helps you burn more calories.
A refeed day is not a cheat day.
The refeed is a strategy to improve your fat loss and to achieve other benefits like the raise of testosterone levels or a better training performance in your diet.
One extra tip to go.
Do your refeed day on a training day if possible…
...and…
… eat the biggest meal of the day after your workout.
Think about me when you look super pumped and feel very, very satisfied.
I call this the «lean bulk day of the week». Or two weeks. Depending on your bodyfat level, remember? ;-)
Do you also remember the question I opened this post?
It was…
You know which is the most effective diet? The one that you can go through the longest.
Not a hardcore Low Carb / High Carb diet. This one could be classified as a higher carb diet.
Your Next Steps ...
I hope you enjoyed this article ..
And learned a thing or two ..
This was my goal
Let me ask you something ..
Do you work out?
If yes ..
Do you have a proper nutrition and training plan?
Which brings you closer to your goal ..?
Think about it ..
If you feel like upgrading your training & nutrition..
Make sure to get my free Nutrition Guide where I go more into details on Macro-Calculation, MyFitnessPal Set-up, Macros during the Refeed Day & Supplements.
It’s time for a transformation, baby…
See you on the other side ..
Thanks for reading!
Mauro :-)
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