When most people think of "going on a diet" or eating in a way to lose body fat, they think of a large reduction in the volume of food they are used too eating. This is perpetuated in the "fitness and nutrition" industry with shakes, cleanses, and teas that don't do shit and replace good quality food with crap. When you are trying to lose weight, the best approach is a slow and steady one. A place where calories are low enough to lose fat but not so low that you are starving yourself, making it impossible to sustain for a long period of time. You want to eat as much as you can, WHILE losing weight. Let's dive a little deeper.
We all know that calories in/out are THE most important factor when attempting to lose body fat. The larger the calorie deficit doesn't always mean you'll lose more fat. There is a point of diminishing returns when reducing your calories. At some point, your body will stop losing more fat and start losing muscle as well. So while yes, you might lose more "weight" but some of that is lean body mass, the stuff you want to hold on to.
So what do you do? Well like I said above you take a slower approach with a smaller deficit. Studies have shown that the longer it takes to get the fat off, the better chance you have of KEEPING it off. That's why crash dieting and sever calorie restriction works, but usually fails when you return to eating normal. Why not start small, lose fat consistently over time and keep it off without having to drastically change the way you eat? Yes it takes patience, yes it takes longer, but YES it's better for your body composition and health in the long run.
So what would this look like?
Let's say you need 2000 calories to maintain (click HERE for my calories calculator) start with a small reduction in calories like 10-15%. The more body fat you need to lose, the smaller this reduction needs to be.
Example:
2000 X 10% = 200 calorie reduction daily
200 X 7 days = 1400 calorie reduction weekly
This would mean you would eat 1800 calories/day.
That's a much more tolerable amount of calories versus some wild reduction that will inevitability give up on the diet.
What's even more awesome, is that you can increase this calorie deficit through exercise! Just 30 minutes of activity a day can burn another couple hundred calories. So you have a deficit of 200 from the diet side and another 200 from the activity side for a total of 400 a calorie deficit per day. That adds up to 2800 calories in a week! And this is assuming you are on a very "chill" workout regimen that's only burning a couple hundred calories a day.
With all that said, the importance of sticking with a diet and consistency with your activity is the key. If you can eat as much as you can while still losing weight, you are likely going to be able to stick to it for a very long time. I hate the "it's a lifestyle" bullshit, but it kinda is. It's a commitment to stick to something to make a sustainable change.
Quit crash dieting, quit thinking you need a massive deficit in your diet and stick to something by fueling your body with food!
If you’re ready to take your nutrition and training to the next level, shoot me a message on Instagram and lets talk!
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