Basic Elements of Fat Loss
by Admin
Filed under Weight Loss Tips
No matter what you may have heard, fat loss is simple.
The problem is that people overcomplicate it by reading too much information about losing fat, without implementing anything they read.
As a result, fat loss dieters suffer from information overload, which results in paralysis in analysis that never allows them to lose a single pound of fat.
So I am going to give you here the basics of fat loss that have always worked and will always work in the future.
First, you need to create a caloric deficit. This is an unassailable truth of fat loss. It is the foundation, the basis of every fat loss success.
Instead of going into complicated equations to determine your daily caloric needs, I am going to give you a simple rule of thumb for daily caloric consumption.
- Consume 10-11 times your bodyweight in pounds calories daily. For example, if you weigh 180 lbs, you should consume around 1800-1980 calories per day. Of course, you should adjust this according to your activity level, and how your fat loss progresses.
You can create a caloric deficit in two ways:
- Eating below your maintenance level.
- Exercise (cardio or resistance, or both).
Apart from caloric deficit, you need to determine your daily protein intake.
Protein is essential for any fat loss diet because it acts as a structural nutrient; in other words, it helps you to keep your muscle while dieting hard.
A simple rule of thumb for daily protein intake is 1-1.5g/lb of bodyweight. Women might need less than men, so you should adjust accordingly.
Once you have decided upon a daily protein intake, you should determine your daily fat intake.
To keep this simple, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.33 to obtain your daily fat intake. If you weigh 180 lbs, you should eat 180 *0.33 = 59.4 grams of fat.
But not all fats are made equal. Essential fatty acids (omega 3-6-9) are the most important, so make sure that the bulk of your fat calories come from these fats. The rest you can obtain from either saturated or monounsaturated fats.
Do not attempt a low-fat diet because they don’t work. Nowadays, we have low-fat all over the place, people are eating low-fat diets, and we are still getting fatter and fatter.
So don’t deprive your body of the essential fats because your body needs them (hence the name essential).
Once you have set your daily caloric level, and your daily protein and fat intake, you should set your daily carbohydrate level. This will depend on your activity levels. If you are very active, you will need a lot of carbohydrates to fuel your activities.
This is especially true for people who practice endurance sports such as marathons and triathlons.
If you are a sedentary person, however, you will need very few carbohydrates.
But if you are active, I recommend you consume your carbohydrates right after exercise, because then they will be transported to your muscles in order to replenish your muscle’s glycogen stores.
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