Losing body fat is often overcomplicated by so-called experts. The equation to lose body fat is extremely straight-forward. With consistency and persistence incredible results can be achieved.
In this article we’ll go back to basics and re-simplify the equation of how you lose body fat. We’ll also detail the best methods to use to put this equation into practice to help you lose body fat.
The Simple Body Fat Equation
Expend more calories than you intake and you will lose body fat
We could end the blog post here and I’ll have the rest of the day off, but I better elaborate a little bit.
What is a Calorie Deficit?
A calorie deficit is when you eat less calories than you expend energy-wise in a day. First of all, find out your maintenance calories with this calculator here. This will tell you how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight based on your age, height, weight, and current amount of exercise.
Eating less calories than your maintenance level means you are eating in a calorie deficit. If you eat over this maintenance level, you will be in a calorie surplus. Consistently eating in a surplus means you will gain body fat.
The Game Plan to Lose Body Fat
- Eat in a calorie deficit
- Resistance Training
- Cardio
- Recovery
Let’s get rid of the phrase “losing weight”. What we want to do is lose “body fat”. Losing weight alludes to losing muscle mass as well which is what we don’t want to do. We just want to shred the dreaded body fat.
Eat in a calorie deficit
This is the most important step. If you’re lifting weights, doing cardio, and sleeping well but still eating way too many calories you’re going to put on even more body fat and it makes the exercise futile.
Work out your maintenance calories and then if you have a lot of body fat to lose you want to be eating 500 calories less than your maintenance amount every day. If you have a modest amount of fat that you want to get rid, a 200-300 calorie deficit is sustainable.
Start to clean up your diet. Remove chocolate, candy, and processed foods. Concentrate on healthier foods and base your diet around wholefoods, fruit, and vegetables. Little treats such as a couple of squares of Dark Chocolate can still be eaten as long as you stick to your calorie goal. Make sure you’re eating a balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein, good fats, and fiber. Aim for a high amount of protein as this helps us maintain and build muscle while in a calorie deficit.
Use My Fitness Pal to record what you’re eating each day. Before you set off on your fat loss journey it’s a good idea to record what you eat for a week. Do it no holds barred – eat exactly what you usually eat. My Fitness Pal will add up how many calories you’re eating each day. You will start to see which foods are calorie dense. As you progress you will learn how many calories each food item has. Build a meal plan that adds up to your new target amount of calories.
Resistance Training
Lifting weights builds muscle and helps us lose body fat. Intense training boosts our metabolism and burns calories throughout the day even after we’ve finished training. This type of training is a double whammy. It helps you build muscle while losing body fat simultaneously. This is called body recomposition. Aim for 3-4 sessions per week.
Cardio
The most effective form of cardio for fat loss is HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. An example of HIIT is on an exercise bike. You would perform 90 seconds at a steady pace, then 30 seconds absolutely flat out and repeat. This should be performed for 10-20 minutes. Build yourself up, start with 10 minutes initially. Like resistance training, the intensity of this style of exercise helps to burn calories throughout the day. Some call this the afterburn effect. HIIT is taxing on the body so aim for 2-3 sessions per week.
To make losing body fat and improving our lifestyle choices more sustainable it can be a good idea to take up a sport or exercise we enjoy or are passionate about. It could be anything: soccer, tennis, swimming, MMA, you name it. As long as you’re moving your body, you’re burning calories. It makes sense to enjoy what you’re doing.
Recovery
Rest and revitalization are very important. We need our body and muscles to recover. Aim for 1 or two rest days per week. Rest days are when our muscles grow back bigger, and it gives us time to recharge. Sleep is also important for our energy levels and ability to recover and heal the body. So make sure you’re getting the amount of sleep that you require.
Bonus Tip – Get Walking
Walking is nature’s fat burner. We’ve become too reliant on cars. Aim to get in 7,500 -15,000 steps per day. Need milk from the store? Walk instead of driving. You will be amazed at the amount of calories walking burns.
Should I Have Cheat Days?
No. A cheat day is a slippery slope. If your calorie target for the day is 2,500 and you achieve this 6 days of the week you’ve done fantastically well. Do not blow it on the seventh day. Say you have a McDonalds, a large Pizza and some chocolately snacks you are on your way to 5,000 calories in a day. You’ve just undone ALL of the week’s work in one fell swoop. Allow yourself one treat meal per week and be vigilant with what you eat the remainder of that day.
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