7 Rules for Fat Loss
Losing fat to get lean can be a daunting task, but the process is actually quite simple…if you follow the rules.
Here are 7 Rules for Fat Loss:
Fat Loss Rule #1: Caloric Deficit
What do the following diets have in common?:
-IIFYM
-Ketogenic
-Atkins
-Intermittent fasting
-Weight Watchers
-Zone Diet
-South Beach
They all accomplish weight loss via a Caloric deficit. If your body is burning more Calories than you’re eating, then you will lose weight. It doesn’t matter if you are dieting or if you are exercising more, you can accomplish a Caloric deficit.
In the end, if you want to lose fat, you need to be in a Caloric deficit. If you’re not losing weight, you’re probably not in a Caloric deficit (even if you think you are).
To start out, I recommend bodyweight (lbs) x 12 and adjusting from there. So if you’re 200 lbs, eat 2400 Calories per day.
Fat Loss Rule #2: High Protein
The Caloric Deficit will allow you to lose weight, but that weight can be fat, muscle, or a combination of both.
You want to lose fat and keep your muscle. Eating enough protein will help you do this.
At the very minimum, you want 0.82g/lb of bodyweight per day. So if you’re 200 lbs, you’ll need an absolute minimum of 164g of protein per day.
Fat Loss Rule #3: Get Stronger
High protein with a Caloric deficit will not guarantee fat loss. You need to maintain your muscle mass by strength training.
You want the simplest formula for fat loss?
Caloric Deficit + High Protein + Strength Training = Fat Loss
The Caloric deficit allows you to lose weight, and the high protein and strength training allows that weight lost to be dominantly fat.
Fat Loss Rule #4: Build Muscle
If you have more muscle mass, you can eat more Calories per day and still be in a Caloric deficit. This is a game changer for most people, as it allows them to eat more food and still lose fat.
On top of this, when people want to lose fat, what they really want is to lower their body fat percentage. Decreasing your body fat percentage can also be done by increasing your muscle mass.
Fat Loss Rule #5: Metabolic Resistance Training (MRT)
With MRT, you’re essentially increasing your Caloric deficit with strength training. This is why it’s an effective method to lose fat.
Essentially, you will use full-body strength exercises combined in a superset, tri-set, giant set, or circuit fashion with shorter rest periods.
A simple example of this could be the following:
1A: Bench Press x 8 reps, Rest 45 seconds
1B: Deadlift x 8 reps, Rest 45 seconds
1C: Weighted Pullup x 8 reps, Rest 120 seconds
You’re essentially doing big compound movements, and chaining them together in order to achieve a metabolic disturbance. This promotes EPOC, which increases your metabolism, thus burning more Calories.
Fat Loss Rule #6: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Another method to increase your Caloric deficit is to use HIIT. This involves short bursts of all-out effort combined with periods of rest. Like MRT, this promotes EPOC, increasing your metabolism up to 48 hours after.
I prefer Super High-Intensity Interval Training (SHIIT). You’ll see why it’s called this after trying this workout:
Jump on a stationary bike and start pedaling as fast as possible after your warmup.
Once you get to top speed, increase the resistance level immediately to a pretty high level.
Try to keep pedaling at the same speed. After about 10–20 seconds, this should be impossible and you’ll slow down tremendously.
Rest 2 minutes and repeat for a total of 2 to 10 rounds (this is harder than it sounds).
Fat Loss Rule #7: Compliance
There’s a missing “real life component” to the Fat Loss Formula above: compliance.
No diet will work if you can’t stick to the plan. You will get good results with 80% compliance, great results with 90% compliance, and perfect results with 100% compliance. Stick to your program, find your motivation, find accountability.
If you need some help achieving this, fill out this application for online coaching and we’ll figure out an appropriate plan of action for you:
