How To Lose Fat Without Counting Calories
[Disclaimer: Now before all the calorie police start commenting, let me give you your props: weight and fat loss doesn’t happen without being in a calorie deficit. If you eat all the broccoli and chicken breast in your local market, you will gain weight.]
With that out of the way…..
I hate counting calories.
I’ve used it at times and it’s just a chore for me. It tricks me into thinking I can eat some low-quality food and fit it into my calorie allotment for the day.
It has robbed me of my energy and has left me feeling deprived most of the days I’m counting. I know I could get a lot of responses about how I was doing it wrong, or it works whether you want it to or not.
The countdown to how many calories I had left was just draining to me.
It felt like a scarcity mindset rather than an abundant one.
What have I done since I stopped counting calories?
- Lost 50lbs of total weight
- Gotten stronger and added muscle
- Look the best I have in my entire life
How?
It Starts with Satiety
Satiety is the quality or state of being fed or gratified to or beyond capacity.
Basically, your hunger is satisfied. You no longer want to eat. When you aren’t fulfilling this quality, you will eat and eat and eat without getting full. Some ways to increase the chances of you feeling well fed are:
- Eating enough protein
- Eating a salad, bone broth, or protein shake before your main meal
- Eat foods rich in fiber
- Eat healthy fats
- Drink plenty of water
Eat Whole Unprocessed Foods
This should go without saying, but 100g of blueberries will fill you up better than 100g of veggie chips. You get many of the satiety benefits from eating real food around the edges of the market.
Experiment with Time Restricted Feeding
Time restricted feeding and intermittent fasting help you schedule your feeding period throughout the day. It doesn’t tell you WHAT to eat or how much, it is an answer to WHEN you are “allowed” to eat.
[Making this adjustment alone can help many cut calories without stressing about it.]
It seems like every week more and more evidence comes out about the benefits to time restricted feeding.
Maintain a Regular Training Schedule
What gets you moving, sweating, and ENJOYING it? Do that. If you want to maintain or build muscle throughout your fat loss journey, it’s best that you lift heavy weights. A linear based progression is usually what is prescribed to get and keep those muscle gains.
Walking is the most overlooked activity and can actually help many people make great fat loss gains. Adding a 30–60 minute walk a couple times a week can really make a difference.
Journal and Track Your Results
What gets measured, gets managed. -Peter Drucker
It is an age old quote about tracking metrics from business to relationships, and it also finds its home with fitness and health. Track what you eat, what you weigh, what you look like in the mirror, your measurements, your workouts, how much energy you have.
Your scale weight can be the most tricky measurement of all, because there are so many variables that go into it. Water weight, when you get on the scale, types of food you’ve eaten all play into that number. Keep tabs on it in 2–4 week averages. If you are hard on yourself with the day to day numbers, you could lose motivation real quick.
Your mirror and measurements are your best friend when it comes to noticing physical and fat loss changes.
Be honest and watch all of your metrics improve with enough patience and consistency.
Burn The Ships…and the Chips
Your environment can make or break your fat loss journey.
The environment is more powerful than your internal resolve. As a human-being, you always take on the form of the environments you continually place yourself. - Benjamin P. Hardy
Food in the cupboard that could impact your goals? Ditch it!
Have a roommate or family member that won’t adjust with you? Figure out a way to mitigate the issue.
When you embark on this quest you must burn your ships. If there is anything that could get in your way, get rid of it or make a plan to make sure it doesn’t get in your way.
It’s best to brainstorm and figure this out beforehand, because the temptations might be too strong to resist while you are on your way.
Least Sexy of Them All: SLEEP
It’s the mother of all unsexy habits. Most of us don’t prioritize it and we just deal with whatever quality we end up with.
7–9 hours. Stop caffeine consumption in the early afternoon. Limit screen time before bed. Sleep in a cool environment. Keep the room as dark as possible. Have a consistent sleep time and wake up time.
Want to hear more about the advantages and perils of sleep? Check out this Joe Rogan podcast with Dr. Matthew Walker
At the end of the day your actions must match the level of your ambitions.
Your actions must match the level of your ambitions.
If you want to be the fittest, healthiest version of yourself, only you can stop you.
Your talking, your planning, your hopes, and your thoughts don’t make a dent in your progress; only your actions do.
Be consistent, be patient, and watch the fat melt away.
CALL TO ACTION
Want weekly tips and strategies to cut the fat and poor energy from your life? Sign up here!
