Going to the gym a few times a week, seeing improvements in strength and fitness week on week, and even adding a bit of cardio on your off days - although a great start, you NEED the last piece of the puzzle to start seeing fat loss!
“Okay, simple enough, what do I need to eat?”
Nowadays on social media, you’ll see people promoting all sorts of diets from the Paleo or the Vegan diet, all the way to the Low-Carb and even the Moon/Lunar diet. All these diets have advocates that swear by them, they won’t stop going on and on about the benefits, and ultimately why you should also be on it making you think, “so... which diet should I actually follow?”
Let me break it to you as simply as possible. The best diet for fat loss is the diet that has you on a CALORIC DEFICIT. Even if it’s the unconventional Moon Diet that has you fasting when it’s a full moon, as long as you are in a caloric deficit, you can be guaranteed to lose weight.
The actual diet plan you decide to go for doesn’t matter so much, but what is important is that the plan you choose has to be the plan that YOU CAN ADHERE TO. If you find the Ketogenic (ultra-low carb diet) to be sustainable, then do that. If not eating carbs will mean the end of the world, then obviously it shouldn’t be what you decide to go on!
“That makes sense. So where do I start?”
So firstly, we need to determine your daily calorie intake to create a deficit. Generally, 11 x body weight in pounds (lb) will have the average person on a deficit. Taking a 200lb man as an example, his caloric intake would be 2,200kcal a day. For some people, this general number will be too low or too high. The ideal rate of weight loss is between ~0.5-1.5% of bodyweight weekly where 1.5% would be quite aggressive, and 0.5% slightly slower but less mentally taxing. You can see how your weight moves and how you feel and adjust the daily calories to meet your goals.
“Does meal timing matter?”
Well, think about how you usually like to eat. Are you five meals per day sort of person? Do you prefer to fast all day and have one enormous meal? Studies have shown meal timing to be of less importance when it comes to fat loss than overall calories and protein intake. So structure your diet plan to best match your lifestyle!
