The Only Fat Loss Guide You Will Ever Need
June 13, 2008
Well here it is, a simple and very easy guide on how to troubleshoot and make sure you making continual progress in your fat loss efforts. No matter if you eat all day or follow an Intermittent Fasting schedule, no matter what kind of shape you are in, and no matter how much weight you have to lose….this guide will keep you on track. Remember that you can burn fat all day…..if you do the important things right on a consistent basis. Forget all the little things that provide little to no results, focus on the bigger important things that you have to do daily and then anything is possible. (click on the picture to see the whole guide)
Great Post! In your opinion what is the best way to figure out caloric intake for fat loss?
Mike do you consider fat loss and weight loss the same thing? In my case, I’m looking to lose fat but maintain my overall weight. What would you recommend or how should I track that? Thanks
Great post.
Sorry to be picky, but shouldn’t it be Hormonal Effect (not affect)
Very good simple summary though
Good things can and usually are really simple, this is a good example
Steph - many variables..but a good “guestimate” is usually somewhere around 10x your “ideal” weight…it’s not 100% scientific but comes close as there are still variables about exercise and what you eat. Start there and then adjust using the chart for good results. Also a lower carb approach is always the best way….eating a lot of carbs does no one any good unless they are very very active.
Stephen - I would always say “fat loss” is the goal….weight can be water, glycogen, fat or muscle….so out of all those fat is the aim. Honestly you have to do the math….as someone who is 200lbs for example and 15% BF who wants to get ripped and be 6%BF and 200lbs….it won’t happen…unless you plan on somehow adding another 18lbs of lean muscle in the process. (which is not going to happen overnight….unless you use some *cough* supplements) That and when you get lower in BF you will look heavier by your definition….like everyone saying Brad Pitt was ripped in fight club…but could you guess his weight? Many would say 185lbs? Try like 145-150lbs. You can do
tricks to glycogen load the muscles, but outside of really putting on major muscle you will lose “weight” as you lose “fat” (and you will lose size…because muscle is lean..and fat is not)….well all depending on your % and how lean you want to get of course.
Chris - Yes you are picky
and Yes you are correct.
Helder - Simple things done right have made plenty of people lose tons of lbs, put on muscle and make millions of $ in the business world….it’s all 80/20…..focus on what matters…ignore the rest….repeat daily.
You’ve been promising an IF E-Book for weeks for those who signed up for the challenge. Where is it? I notice the ad is still on the website for new subscribers, but since I’m already signed up, the system rejects my continued attempts. How do those of us who signed up for last month’s challenge get access to the E-Book? Thank you.
Nice chart, Mike.
You could even cut out the bottom part. That would make it very simplistic, but IME, people tend to get wrapped around the small details, and if you put a large focus on the to-be-or-not-to-be of hormonal output and effect, people will make that their primary focus, often missing the forest for the tree’s (is that how the saying goes or did I just make that up as I wrote).
Downregulation of metabolism occurs every time you lose a pound (lower body weight = lower expenditure), but seldom occurs independently as an effect of calorie restriction (i.e lowered thryoid output). Unless you’ve been dieting for a very long time and/or have a very low body fat, the so called starvation mode is a bit of a dieting myth and often gets larger attention among dieters than what is called for.
Martin - you are correct as probably 85% of the issues are taken care of in the top 2 things. Hormonal aspect can come into play…..as I have seen it many times…but when in doubt if one wants to lose fat…usually the old saying of “eat less and exercise more” will work. Probably the biggest issue I have seen is low cortisol output meaning compromised adrenal/thyroid health probably due to ongoing stress issues…and it’s usually also in women more so than in men.
Hey mike, what about my problem, i’m loosing weight, but i also am loosing strength.
How can I get a copy of your E-Book. I am already subscribed so am unable to get a copy if I subscribe again (which it won’t allow).
Mike - can you elaborate on the cortisol issues you’ve seen and how they relate to fat loss?
From my experiences with female clientele, which are particularily sensitive to these things, many come from a background of overexercising and undereating (chronically high cortisol/disturbed adrenal axis?).
Things get wack, and their fat loss seems to stall, despite being in a significant caloric deficit - at least that’s how things appear, though I suspect this is a fairly complex issue which also has to do with water retention concealing any fat loss.
When I put them on a low volume lifting routine, drastically reduce their cardio and slightly increase carbs = things start moving again after two weeks.
Is this similar to what you have been seeing or what you are somehow getting at?
Alex - you’ll have to be more specific about what you mean about losing strength. Also inorder to even know what is going on you’ll have to tell me what you are eating, are you doing IF, how you are doing IF, what kind of exercise you are doing, how often, etc. Strength shouldn’t be an issue unless you are not eating enough protein for your muscles, fasting too much, not getting enough sleep/recovery or exercising too much.
Martin - Just from more a lifestyle approach I’ve seen too many people all stressed all day at work, don’t eat correctly, get little sleep and then have difficulties with adrenal/thyroid output. Yes you are also correct that many people’s issues can also be traced back to too much “cardio” exercise and lack of food. Those are also 2 deadly combinations. All depends on the individual of course and what is going on in their life.
Great website
Thanks for all the info I am on a quest now to lose my bf
I’ll testify to the adrenal & thyroid effect on fat loss. Eating right wasn’t doing anything but preventing weight GAIN for me until I began addressing those issues and the causes of my stress.
Mike, do you know how long it takes to become glycogen depleted? i’m not sure i like the idea of running out of glycogen & then have my muscles broken down via gluconegenesis to supply glucose to my red blood cells & brain (they run on glucose right? unless you’re in ketosis). On the other hand I have heard some people say that having protein broken down is not neccessarily a bad thing as it recycles the cells, clearing out waste products etc & that net gain is what counts, still it seems a little counter productive to risk muscle loss given the benefits of LBM, what do you think?
JC - simple answer, if you keep your training moderate and eat enough carbs you will have plenty of muscle glycogen for workouts. Not recovering with too low carbs (without any cycling days) and doing too much working out can lead to a state of muscle loss. If you are in ketosis there could be more muscle saved and there are exceptions to every rule of course. Unless you are running around for hours a day, don’t sweat it too much. Yes, your amino acids can also be recycled back for muscle rebuilding.
Tirzah - Can you explain a little more on what you had to do to get things turned around? As I know there may be many who may be going through the same thing right now and could benefit from your story.
Thanks for the reply Mike i really appreciate the time you put in answering these q’s & comments. Just one more if i may, it has been said that fruits particularly the sweet (delicious) ones (mango, banana, pineapple) are high GI & spike insulin, if you have a fairly low glycogen store (say at the end of a 16 hr fast) do you think these fruits would spike insulin or would the sugar be absorbed into the liver / muscles as glycogen? ie do high GI foods automatically spike insulin or is it more that they spike insulin if your glycogen tank is already full (as is the case with people eating normal high grain diets), ie if there’s room in the tank maybe it’s not a problem? basically i like my fruit & wonder what affect eating too much could have. Also i heard protein promotes an insulin response, my guess is that its minimal any ideas?
JC - fruits are a mix of sugars that will help to replenish liver glycogen (fructose) and also add sugar (glucose) to the blood stream. I always say stick with fruits higher in ORAC that have more water, nutrients, antioxidants (and those also tend to be lower in GI as well). Things like all type of berries and some melons. (I’d stay away from bananas). Fruit is a a natural food and if you listen to your body and it craves it, then chances are there is a good reason. Experiment….see what works best while keeping your energy high, performance high and fat loss/muscle building goals on track. You are going to get insulin response of some kind when you are eating…so just try and manage it and keep it from going too high and you will be fine. Replenished liver glycogen may also lead to a better functioning liver which is vital in all things muscle building and fat burning.