The Ultimate Guide for Fat Loss

Welcome to your Ultimate Guide for Fat Loss.

This is your final stop in figuring out this whole fat and weight loss thing.

I bet there is a good chance you are reading this article because you are looking to get rid of some stubborn belly fat or to shed some pounds once and for all. You want to become a fitter, healthier, and absolutely badass version of yourself.

Well, you are in the right spot!

First, if you are unsure who I am, most people call me Kev, but you can call me whatever you’d like.

Seriously. My Nana used to call me “Lardhead,” so no name is off-limits here.

Listen, I get how overwhelming and confusing it can be. There is so much freaking information about fat loss, AND some people make it so freaking complex.

“Cut out all the carbs.”

“Drink all the diarrhea juices to reset and boost your metabolism.”

“Do HIIT Cardio while fasting on a Keto Diet to melt the fat off, give you superpowers, and grow your wiener.”

(Wait... Does that last one really work? I mean... um... never mind.)

In this article, I will cut out all the BS and simplify everything you need to know.

So no more weight loss pills, diaherra teas, or cutting out your favorite foods.

But let's be real for a second; fat loss ain’t a "wahk in the pahk". It takes time and patience, and there may be a bit of sweat (and tears).

BUT, Casey will tell you,

So I got you covered here!

I am not sure if you ever tried P90X with Tony Horton (that was my first workout program, but that story is for another time), but he said one line: “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was your body.”

I want to promise you this. As long as you never quit, you will accomplish amazing things! It may take time and patience, but I 100% believe in you!

So, now promise me that you will never quit, okay?

So buckle up.

All in all, commit to consistently hitting this target for 30 days to see how things progress. If you aren't making any progress (I’ll give you ways to track progress later), first check your consistency and accuracy of tracking, but if needed, decrease calories by 100-200.

If you lose weight quickly (more than 3+% of your body weight a week on average), then increase your calories by 100-200.

Anywho...

To find your calorie range, start by taking your goal body weight and multiply it by 11.5 and then again by 12.5.

For example:

Let’s take Tom.

(How handsome is he?!)

Tom is looking to drop his weight down to 200 pounds.

So this is how we calculate his Calorie Range for his deficit:

200 x 11.5 = 2300
200 x 12.5 = 2500

Calorie Range Targets = 2300-2500

This is estimated to put Tom target to put him into a calorie deficit.

A good rate of weight loss will be anywhere from .25% - 2% of body weight per week.

I don’t suggest any faster than this rate. .25% - 2% of body weight per week will be much more sustainable. It allows you to be more flexible so that you can enjoy some pizza and donuts once in a while.

So if Tom loses, on average, .5 - 4 lbs per week, he is in a solid spot.

This isn't to say that you are not making progress if you have a week where you don't lose any weight. There will be weeks where you have significant drops in weight and some weeks where you don't have any, but that is ok.

Take the average throughout the month:

You may lose 3 lbs the first week, 0 pounds the next week, 2 pounds the following week, and 1 pound the last week, making it a total of 6 pounds and an average of 1.5 lbs per week. BOOM; that is amazing progress right there.

Think of it this way: how you lose weight will also be how you maintain it. This is why slow and steady wins the race.

Lastly, let’s talk about counting calories.

Even though you don't have to count all your calories to lose fat, no matter what, all your calories do count.

Everyone doesn't have to count calories, but I am a big fan of it. I relate it to tracking your finances and budgeting. If your goal is to save money, you track your finical habits and how much you are actually spending. You start being more on top of your budget. This leads to you collecting data on how much money you are spending and seeing where you can cut back and save some mula.

The same goes for tracking your calories. You will start to realize how many calories are actually consuming. Also, you learn so much about portion sizes (like what a tablespoon of peanut butter actually is) and nutrition labels.

You shouldn't have to do this forever but commit to it for 30 days to see what you can learn and find out!

2. EAT YA PROTEIN

Let’s get right into this.

Why is protein essential for fat loss?

• Protein is going to leave you feeling satisfied and full for a long period of time. It is the most satiating macronutrient compared to others (carbs and fats). If you reduce your calories, hunger may be a challenge, so eating a sufficient amount of protein daily helps you.
  
  
• Protein helps build and maintain muscle. When trying to lose weight, you want to ensure the weight you lose is from your fat tissue, not your muscles. Protein can help prevent muscle loss. Plus, muscle burns more calories than fat, so protein helps you maintain and build muscle to help while in this fat-loss phase (#freecardio, woo! Not really, but still, some extra calories burned never sucks)
  
• Protein has the highest thermic effect compared to carbohydrates and fat (our 3 macronutrients that makeup calories), which means that your body burns more calories during digestion, so I guess... free cardio, again? No, not technically, but it is beneficial to burn more calories daily by eating more protein.

How much protein should I eat?!

When it comes to getting your protein in, you want to get in at least .7 grams of protein per pound of goal body weight.

This is going to be your minimum intake of protein! You can always have more (in some cases, I recommend aiming for 1 gram per pound of body weight), but this is the bare minimum to aim for.

So let's grab Tom.

Hi, Tom 😊

Remember, his goal is to weigh 200 lbs.

Here is what we will do to find his minimum protein target:

200 x .7 = 140

His goal will be to eat 140 grams (or more) a day.

Now, read this!

Say Tom is tracking his food and notices his protein is at 30 grams daily because all he eats is basically avocados. I will not have him stress about increasing his intake by 120 grams right off the bat. Instead, if he is at 30 grams, we will have him aim for 50-60 grams. Then, after a week or so of getting consistent with that, we will increase it to 70-80, then 90-100, and so on, until we increase his confidence about hitting 140!

Also, go check out my blog to learn How to Increase Your Protein Intake to help get more protein in your diet!

What foods have protein?

Here are some ideas:

3. STRENGTH TRAINING (WORKING OUT)

Yes, I am a meathead at heart, so you may feel I am biased here (I am), but I highly recommend you lift. Lift heavy. Lift often.

I assume what you are looking for is that toned and leaner look.

On top of being in a calorie deficit and eating protein, strength training will be huge in helping you reach your body composition goals.

And this does not mean you pick up the 2 lb dumbbells and do 324 shoulder circles.
Squat things, Press things, Pull things, and Hump things... I mean hinge, like deadlifts and hip thrusts... but also, hump things too.

Aim to strength training anywhere from 2-5x a day a week. Need some more reasons why you should lift?

• Enhances Quality of Life: Strength training can help increase your muscle mass and strength, improving your ability to perform everyday tasks, such as playing with your kids, lifting groceries, or playing old man softball.
  
  
• Increases metabolism: Strength training builds muscle which increases your metabolism. This is a huge benefit, especially when it comes to you not only losing fat but helping you maintain the progress you made.
  
  
• Improves mental health: Strength training has been shown to have a positive impact on mental health, reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.
  
  
• Improves bone density: One of the most common causes of death for older adults is falling over and breaking a bone. Strength training will increase bone density, build stronger bones, and reduce the risk of osteoporosis and other bone-related conditions.
  
  
• Increases balance: In addition to that, set yourself up to avoid falling in the first place. Having the proper strength and balance can help decrease the chances of having a falling accident.

AND not only that, in my opinion, being able to lift some f*cking heavy-ass weight, like in a deadlift, is one of the most badass and empowering feelings!

Now ladies!

You are not going to get bulky. Here are some reasons why:

1. To optimally build some muscle, you need to be at calorie maintenance or a surplus. You can still build it in a deficit (especially if you are new to training), but there is no way you will be looking like Arnold anytime soon.

2. Compared to men, you don’t have testic... I mean testosterone; you don't have as much testosterone; a hormone that is responsible for muscle growth

3. I say this in the most respectable way possible: you just aren’t going to work that hard (and you probably don’t want to). If you look at females who are bulkier, understand that they stay 100% consistent with their training which is dialed in for 7+ times a week, and they have their nutrition down to a T.

You will make fantastic progress and get amazing results still, but unless you want to, there is a good chance you won’t look ready to step on stage anytime soon.

So, if you want a way to start walking around with some more swag, lift and lift heavy.

4. CARDIO & NEAT

First, you may have read that title and asked, “WTF is NEAT?”

NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis; SImply put, it is your calories burned through movement and activity outside your gym sessions.

Now, do you need to do cardio for fat loss?

No.

Remember, you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat. That’s it.

BUT WAIT!

Cardio and increasing your NEAT (daily activity) can be a great supplement to assist with your fat loss, AND you should probably be doing it for your health in general anyways, but we’ll still talk about it in terms of fat loss here.

It can help in the short term by keeping you or putting you in a bit more deficit. This can be helpful if you are not gifted in height, where your calories may already be pretty low.

After using that calorie calculator above, your calories are roughly 1200-1500. Adding in some cardio to burn an extra 200+ calories allows you to get a bit more in a deficit. It also allows you to consume more food to help you with hunger.

At a bare minimum, aim to get your steps in. Shoot for about 7000 or more steps daily.

Why?

It’s going to be low impact, you can do it daily, and you can do it anywhere.

Outside of that, do whatever style of cardio you would like, long distance, zone 2, intervals, circuit training, whatever floats your boat.

5. PLAN & TAKE BREAKS

The goal is to lose fat as sustainably as possible and to be able to maintain it for the rest of time, so if that takes 3 months or 3 years, who cares because you have the rest of your life ahead with these new habits and your improved self.

Plan out your days, weeks, and months, but make sure to include diet breaks and refeeds to invest in your long-term consistency!

5. TRACK & STAY CONSISTENT

You have learned a lot of important things here for fat loss.

You now know about your calorie deficit, protein, strength training, cardio & NEAT, and planning.

But what do you think is the most important thing to make sure of?

You nailed it! Consistency.

How did you know that?

Oh yeah, it's in the title...

Consistency is made up of the nails that bind this house to reach your goals.

How do you know if you are being consistent?

Track your calories, protein, and workouts (or steps is another good option, but maximize it to 3 things at the most).

Grab a calendar. You will use it to track your calories, protein, and workouts (or steps is another good option, but maximize it at 3 things at the most).

Each day you hit all three (calories, protein, and workout), give yourself a check mark, a smiley face, or whatever mark that will let you know you hit that day’s goals (by the way, if you do not have a workout that day, then aim to hit your calories and protein).

Each day you miss one or more, mark it with an ‘X’ or whatever you want to let you know you missed that day.

At the end of the month, see how consistent you are. If you are 80% consistent, you are in a great spot! (80% is where you will make fantastic progress, but also can be flexible. This is a more sustainable.)

Now, here is how you will track progress:

• Scale - Track your weight daily, and if you have a downward trend in your weight at the end of the month, you are making progress. YES, it may fluctuate day to day or even week to week, but again, we are PLAYING THE LONG GAME. See where things are from day 1 to day 30
  
  
• Progress Pictures - If you see more definition or notice you look leaner in your progress pictures, you are making progress.
  
  
• Measurements - Measure your waist and hips (guys, you can do chest, too, if you’d like). You are making progress if the measurements go down from day 1 to day 30.
  
  
• Clothes - If you notice clothes are fitting looser or you can put on that old pair of jeans you haven't worn in a couple of years again, you are making progress.

Don’t get caught up in the scale or expect to see progress in all of the above. If you see progress in at least 1 of these areas, what you are doing is working!

So, all in all:

Get in a CALORIE DEFICIT

Eat Ya PROTEIN

LIFT HEAVY things

Get in your CARDIO & NEAT

PLAN & TRACK your training & nutrition

and Stay CONSISTENT

WOW!

Do you feel ready now?