Whether you count them or not, what you take in has to be less than what you expend over a period of time to be successful at fat loss.
It’s not perfect math and every calculator is going to be working with a different estimate of what they believe your body needs.
However, I wanted to take a few moments of your time to cover some areas not directly related to the calorie conversation.
The Patience Game: I’ve been coaching fat loss and strength training for busy people for nearly seventeen years. While some people are far more realistic about the process of fat loss, everyone wants the pounds off NOW. One tip I like to explore is to give yourself a reasonable timeline…and then double it. So, if you have XX pounds to lose and you think you can whittle them off in about 5 months, try working within a 10 month timeframe. This allows for hiccups and detours along the way which are not only likely but totally possible. That doesn’t guarantee that you’ll reach your goal in that timeframe but it does help you wrap your head around the fact that even when you’re doing all the right things, life will get in the way and you have to be okay with that. Be patient. We’re in this for the long haul.
Consistency Does Not Equal Perfection: Some people hear “consistent effort” and they make it synonymous with perfection. For the purposes of fat loss, consistency means: more often than not. Consistency means that if you make a plan to hit 5k steps a day, you nail it something like 24 out of 30 days. It means that if you go over your calories for the day, you get right back to your plan the next day. If you were using a blotter calendar to chart your progress, there won’t be a lot of empty spaces. Find those non-scale victories by creating and maintaining those trends so you can check them off and feel accomplished.
Having A Rock Solid Support System: Fat loss is hard enough as it is. If you were a single person, living alone with time to dedicate to the gym and meal prep, it would be a challenge. When you add the complexities of family dynamics, work environment and your personal history with food, you’re navigating a minefield of temptation, egos and the looming notion that your journey of transformation might actually be perceived as a threat to those closest to you. Be proactive about this. If you know that the changes you need to make are going to disrupt the status quo (and they will), have conversations with those closest to you about how you can all work together to keep certain aspects of life the same but also modifying other areas to help improve your chance of success. Done successfully, rallying the troops to help support your goals is not much different than conversations about finances or parenting. Make sure everyone is on the same page about how they contribute to or potentially block progress.
Go To Bed: One of the simplest fat loss tips in the world can be one of the toughest ones to implement. With considerations to parents of young children, those in a caregiving role, women in the menopause transition, and more, having a consistent sleeping and waking schedule can be monumental towards the progress you make. Poor sleep can affect your ability to recover appropriately from workouts and poor sleep tends to lead to more cravings the next day and more difficulty following your food plan. Do what you can to minimize exposure to electronic devices 30-45 minutes prior to bedtime, make sure caffeine doesn’t keep sneaking it’s way into your day, and be mindful of how alcohol affects your ability to have deep sleep. Once you lock in your sleep schedule, you’ll be amazed at how many other areas of your life improve.
Be Easy On Yourself: I’m happily married, a father to two sons and I own my personal training studio where I put in close to 60 hours a week. Nothing ever goes perfectly according to plan. I do my best to eat mostly nutritious foods with some fun foods thrown in the mix, I strength train 3-4x/week, I get in a ton of steps and still, life isn’t perfect. The most “woo” thing I’ll tell you is that you have to give yourself some grace along the way. Make every day an opportunity to improve an area of your life, to tell someone you love them or appreciate them, work on your “consistency” streaks, and go to bed each night knowing that you did the best you could with all you had that thrown at you that day. Fat loss should improve the life of the person embarking on that journey. If it isn’t, you may need tools that help you build the strongest, healthiest version of you.
Jason Leenaarts is the owner of Revolution Fitness and Therapy (RevFit) in Stow, Ohio. You can read more of his articles on http://www.jasonleenaarts.com, purchase his books on Amazon, or peruse a ton of his content on his Instagram page.
