EATING FOR FAT LOSS GOALS

If your goals are geared towards changing your body weight, body shape, or body composition, your focus should be on fat loss and eating in a calorie deficit.

While we work with clients of all different goals, it’s safe to say that a majority want to dial in their nutrition because they have specific aesthetic goals. And if you want to work towards a certain weight goal, reach a lower body fat percentage, or fit into a new size of jeans, being in a calorie deficit is without a doubt the most important factor at play.

A CALORIE DEFICIT = eating fewer calories than you burn through daily activity

A calorie deficit is not always an intentional and conscious decision. People often achieve physical changes like weight loss because they have cut out certain foods from their diet (no sugar, no fast food, no soda) or have added in more movement to their day (hitting a daily step goal, starting to lift weights or run). Without knowing it, they have created a calorie deficit by eating fewer calories and burning more calories through activity.

While a calorie deficit can absolutely be achieved without counting your calories or macronutrients, tracking your intake ensures that you are consistently eating the right amount of the right things so that you can optimize your aesthetic changes.

Making the extra effort to track your intake can help you focus on making the right kind of composition changes. We are quick to focus on weight loss, but body composition goals should really be focused on fat loss. 

Both weight loss and fat loss require eating in a calorie deficit, but when focusing on weight loss you are focusing solely on the number on a scale. Daily fluctuations in weight are completely normal responses to changes in sleep, stress, hydration, digestion, and many other factors, so if you are only focusing on weight loss, there is a good chance you will feel frustrated and defeated at times because you are overlooking other non-scale victories.

WEIGHT LOSS

A decrease in the number on the scale. Weight loss may be the product of both loss of body fat and loss of lean body mass (muscle and bone mass). Weight as measured by a scale can fluctuate due to many different factors and is not always the best indicator of body composition changes.

FAT LOSS

A change in your body composition. Fat loss refers to reducing your body fat percentage while retaining more lean muscle mass. 

When working towards aesthetic goals, it is important to focus on fat loss. For fat loss, you must be eating enough food, and the right type of food, so that the changes in your body composition are the result of decreasing body fat, not losing bone and lean muscle mass. Adequate protein intake is an important part of fat loss as protein plays an essential role in helping our bodies maintain lean body mass, even when in a calorie deficit. The effects of fat loss can still be seen on the scale, but can also be seen in changes in body composition, body measurements, and how your clothes fit.

So, now that we’ve outlined what is required for fat loss goals and why these goals are important, how do you do it?

Reducing body fat to meet your aesthetic goals is a process. It requires patience and, more importantly, it requires consistency. To achieve your aesthetic goals you must adhere to a calorie deficit consistently over time. A few dietary changes that can make consistency easier:

FOCUS ON HIGH VOLUME FOODS

Choosing high volume foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins over calorie dense, processed foods allows you to eat more volume for the same (or fewer) calories. Think of the difference between a big salad with veggies and grilled chicken vs. a protein bar. They may both have the same exact calorie count, but one will help you stay satisfied and full longer.

BE CONSCIOUS OF LIQUID CALORIES

Drinking your calories via alcohol, juices, shakes, smoothies, or even creamer and sweeteners in coffee or tea can be less satiating than eating. There is nothing at all wrong with drinking calories, it may just make it harder to adhere to a calorie deficit. 

FOCUS SNACKS AND MEALS AROUND PROTEIN

Protein intake is important for your fat loss goals and trying to spread protein intake out throughout the day can make it much easier to meet your protein goal. Whether you eat meat or rely on plant-based proteins, try to have a source of protein in each meal and snack you eat.

Flexible nutrition is all about (you guessed it) flexibility. You should always have flexibility to eat the foods you like, but keeping the majority of your nutrition full of unprocessed whole foods makes it easier to be consistent and meet your aesthetic goals. Our goal should not be to stay in fat loss mode forever; rather, you should tackle your fat loss goals with persistence and patience so you can meet them then move on to maintaining those goals.