Forget everything that you have heard about fat loss for a moment and let me simplify things for you. It all comes down to this,THE LAW OF ENERGY BALANCE.
CALORIES CONSUMED -vs- CALORIES EXPENDED
What this means is; if you consume more calories than you burn you store it as fat, and if you use more calories than you consume then you burn fat.
Now I know that you are thinking, that it has to be more complicated than that, but it really isn't. The key to any fat loss program is tracking your calories whether it is in or out.
Nutrition - this is how you manage your calorie intake
Exercise - this is how you burn more calories
Some other things that you should know are how many calories are in a pound of fat and a pound of muscle.
1 Pound of Fat = 3500 calories
1 Pound of Muscle = 2500 calories
As a general rule weight loss shouldn't exceed 2 pounds per week or you risk losing precious calorie burning muscle.
Example:
John Smith wants to lose 10 pounds over the next 6 weeks
age: 30
current weight: 200
current height: 5' 10"
activity level: moderately active
How much weight is John going to need to lose per week to acheive his goal?
10pounds / 6 weeks = 1.66 pounds/week
How many calories does he need to be in defecit per week to acheive his goal?
1.66 pounds / week * 3500 calories / pound = 5833.33 calories / week
Next go to Calorie Needs Calculator and find out how many calories he needs to consume per day to maintain his current weight = 2995 cal
Now that we have his maintenance calorie level we multiply that times 7(days in a week)
2995 calories / day * 7 days / week = 20,965 calories / week
Take the weekly calorie intake and subtract the amount of calories per week needed to be in defecit
20,965 - 5,833.33 = 15,131.67 calories / week
Divide that by the number of days in a week and get the amount needed to eat per day
15,131.67 / 7 = 2161.66 calories per day
So now John knows that in order to acheive his goal he will have to eat 2161.66 calories per day to be in enough of a defecit to lose 10 pounds in 6 weeks.
Of course their are other factors that can speed up fat loss and prevent muscle breakdown because of a calorie restricted diet, but for the most part it is really that simple.
Here are some resources that I recomend for nutritional analysis and calorie counting:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20jQ.html <- my favorite
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/
http://www.peertrainer.com/DFcaloriecounterB.aspx?id=2559
If you or someone you know would like to learn more about FAT LOSS STRATEGIES, you can contact me at Trainer@shawnfears.com and we can work out a customized strategy to meet your needs.
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