MMS
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Brought this over as its still valid
Since I know folks be lurking WANTING to get in shape but too shook to do it, I've lost over 65 pounds losing weight following this simple strategy
Acknowledgements
Things you will need if you are just starting:
The number one aspect of losing weight is staying below maintenance calories, however in my time here finding your "maintenance" is a hotly debated subject. For the overweight/obese you simply didn't become that way being active. More than likely you are sedentary, and years from now that habit may not change all that much
Therefore for your sake we will assume your current lifestyle is sedentary, using this calculator which I've found to be one of the more accurate you will always assume only 1 hour of moderate intensity, 3 Very Light, and 20 Resting for optimal numbers.
ExRx.net : Estimated Calorie Requirements
after inputting your data, you will be given the number of your maintenance calories. To lose weight you must subtract 500-800 calories from this number to find your range for the day. You will NOT eat more than the number highest (500 less than maintenance) and no LESS than the lowest (800 less than maintenance).
With this in mind, your lifting regimen is on you. I've found that any routine is usually fine for the goal of losing weight as long as you workout at least 2 times a week hitting every body part (this could be 5,4,3 times it doesn't matter just hit every body part/system each week). Will you gain strength while losing weight? Potentially but realistically I wouldn't expect much, but nevertheless always go 100% and lift to your "technical" limit (which i define as until you cannot lift the weight with proper form). Lift safely or do not lift at all.
Now to the nitty gritty of the guide
How to meet Calorie Requirements:
The first thing you must remove in order to be successful is LIQUID CALORIES. Juice, Soda, even Milk should be removed(the exception being milk when in use of a protein shake) soft drinks and other liquid cals are defined in 8oz servings based on the standard for Nutrition Facts and it is way too easy to drink your way out of your cutting deficit. Removing liquid calories alone will knock 600-1000 cals off your daily numbers. If you have a soda addictionI recommend you try pepsi max, I've found it has the least after taste and when eating fast food and other fried foods and/or pizza it gets the job done yet with zero calories against your numbers. For everything else water, water, and more damn water. Learn to love it and you'll progress faster in changing your eating habits.
Secondly how do you know what to eat and what not to eat? In my opinion the only foods that you should simply avoid are sweets. If you can fit them into your daily expenditure you probably wont be hitting protein requirements so I say just once a week or not at all. IIFYM which I subscribe to follows the rule of counting only overall macros in Calories, Protein, Carbs, and Fats. While for intermediate and advanced cutters carbs and fats make a difference for the obese/overweight I feel its irrelevant so for the sake of this guide we will only focus on Calories/Protein
Calories vs Protein, and Fast Food
More specifically the Calorie to Protein ratio, the ratio that I've used for ALL my meals is to prepare NOTHING that is more than 20 cals per 1 gram of protein. In chemistry this is often called the limiting factor in a reaction the limiting reagent. You will notice with time that protein often is the limiting factor in most foods, High protein foods should be near the center of your meal preparation. Doesn't matter where they come from carb/fat content irrelevant as long it is any ratio less than 20 cals per 1 gram of protein. Double quarter pounder with cheese? 750 cals 55g protein aka 14cals per 1 gram of protein. We're in business. Almost all fast food chains have "power" meals/sandwiches as I call them. Take the time to search the calorie requirements of many of their meals and find the one that is most delicious to you that is less than 20 cals 1 gram protein and you cant fail. What this basically means is that ANY meal that meets this basic requirement will cause you to be successful, and because high protein food is generally very satiating you will find that you are rarely hungry (maybe even forget you're dieting). I used apps like Loseit app and MyFitnessPal to search calories before meal choice but just about every fast food maker has nutrient info. If they do not? Don't eat there. Don't take a chance on a place just to fill your belly, you always have options and part of body recomposition is making new and better choices. This is a simple one. Only eat when you have known quantities.
Calories vs Protein, Homecooked Meals
This is where counting IMO is the hardest. Without a food scale its impossible to really get close to accurate numbers. So what I do is this figure out what you can from the nutrition facts given. Estimate the portion amounts used. Count the calories up. Then add 100-200 calories. Its better to be safe than sorry. Easy ways to bring down the overall number of a homecooked meal is to fill up on veggies and take it easy on carbs. Or better yet eat carbs that have defined serving amounts (dinner rolls etc) That is the best way to manage carbs when counting. Losing carbs in general is what makes most diets fail so I dont do that myself. But little changes make a difference in how they affect you in the long run.
The key to really making it work is counting. The time it takes is minutes. You can do this on your phone, at your job ,when you wake up, when you go to bed, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you eat food you like and still hit your numbers. Why did i mention 20 cals per 1 gram protein earlier? Well look here
say your maintenance is 2500 cals, so your cutting numbers are now 2000cals. With the BARE minimum ratio for the day you still ingest 100g protein and for most people cutting this will suffice. For the naysayers bulking and losing weight aren't simply opposites of each other, 100g WILL work not saying for everyone and truth be told you want it closer to your LBM than anything. However the problem with calculating closer to LBM is this:
LBM, BF%, and other crap you shouldnt worry about right now
No-one who is truly obese knows their true LBM, it is not efficient to seek it either. What does your bodyfat test tell you? You are currently "This" fat. Who gives a shyt, you are fat and you already knew that. Its not important and you should wipe it from your mind. So how do you measure your weight losses? Two things: The Mirror and Tape measure. They are the only quantities that will always be true to you regarding weight loss, BF% calipers will only be effective sub 20% and even then they are inaccurate, getting estimates from other people can give you mixed results and in the end you know if you are still fat or not. The mirror and Tape measure. Weigh yourself once a week and list the number down. I GUARANTEE if you follow my simple calorie counting guide you will lose weight(whether that is fat or not depends on if you LIFT). It needs to be said that if you do not lift, you WILL LIKELY LOSE MUSCLE MASS AND YOU PROBABLY WILL BE SKINNY FAT...so LIFT
Irrelevant factors:
now one big thing on how I count daily. I count calories on a 24 hour period. When you eat late at night i consider a meal at 1 in the morning calories counted FOR THAT DAY. While yes you can eat anytime remember that any late night gorging still needs to be counted for its respective time frame. EVERYTHING THAT GOES IN TO YOUR MOUTH WITH CALORIES needs to be counted. Don't skimp on ANYTHING
Following these rules I've lost 1-3lbs a week on average without fail while losing weight using this guide. Only one week did I gain a pound and that was around the holidays (we are only human)
If you have more specific questions feel free to ask as I'm always up for helping people. If you are new to cutting I hope this guide helps you
good luck
Since I know folks be lurking WANTING to get in shape but too shook to do it, I've lost over 65 pounds losing weight following this simple strategy
Acknowledgements
- This guide is specifically about learning reasonable eating habits and meeting calorie requirements without mental stress
- This guide is not for those who are already in shape and know what they are doing (but can potentially help)
- This guide is NOT the only way to lose weight but I have found personally to be extremely effective
- There is NOTHING wrong with eating clean, but for someone with a whole lifetime of eating bad a drastic change can easily result in failure thus my mainstream approach
Things you will need if you are just starting:
- Access to a gym with barbells and free weights
- Multi vitamin
- Willpower
The number one aspect of losing weight is staying below maintenance calories, however in my time here finding your "maintenance" is a hotly debated subject. For the overweight/obese you simply didn't become that way being active. More than likely you are sedentary, and years from now that habit may not change all that much
Therefore for your sake we will assume your current lifestyle is sedentary, using this calculator which I've found to be one of the more accurate you will always assume only 1 hour of moderate intensity, 3 Very Light, and 20 Resting for optimal numbers.
ExRx.net : Estimated Calorie Requirements
after inputting your data, you will be given the number of your maintenance calories. To lose weight you must subtract 500-800 calories from this number to find your range for the day. You will NOT eat more than the number highest (500 less than maintenance) and no LESS than the lowest (800 less than maintenance).
With this in mind, your lifting regimen is on you. I've found that any routine is usually fine for the goal of losing weight as long as you workout at least 2 times a week hitting every body part (this could be 5,4,3 times it doesn't matter just hit every body part/system each week). Will you gain strength while losing weight? Potentially but realistically I wouldn't expect much, but nevertheless always go 100% and lift to your "technical" limit (which i define as until you cannot lift the weight with proper form). Lift safely or do not lift at all.
Now to the nitty gritty of the guide
How to meet Calorie Requirements:
The first thing you must remove in order to be successful is LIQUID CALORIES. Juice, Soda, even Milk should be removed(the exception being milk when in use of a protein shake) soft drinks and other liquid cals are defined in 8oz servings based on the standard for Nutrition Facts and it is way too easy to drink your way out of your cutting deficit. Removing liquid calories alone will knock 600-1000 cals off your daily numbers. If you have a soda addictionI recommend you try pepsi max, I've found it has the least after taste and when eating fast food and other fried foods and/or pizza it gets the job done yet with zero calories against your numbers. For everything else water, water, and more damn water. Learn to love it and you'll progress faster in changing your eating habits.
Secondly how do you know what to eat and what not to eat? In my opinion the only foods that you should simply avoid are sweets. If you can fit them into your daily expenditure you probably wont be hitting protein requirements so I say just once a week or not at all. IIFYM which I subscribe to follows the rule of counting only overall macros in Calories, Protein, Carbs, and Fats. While for intermediate and advanced cutters carbs and fats make a difference for the obese/overweight I feel its irrelevant so for the sake of this guide we will only focus on Calories/Protein
Calories vs Protein, and Fast Food
More specifically the Calorie to Protein ratio, the ratio that I've used for ALL my meals is to prepare NOTHING that is more than 20 cals per 1 gram of protein. In chemistry this is often called the limiting factor in a reaction the limiting reagent. You will notice with time that protein often is the limiting factor in most foods, High protein foods should be near the center of your meal preparation. Doesn't matter where they come from carb/fat content irrelevant as long it is any ratio less than 20 cals per 1 gram of protein. Double quarter pounder with cheese? 750 cals 55g protein aka 14cals per 1 gram of protein. We're in business. Almost all fast food chains have "power" meals/sandwiches as I call them. Take the time to search the calorie requirements of many of their meals and find the one that is most delicious to you that is less than 20 cals 1 gram protein and you cant fail. What this basically means is that ANY meal that meets this basic requirement will cause you to be successful, and because high protein food is generally very satiating you will find that you are rarely hungry (maybe even forget you're dieting). I used apps like Loseit app and MyFitnessPal to search calories before meal choice but just about every fast food maker has nutrient info. If they do not? Don't eat there. Don't take a chance on a place just to fill your belly, you always have options and part of body recomposition is making new and better choices. This is a simple one. Only eat when you have known quantities.
Calories vs Protein, Homecooked Meals
This is where counting IMO is the hardest. Without a food scale its impossible to really get close to accurate numbers. So what I do is this figure out what you can from the nutrition facts given. Estimate the portion amounts used. Count the calories up. Then add 100-200 calories. Its better to be safe than sorry. Easy ways to bring down the overall number of a homecooked meal is to fill up on veggies and take it easy on carbs. Or better yet eat carbs that have defined serving amounts (dinner rolls etc) That is the best way to manage carbs when counting. Losing carbs in general is what makes most diets fail so I dont do that myself. But little changes make a difference in how they affect you in the long run.
The key to really making it work is counting. The time it takes is minutes. You can do this on your phone, at your job ,when you wake up, when you go to bed, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you eat food you like and still hit your numbers. Why did i mention 20 cals per 1 gram protein earlier? Well look here
say your maintenance is 2500 cals, so your cutting numbers are now 2000cals. With the BARE minimum ratio for the day you still ingest 100g protein and for most people cutting this will suffice. For the naysayers bulking and losing weight aren't simply opposites of each other, 100g WILL work not saying for everyone and truth be told you want it closer to your LBM than anything. However the problem with calculating closer to LBM is this:
LBM, BF%, and other crap you shouldnt worry about right now
No-one who is truly obese knows their true LBM, it is not efficient to seek it either. What does your bodyfat test tell you? You are currently "This" fat. Who gives a shyt, you are fat and you already knew that. Its not important and you should wipe it from your mind. So how do you measure your weight losses? Two things: The Mirror and Tape measure. They are the only quantities that will always be true to you regarding weight loss, BF% calipers will only be effective sub 20% and even then they are inaccurate, getting estimates from other people can give you mixed results and in the end you know if you are still fat or not. The mirror and Tape measure. Weigh yourself once a week and list the number down. I GUARANTEE if you follow my simple calorie counting guide you will lose weight(whether that is fat or not depends on if you LIFT). It needs to be said that if you do not lift, you WILL LIKELY LOSE MUSCLE MASS AND YOU PROBABLY WILL BE SKINNY FAT...so LIFT
Irrelevant factors:
- Cardio (too inaccurate to track as an obese person, will cause you to overeat. Simply set a deficit number and hunker down)
- Fat and Carb counting (if you are sticking to the ratio you cant fail, high protein foods are good foods if you are diligent)
- Fasting (Does it work? Yes. Is it mentally challenging? Yes. this guide is dummyproof and allows you to eat like a normal person)
- Eating Timing (see below)
now one big thing on how I count daily. I count calories on a 24 hour period. When you eat late at night i consider a meal at 1 in the morning calories counted FOR THAT DAY. While yes you can eat anytime remember that any late night gorging still needs to be counted for its respective time frame. EVERYTHING THAT GOES IN TO YOUR MOUTH WITH CALORIES needs to be counted. Don't skimp on ANYTHING
Following these rules I've lost 1-3lbs a week on average without fail while losing weight using this guide. Only one week did I gain a pound and that was around the holidays (we are only human)
If you have more specific questions feel free to ask as I'm always up for helping people. If you are new to cutting I hope this guide helps you
good luck
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