Ahaa …The much awaited topic, was waiting to write this down since a long time.
Without proper knowledge, the only thing which I knew regarding weight loss was eating less. Sometimes I did lost “weight” but was that weight “Fat Loss”? Well far from it. I lost muscle mass, which subsequently made me look thin, not shredded. The worst part, when I bulked back up, as I had not lost sufficient Fat% before, I gained even more fat. You see the never ending vicious cycle here ?
Okay, so lets begin.
Facts first!
Calorie Deficit
Just can’t express weight loss in more simpler words. Yeah it comes down to eating less (okay hold on a bit, did I just mention eating less is what we all know?). Yeah you read it right, eating less so as to be in calorific deficit. Let me explain with an example:
- A 30 years young person weighs 70 Kgs with height 174 cms and at 15% body fat% .
- Calculating his BMR, TDEE (assuming he trains 5 days a week) >>BMR & TDEE<<
- BMR : 1700 cals appx.
- TDEE : 2600 cals appx.
- Lets just assume that the person consumes appx 3000 cals / day (We are assuming that the person is not calculating or keeping track of what he eats).
- So, according to the present calorie consumption, the person is bound to gain weight, as he burns max 2600 cals everyday (especially on training days and a bit less on rest days). So we say he’s in calorie surplus (that’s bulking demystified. )
- One fine day, the same guy decides that he wants to get shredded, and obviously like us all, he thinks he will eat less and Voila, he will be shredded like insane in couple of months. So he starts the so called Dieting, in which he is eating 200 – 300 cals less from his daily consumption.
- So, current consumption : 3000 – 300 = 2700 cals.
- No surprise the person didn’t lose weight. As the TDEE was 2600 cals, and for losing weight we need to be in calorie deficit keeping TDEE as reference. Had he been eating 200-300 cals less than TDEE, weight loss was guaranteed !
Spot Reduction
Well, who doesn’t want a chiseled jawline, or even better a jaw dropping 6 pack abs? If not that then at least a flat stomach with some toned arms. Well we all have been through that phase or going through that phase or will go through it some time in future. But, it doesn’t work that way. We just cant spot reduce fat. We can’t have loads of fat sticking to our thighs/ arms/cheeks etc and expect a 6 pack abs. (You get my point right?). Fat percentage, when calculated it gives a picture of overall body fat, not some targeted area. That means, when I say I have abs, I am directly saying my body fat percentage is around or below 12-13%. (In males, abs become visible at around 15%, and clearly visible & defined <10%).
Magic Diets & Drinks
Have you ever fallen for the traps like drinking warm water with lemon and honey or that green tea will melt inches and fat from your body? Or eating some magic green veggie or smoothie will do the hard work for you? We can’t be more far from the truth. These are the marketing gimmicks of the world. Please do not fall for these lies. I am not saying that green tea or lemon is harmful for your body, I am just emphasizing on the fact that without being in calorific deficit, no matter what one does , he/she is not going to lose weight.
Blue print for weight loss:
- Fix your goals.
- Analyze your body.
- calculate your BMR, TDEE.
- Prepare your goal oriented Diet chart (keeping in mind the protein /fat / carb split). Never go below your BMR calories.
- Drink 4-5+ litres of water everyday.
- Select a suitable workout.
- Commit.