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Often times we think the only way to fat loss is through restriction. I can’t have this cupcake or I can’t enjoy this candy bar. What most people fail to realize is every popular diet, whether it be intermittent fasting, low carb, low fat, or keto, all have the same thing in common. In one way or another, they limit your calorie intake. And that is what I would like anyone out there trying to lose fat to prioritize. Limit your calories not your food! You see food can be neither bad nor good, it is just...well food. Think of food in terms of quality. The better the quality, the better the choice. Sure you can have that cupcake…buuutttt, you’re going to have to account for it somewhere among your total calorie intake for the day or the week…however you track. Don’t know where to start? That’s ok, I’ll show how to use MyFitnessPal to track you food and meet fat loss goals.
If you don’t have the MyFitnessPal app go ahead and download it now. Its ok, I’ll wait. J Once you have it fully installed we need to set it up to work for YOU.
So tap on the 3 dots in the right hand corner that say more (this is in IOS).
Then go to the goals option.
You’ll want to set up your starting weight, goal weight, weekly goal, and activity level.
Be realistic on your weekly goal level. Shoot for .5 lbs a week if you only have 10-20 pounds to lose up to 2 lbs a week if you have significant weight to lose.
Your activity level is more about your job than how much you work out. Desk jobs are lightly active. Factory work tends to be active to very active.
Once you have these setting programmed go down to the Calories, Carbs, Protein & Fat Goals option under Nutrition Goals.
Set your protein intake at around 30-40 % of your calories and adjust the fat and carbohydrates so they balance out to 100%. It really doesn’t matter what these number are. If you tend to like honey buns and chips you’ll want to keep your carbs a bit higher.
So now you’re all set to track. As you go through your day assess your target calorie and protein goals by going into your food diary and scrolling to nutrition at the bottom. Only pay attention to the nutrient view. The others will likely confuse you. Make sure your on target for your protein. You can view your calories remaining at the top of your food diary.
Don’t take the projected calorie goal as gospel. Every body is different and so no calculator can accurately determine how much you should consume. Use that number as a starting point. Weight out all of your food/drinks for a week and track it in MyFitnessPal. At the end of the week weigh yourself. How did you do? Scale didn’t budge? OK, lower your target calorie goal by 100. Feeling hungry all the time? Raise your target calorie goal by 100.
A few caveats, if you are feeling hungry all the time and raising your target calories goal makes you gain weight you need to look at the quality of your food. The healthier the food you chose the more of it you can consume. So 100 grams of lean chicken breast is going to be a better option with less calories than 100 grams of a greasy cheeseburger.