Counting Calories Consumed For Fat Loss

Following up on my last article, considering that you have identified how much calories you are required to burn to lose fat, the other part of the equation is therefore knowing how much calories you are consuming. Once you know your calorie intake, it becomes a variable you can control in your fat loss goal, when combined with strength training and/or cardio.

Using Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard During Calorie Deficits For Fat Loss

As you begin creating the necessary calorie deficits to achieve fat loss, the possibility exists that muscle tissue is catabolized (broken down) in the process as the body begins to use its stored energy reserves to exhaustion. Therefore, while in the process of reducing your body fat percentage, it becomes crucial to maintain as much of your muscle and strength gains you've achieved from strength training as possible.

One of the best approaches to this objective is to maintain your maximum weight levels during the calorie reduction period. In my experience, it is always good to keep your regular routine for as long as possible during your calorie deficit. For example: if you entered the cutting period with a maximum bench press of 250 lbs, then put your best effort towards maintaining that strength level. If you experience any decreases in strength (which can be naturally expected), then reduce the weights only slightly for a period of time to compensate.

In addition to strength training, nutrition plays an important role. Calorie deficits encourage you to exhaust the majority of your internal energy stores: this comes in the form of fat. While maintaining the deficit is necessary, it is also essential to have sufficient protein intake for muscle preservation and maintenance during a calorie deficit. This combats muscle loss. Maintaining muscle mass ensures that the loss of strength gains during a cut is minimized.

As you lose fat and maintain your muscle mass, via strength training and adequate protein intake, the net effect is that you become a leaner yet strong version of yourself. This is a goal many people aim to achieve, as opposed to the skinny-fat appearance that occurs when we lose too much fat and muscle from calorie deficits with no muscle maintenance involved.

So that's the key here: calories lowered to create the deficit needed for fat loss, but high protein intake combined with strength training and cardio. One way of getting high protein intake is protein supplementation.

Let's talk about a protein powder I use and recommend.

Calculating Calorie Requirements For Fat Loss

As we have come to learn, we essentially need a caloric deficit before we can even begin to think about fat loss. But how do we go about creating this calorie deficit, based on our body statistics? This article seeks to help you make some headway in that area!

Why You Need A Caloric Deficit For Fat Loss

The Fundamentals comprised of varying topics that get you started on the basics and provide you with a general understanding of fat loss; The Fat Burning Series, as the name suggests, consists of a set of articles that focus strictly on the core factors essential to fat loss. Rather than having one long and massive article, the series is divided into manageable parts that make it easier to progress through. This should aid in clarity and understanding.

Part 1 of the Series discusses Calorie Requirements and Select Foods for Fat Loss.

Making A Difference

The majority of things you'll learn on Fat Burn With TJ comes from my own experiences: experiences consisting of hard work, determination, discipline, passion, trials and errors, and extensive research. From these experiences, I intend to make a difference in your life and help you to reach your target goal in health and fitness. But I can't do it alone: you have to give the dedication and the effort needed to make a difference in your own health and fitness. Just as I've made a difference in my own life, I believe you can too.

This is my hope for you.

Regards,
T.J.

Calorie Cycling: Using It To Effectively Build Muscle And Burn Fat

In my previous article, Fat Loss Pre- and Post- Christmas Season: An Effective Strategy, I talked about using Calorie Cycling to minimize fat gain around the Christmas season. Christmas is usually a time where I increase my calorie consumption, and this has been one of the most effective methods I've used for both avoiding excess fat gain and burning off fat after the season ends.

However, this method goes beyond any special occasion: calorie cycling can be effectively used for burning fat while building or maintaining muscle based on any schedule that accommodates your time, flexibility, and discipline.

This method will also be useful in helping individuals who've experienced stagnation in their fat loss progress, understand why it happens, and a corrective measure.

The Necessity Of Strength Training For Fat Loss

Stop me if you've heard this one before: "To drop the body fat, you need to exercise to burn the fat" OR "I want to lose weight first before I start gym". So what do we usually do? We start performing cardio training sessions to accommodate this goal. In combination with a good meal plan, cardiovascular workouts are undoubtedly an effective method of body weight reduction.

But they are only part of the equation. What about strength training (also called resistance training)? A lot of people exclude strength training from their fitness plan.

As I stated earlier, cardio is effective at reducing body weight. But a problem emerges right there: that body weight usually includes fat, water weight, and muscle. That's right: precious muscle is lost in the burning process, which is a negative end-result of a cardio-only fat loss plan.

This goes back to my first article, Fat Loss or Weight Loss? Why The Focus Should Always Be Fat Loss. The aim of any fat loss plan should always be to maximize as much fat loss as possible, while minimizing as much muscle loss as possible. This is crucial. And this is where strength training comes in.

Fat Loss Pre- and Post- Christmas Season: An Effective Strategy

I'm pretty sure if you stepped on the weight scale or looked in the mirror, you'd discover you've put on a few pounds during the Christmas season! Some things are just unavoidable. You love all that Christmas cooking and baking. As a matter of fact, I might even encourage it to a certain extent. After over 12 months of maintaining a regimen of healthy nutrition and activity, it's probably not too damaging to have 1-2 days of indulging and enjoying your favourite cheat meals. Because come January, you're back at the fitness life.