How Do You Lose Fat Through Diet?

Is there a more asked question in the fitness industry than how to eat for fat loss? Building muscle and improving health are also important to many interested in diet and exercise. However, losing weight has got to be the prime motivator for most. Exercising in the form of cardio and weight training can certainly get you started on your fat loss journey. Ab workouts will help develop the muscles of the midsection. To complete the process though, what you eat is going to be essential to getting lean.

Reach Your Goals With Proper Nutrition

What you eat fuels the body. Proper nutrition is going to help you reach your fitness goals. Unfortunately, many people just don’t eat a proper diet these days. It’s not getting any better either. It’s way too easy to eat garbage food. It may be tough when you start trying to eat the right way. Take it from me though, it can certainly be done.

I Had To Learn How To Eat For Fat Loss

I’ve been weight training for many years and enjoy cycling in the summertime as well. The weight-training workouts definitely put plenty of muscle on my frame. Riding my bike and doing other cardio here and there would burn quite a few extra calories. However, I still always had a bit of a belly. There were 20 or so pounds I could lose at all times. This got even worse through the first Covid lockdown in the spring of 2020 when I couldn’t work or hit the gym. I still did as much as I could, working out at home, but still only gained weight.

It Was All About How I Was Eating

Looking back, the biggest reason I had extra weight around the middle came down to the way I was eating. Once I got back to real training at the gym, I decided it was time to get my diet on point. When I finally got to work on my nutrition, I leaned out quite quickly. It wasn’t even as difficult as you might think either.

Create A Calorie Deficit

The most important factor in fat loss is creating a calorie deficit. This means eating fewer calories than your body needs to function. There are a few different ways to create a calorie deficit, but the most effective fat-loss diets typically involve reducing calorie intake and increasing physical activity levels. By doing both of these things, you can create a significant calorie deficit that will lead to fat loss over time. Of course, it is also important to make sure that you are still getting all the nutrients your body needs by eating a healthy diet. But if losing fat is your goal, creating a calorie deficit is the best place to start.

Use Math To Lose One Pound Per Week

There is a mathematical side to losing weight. One pound contains 3500 calories. Using math, you can easily figure out that creating a deficit of 500 calories per day will enable you to lose one pound per week. This deficit can be created by a combination of exercise and diet. The diet component of this can’t be overstated as you can only do so much exercise without burning out.

Avoid Overeating

The biggest issue with most weight loss diets is that it’s not difficult at all to overeat. This is especially true with fast food available almost everywhere. Even if you go into a nice restaurant, the portion sizes can sometimes seem almost obscene. That’s the real issue for many, portion sizes have become larger and larger.

You May Be Consuming More Calories Than You Realize

Even if you think you are eating healthy, there can be plenty of surprises. You could be enjoying a chicken or fish dish, but the sauce on the meat may be laden with calories. A lot of restaurants go for the flavor of course. This usually ends up with a ton of butter and other high-calorie ingredients being used. Fortunately, many dining establishments now feature a “light” menu you can order low-calorie meals that are still flavorful.

Take It Slow

It comes down to making the right choices when it comes to consuming fewer calories. You don’t have to go all out right away either. Slowly decrease the number of calories you take in on a daily basis. Eating just 100 or 200 fewer calories a day will get you started in the right direction.

Avoid Processed Foods

Avoiding processed foods is key to eating for fat loss. Pretty much anything you order at a fast food restaurant is going to be processed. A lot of foods you buy from the market are also going to be processed. All these “extras” in many foods just weren’t meant for human consumption. It’s no wonder there are so many overweight people nowadays.

Watch What You Buy

When you go to the store, you’re going to see a ton of processed foods on the shelves and in the frozen aisle. Ready-to-eat meals can be made very quickly. Unfortunately, too many of us just decide to save time and throw one of these in the oven or microwave. Even in my case, I would buy cans of soup, which aren’t high in calories. The thing is that they have a lot of preservatives, which should be avoided. Now I make my own soups with natural ingredients.

Dining Out

Dining out can be an issue when you want to improve your diet and lose weight. You want to keep at it and have good nutrition, but you also want to hang out with friends and go to a restaurant with them from time to time. However, it doesn’t have to be a negative experience as these days there are plenty of options at most places you can enjoy without wrecking your nutrition that day.

Quit Eating Fast Food

As you can likely tell from the above text, one of the simplest ways to lose weight is to cut out fast food. Fast food is notoriously high in fat, calories, and sodium, all of which can contribute to weight gain. Furthermore, many fast food restaurants do not offer healthy alternatives, making it difficult to stick to a healthy diet if you settle for this type of food.

Even salads offered by fast food establishments are super high in calories. The dressings will be loaded with sodium and fat. This shows that pretty much anything you order at a fast food place is probably not going to be good for you.

By avoiding fast food, you can make it easier to lose weight and improve your overall health. And while it may seem like a challenge at first, there are plenty of healthy, delicious, and inexpensive foods that you can eat in place of fast food.

Benefits Of Quitting Fast Food

There are plenty of benefits to quitting fast food beyond fat loss. Your chances of developing heart disease and/or diabetes will decrease if you don’t eat addictive fast food. Your mood will improve as well. Some studies even show that ceasing fast food consumption improves your memory.

Take Advantage Of The “Light” Menu

If you are going out to eat, it’s best to look at the number of calories on the menu. Not every place is going to have this info, but many do. Many restaurants feature a “light” menu with low-calorie options. There will be some tasty dishes in there, don’t fear it. These items will usually feature lighter sauces than normal menu items.

If you do want a dish with sauce, ask for it on the side. This can save a ton of calories. Freebies like bread should also be avoided. Feel free to try some but don’t go overboard. Same with appetizers, just try a little bit. Probably the most important thing to do when dining out is to stop eating and box up your food at the right time.

Cook Your Own Meals

The best option is to learn some recipes and buy the ingredients for your own meals. There are plenty of cookbooks and websites that contain healthy do-it-yourself recipes. Most of these aren’t that time-consuming either. If it does require some time to prepare, make sure to prepare larger portions you can freeze for later use.

Season Your Food

Many times, the knock on healthy eating is that it has to be bland. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. If you want to keep it simple with lean meats and veggies, make sure to use flavorful seasonings. Seasonings aren’t going to be high in calories like sauces may be. I like to find seasonings in specialty markets that are a combination of multiple seasonings. Some are best used for fish or other meats, while some go great on just about anything.

Take Advantage Of A Slow Cooker And/Or Air Fryer

With a crockpot or slow cooker, you can set up a dish to cook through the day for dinner. If you are only serving one or two, you will have plenty left over for meals over the next few days. I make my own stew like this and have enough for at least a few meals. The possibilities are really endless though. This is also great for meal planning.

Air fryers are also great as they basically fry food without the oil required. This will save so many calories it’s not even funny. The cool thing about air fryers is that you can cook other foods that don’t necessarily need to be fried. It will be much quicker than cooking food in an oven.

Snack The Right Way

Snacking is a roadblock for many who want to eat to lose fat. The problem is that the most popular snack foods like potato chips are not going to help you reach your goals. Sorry, but I’ve found that not eating chips has done wonders for me when it comes to getting lean. Honestly, I don’t even miss them. At most I might have some tortilla chips with salsa or guacamole.

Try Seasoned Popcorn

I find that light popcorn makes for a nice alternative to potato or corn chips. This is especially true if you pop it yourself and add your own seasoning, not butter. Some packaged brands of popcorn are also light on calories. I enjoy ones that have a flavorful seasoning while remaining low in calories.

Enjoy Fruits And Veggies

In my case, I’ve turned to fruits and nuts as my preferred snack choices. Nuts can be high in calories so I don’t consume very many. A handful usually does the trick. Fruits have fructose, a form of sugar, in them. However, as a snack, I think they work well. Apples, bananas, and grapes can all be excellent snacks. Once again, it’s about not over-consuming.

Make Your Own Healthy Desserts

Dessert can be tough for many of us to give up. Ice cream, in particular, can kill a healthy diet really quickly with all the sugar and calories it contains. How about making your own dessert that’s comparable to ice cream.

What I do to make my own ice cream-like dessert is to use yogurt and add certain ingredients to it. I add chocolate protein powder, banana, granola, peanut butter, and honey to my yogurt and mix it all together. When you mix it together, it’s a nice, thick consistency. Put it in the freezer for a couple of hours and it’s very much like ice cream.

Get Started Today

Eating to get lean can be way more enjoyable than most people think. For many, the really tough part is getting started. If you really want it though, you have to do what it takes. Even if you stumble, make it temporary and get right back to work improving your nutrition. If anything, a cheat meal now and then will help you stay on course.

Once you see some results, it should motivate you to try more dietary changes that will help you get into better shape. Start with a goal of just a few pounds, and once you reach it, do it again. Down the road, you will reach your overall goals without as much difficulty as you fear.