Your Best Fat Loss Tip?

[klbbr]

Let's make this a thread about the best advice to cut.

I just came across some advice that was new to me. We all know smaller plates lead to smaller portions and less kcal, and eating more slowly increases makes you more sated. But what was new to me is putting away the cell phone, turning off the laptop, simply paying attention to the meal while eating, it makes you feel fuller. Your body gets the feeling of satiety also from watching the food intake as it happens.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201303296037

I often watch some video while eating so, hey, stopping that might work. Worked 1 of 1 days so far.

If you've got any fat loss tips, do contribute.

[Tommy W.]

Eliminate ultra processed carbs and alcohol and don’t eat when hungry. Hold yourself accountable and stick to a pre determined calorie amount by way of a diet app that is not My Fitness Pal.

[SuffolkPunch]

There is emerging research that ultra processed foods have a serious effect on triggering your appetite, even permanently altering your brain chemistry when it comes to appetite regulation.

So I would aim to have the vast majority of what you eat minimally processed. Things that are only one or two steps from nature like milled wholegrains, cooked beans for example.

It's worth looking up what is considered ultra processed.

[snailsrus]

I think 80-90% of people are tracking calories incorrectly and generally are eating more than they think when they start and claimed they can’t lose weight on >1500 cals

Weighing cooked food vs raw

Not counting oils or sauces used while cooking

Leaving out creamer /sugar in coffee

Eating out frequently where the true nutritional value of say what the chipotle worker puts on your burrito bowl can vary by 100’s of calories

Cheat day or meals

Using cardio/ the treadmill or fit bit that says you burned x amount to add more calories to what you eat

[shmoneyshamel]

why not MyFitnessPal?

[Tommy W.]

why not MyFitnessPal?

Too many entries for the same foods so people generally use the entry with the lowest calories listed which leads to way underestimating actual calorie intake

[klbbr]

It's worth looking up what is considered ultra processed.

Putting it in for reference

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Think vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, meats, seafood, herbs, spices, garlic, eggs and milk. Make these real, whole foods the basis of your diet.

Processed foods: When ingredients such as oil, sugar or salt are added to foods and they are packaged, the result is processed foods. Examples are simple bread, cheese, tofu, and canned tuna or beans. These foods have been altered, but not in a way that’s detrimental to health. They are convenient and help you build nutritious meals. See? Not everything in a package is bad for you!

Ultra-processed foods: Here’s the category where almost 50% of our calories come from – and where we should cut back. These foods go through multiple processes (extrusion, molding, milling, etc.), contain many added ingredients and are highly manipulated. Examples are soft drinks, chips, chocolate, candy, ice-cream, sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, fries and more.

Ultra-processed foods is the category where almost 50% of our calories come from.

https://www.heartandstroke.ca/articl...processed-food

There is emerging research that ultra processed foods have a serious effect on triggering your appetite, even permanently altering your brain chemistry when it comes to appetite regulation.

Hot damn. If you know of quality sources for this info, please post.

[Tommy W.]

Putting it in for reference

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods: Think vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, meats, seafood, herbs, spices, garlic, eggs and milk. Make these real, whole foods the basis of your diet.

Processed foods: When ingredients such as oil, sugar or salt are added to foods and they are packaged, the result is processed foods. Examples are simple bread, cheese, tofu, and canned tuna or beans. These foods have been altered, but not in a way that’s detrimental to health. They are convenient and help you build nutritious meals. See? Not everything in a package is bad for you!

Ultra-processed foods: Here’s the category where almost 50% of our calories come from – and where we should cut back. These foods go through multiple processes (extrusion, molding, milling, etc.), contain many added ingredients and are highly manipulated. Examples are soft drinks, chips, chocolate, candy, ice-cream, sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, fries and more.

Ultra-processed foods is the category where almost 50% of our calories come from.

https://www.heartandstroke.ca/articl...processed-food



Hot damn. If you know of quality sources for this info, please post.

good info and accurate hence why if people drop those ultra’s they drop weight almost right away.

[Bosko]

weigh all your food by the GRAM....most people are off by 500/calories a day by using apps and guessing

[JUSA]

- eliminate or reduce processed foods, sugar and alcohol from your diet
- do not eat unless you are hungry
- do not constantly eat, stop eating if you feel full

[SuffolkPunch]

All I have is this BBC documentary:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/van_tulleken

I would expect this opinion piece to be more reliable than most. The website does also link to some primary research though - but disclaimer: I haven't read those in detail.

[xsquid99]

Avoiding alcohol is a big one, not just because of the calories but because of what it does to your inhibitions which can lead to additional poor food choices while under the influence. When you're leaving a bar that huge slice of greasy pizza that would have otherwise been easy to avoid somehow finds its way into your hands.

Eat your freaking vegetables.

[spradish]

- Eat mostly whole foods / minimally processed foods

- Track what you eat

- If you don't lose weight within a reasonable period of time (3-4 weeks), eat less

- Be patient

[faithbrah]

Avoiding alcohol is a big one, not just because of the calories but because of what it does to your inhibitions which can lead to additional poor food choices while under the influence. When you're leaving a bar that huge slice of greasy pizza that would have otherwise been easy to avoid somehow finds its way into your hands.

Eat your freaking vegetables.

my summer has been pretty wild alcohol-wise, yet i've managed to stay somewhat within my calories and haven't grabbed any food on the way home

on the other hand, when you're drinking at a friend's place and they have some salty goods on the table, right in front of your nose and you just keep fantasizing about them... now that is a true test of discipline

[blue9steel]

If we assume you have the basics figured out calories, macros, weighing your food etc. then my next tip would be:

There is a strong correlation between food weight and satiety. In general foods that weigh more per calorie tend to keep you full longer.

[EliKoehn]

my summer has been pretty wild alcohol-wise, yet i've managed to stay somewhat within my calories and haven't grabbed any food on the way home

on the other hand, when you're drinking at a friend's place and they have some salty goods on the table, right in front of your nose and you just keep fantasizing about them... now that is a true test of discipline

Another unfortunate fact of alcohol is since it is worthless calories, in order to fit it in you have to omit useful, actual nutrition. Thinking "Ok, I'll have my few drinks on Friday" or whenever and omitting plenty of carbs to account for it, you'll feel your loss of performance when you hit the gym on Saturday. Or, if you get rid of a lot of fat and eat your carbs with the drinks, it takes a lot of the fun out of a celebratory evening anyway. IMO it's best to avoid drinking except for those occasions where you're already and knowingly making an exception.

[Motiviert]

Lift weights and eat less

[klbbr]

I've tried to cut for two years (yeah) and finally succeded. These are the changes, so these are my tips.

Avoid distracted eating; eat slowly
• Eat at kitchen table, leave the cell phone
• Eat slowly, take small bites
• Have the fork in the left hand (yeah, adds to eating slowly, and brings the focus onto the meal and not whatever's happening elsewhere)
• Try to enjoy and savoir the food
• Check the time, and try to make a habit of making the meal last twenty minutes
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201303296037

The foods
• Like SuffolkPunch writes, look for unprocessed foods, avoid ultra processed. This also ties into the previous point. Eat a stake and chewing takes time, eat meatloaf and it's swallowed after couple chews.
• Drink lots of calorie free beverages. Coffee, tea, iced tea, diet soda, whatever you like.
• Begin the day with two eggs https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5331520/
• Get enough fat. I've lowered the carbs (from 50 % to 35 %) and upped the fat, and going good so far. I think my body craves fat if I don't get enough grams. This isn't a LCHF diet as that's 25 % or less energy from carbs. I know opinions differ and I know what works for one needn't work for another. But if you're trying to cut and not succeeding look into adding fat and cutting carbs.
• When it comes to macros, good enough is perfect. Focus on cutting, as trying to meet the macros all the time will get in the way of that.

Other stuff
• If you've eaten at a deficit several days in a row, you might get used to smaller portions, so try to keep that rolling instead of having second helpings cause you're slightly hungry.
• Dedication. Pure and simple. I've been lacking that for way too long.

[Tommy W.]

I've tried to cut for two years (yeah) and finally succeded. These are the changes, so these are my tips.

Avoid distracted eating; eat slowly
• Eat at kitchen table, leave the cell phone
• Eat slowly, take small bites
• Have the fork in the left hand (yeah, adds to eating slowly, and brings the focus onto the meal and not whatever's happening elsewhere)
• Try to enjoy and savoir the food
• Check the time, and try to make a habit of making the meal last twenty minutes
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201303296037

The foods
• Like SuffolkPunch writes, look for unprocessed foods, avoid ultra processed. This also ties into the previous point. Eat a stake and chewing takes time, eat meatloaf and it's swallowed after couple chews.
• Drink lots of calorie free beverages. Coffee, tea, iced tea, diet soda, whatever you like.
• Begin the day with two eggs https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5331520/
• Get enough fat. I've lowered the carbs (from 50 % to 35 %) and upped the fat, and going good so far. I think my body craves fat if I don't get enough grams. This isn't a LCHF diet as that's 25 % or less energy from carbs. I know opinions differ and I know what works for one needn't work for another. But if you're trying to cut and not succeeding look into adding fat and cutting carbs.
• When it comes to macros, good enough is perfect. Focus on cutting, as trying to meet the macros all the time will get in the way of that.

Other stuff
• If you've eaten at a deficit several days in a row, you might get used to smaller portions, so try to keep that rolling instead of having second helpings cause you're slightly hungry.
• Dedication. Pure and simple. I've been lacking that for way too long.

good post

[klbbr]

@Tommy W, this was paraphrasing you and thanks for the advice "When it comes to macros, good enough is perfect. Focus on cutting, as trying to meet the macros all the time will get in the way of that"

[Tommy W.]

@Tommy W, this was paraphrasing you and thanks for the advice "When it comes to macros, good enough is perfect. Focus on cutting, as trying to meet the macros all the time will get in the way of that"

For sure however hopefully it won't be interpreted as "macros don't matter". its more about not worrying if you only got 185 grams of protein instead of 190

[snailsrus]

Don’t make your diet unrealistic, make life style changes not crash diets

-avoid too low of calories that you can not stick too. If you are starving, your going to fail. Either you’ll binge with cheat meals, or just give up. Slow and steady wins the race

-avoid being overly restrictive. If your diet is so strict you can’t go out to eat or family dinners or really just enjoy things that you enjoy to eat. This can lead to things like, well I broke Keto already today might as well go full ham. And binge all day

-do make small life style changes. Take the stairs whenever possible, walk or bike somewhere when you can, take the dog on a longer walk, choose activities that get you active like kayaking vs laying on a beach

-add cardio you enjoy and can be consistent with

-always be aware that creamer, condiments and alcohol do have calories. Also, eat out less. Nutritional information for restaurants can be fairly inaccurate

-caffeine is your friend, diet drugs are not.

-eat less, add more veggies and fruit

-find new coping mechanism /skills if your an emotional eater or restricter

[GayCumLord]

Weigh yourself everyday and average it every week instead of weighing yourself once a week

[PeteW45]

Loving this thread so far!

I’m not as experienced as many here, so please take my tips / strategies with a grain of salt.

I’ve only just joined this forum, but I’ve lost 14 kg in the past few months and I’m trying to lose more in the Sep->Dec challenge.

Before trying to lose weight, some of us get away with eating a lot more than our bodies require. So my first tip is don’t worry if you don’t start losing weight when you first start reducing your calorie intake - it can take a few weeks to adjust your eating habits.

My second tip is don’t let your mind play tricks on you when reducing calories. For example, I used to worry that if I didn’t eat my muffin for morning tea, I would be too hungry to be able to concentrate on my job. But being hungry sometimes is OK, and your mind and body can adjust.

Third tip is look after your mental health. Many of us turn to comfort foods when stress gets out of control.

[AlBHappy]

Don't drink and if you do 2 drinks twice a week
Veggies with every meal.
Take Psyllium Husk for fiber. It fills you up and the results are morning glory.

[klbbr]

For sure however hopefully it won't be interpreted as "macros don't matter". its more about not worrying if you only got 185 grams of protein instead of 190

I guess I interpreted you more liberally than intended. Your advice, or rather my interpretation of your advice, played a part in my weight loss last month, after two years of failo:

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1647862723

If you have some thoughts on what's an expected amount of muscle loss when cutting, and whether I lost quite more than expected, I'd appreciate it. Quite frankly I know little of nutrition and macros besides that it's quite normal to lose some muscle when cutting. My interpretation of your advice was like if I'd blow my budget Monday, on Tuesday I would eat less if I wasn't hungry, and my macros would still make sense on a 48 hour cycle. And on average I feel short of the recommended amount of protein, ending up at 1.475 grams per kg.

[Tommy W.]

I guess I interpreted you more liberally than intended. Your advice, or rather my interpretation of your advice, played a part in my weight loss last month, after two years of failo:

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...post1647862723

If you have some thoughts on what's an expected amount of muscle loss when cutting, and whether I lost quite more than expected, I'd appreciate it. Quite frankly I know little of nutrition and macros besides that it's quite normal to lose some muscle when cutting. My interpretation of your advice was like if I'd blow my budget Monday, on Tuesday I would eat less if I wasn't hungry, and my macros would still make sense on a 48 hour cycle. And on average I feel short of the recommended amount of protein, ending up at 1.475 grams per kg.

Losing some muscle when cutting is normal. Generally the leaner you are the more chance of greater muscle loss. That's when you need abundant and consistent protein and a solid training program are vital. How much muscle you lose compared to fat varies greatly.

One thing I see is guys think they lost a ton of muscle after they lean out however they just didn't have as much muscle as they thought. Training wise its best to cut down on volume and not lower weight on the bar if you can help it. Guys try to run too much volume in order to burn more calories however they end up having to reduce the weight while doing so. Let your diet cause fatloss and your training program spare the muscle.

[Pennywisest]

1) don't drink your calories
2) go for low hang fruit (easy changes) first
3) you probably need more protein
4) don't lose weight in a way you can't sustain in maintenance.
5) lift, correctly. Bigger people who are still mobile tend to have a lot of strength just from moving around. It's a natural source for building self-confidence, and mood right from the start. As you get closer to your goals, it then transitions to identity changes which support maintenance.

[Darkius]

When adding olive oil to your salad or microwaved potato, pour the oil into a spoon before using the spoon to drizle it on the food, so you know how much you are getting.

[RocknRollMuscle]

i'ts not rocket science. That's what diet industry wants to tell you to get your $$.

make diet 90% plants, fruits, veggies, water and toss in some chicken breasts. Typical bodybuilder cutting diet.

boom, insulin goes down, gut bacteria becomes healtahy, lots of fiber, you lose weight. There's simply nooo way you won't lose wight eating salads. I drink green smoothies all day.

Those who cheat, well, that's why they stall. Also avoid restrictive diets. Majority fail with them cuz they're no sustainable. Ignore skinny fat Vegans and their holier than thou attitude.

alsio get good nights sleep. That's so important. IF if you wish.

in the end: your calorie deficit decides how fast/much you lose. So yes calories matter but more so: quality of calories matter.