The Simplest Weight Loss Guide Ever Made...

[NeedANick]

OK, it is honestly getting tiresome to re-write the SAME THING 400x times a day. I try to help everyone I see by referring them to the Calculating Calorie Needs and Macronutrients or the other stickies, but I have come to the realization that it does not help and can be actually quite confusing, so I will write this very simplistic guide to use as a copy-paste in the (very near) future.

So, you want to lose weight? The first and most important thing: DIET.
Eating correctly does NOT mean eating "clean", like some like to call it. Eating vegetables, salads, and fruits are NOT the key to weight loss. In fact, you can gain weight by doing that and it can incredibly demotivational. When you learn how to eat correctly, you will understand how and why you can lose weight eating a delicious BigMac every day! I don't recommend it, obviously, but it's possible.

The only thing that really matters when it comes to weight loss is your caloric intake. If you eat less calories than your body burns, you will lose weight. This is called a CUT. In this guide we are going to talk about how to start a healthy cut, which means little to no muscle loss (maybe even muscle gain) while losing body fat.

First things first: CALORIES
There is a simple guideline for figuring out what to eat, and it resolves around calories. I like to recommend 2500kcals as a starting point for weight loss, and from there you can adjust it according to your personal needs.

As you may or may not know, calories are made from carbohydrates, protein and fat. 1g of carbohydrate and 1g of protein = 4 calories. 1g of fat equals 9 calories. Knowing this, you can calculate your MACRONUTRIENTS, which basically means your protein, carbohydrate and fat intake. By knowing your macros you can easily make your OWN meal plans that will help weight loss.

How do I calculate my Macronutrients?
To calculate your macronutrients is simple, all you need to find out is your LEAN BODY MASS, which means your TOTAL WEIGHT - TOTAL FAT. To find out your lean body mass, go to this link:
Bodyfat Estimation Thread

read the instructions and post your pictures so forum members can give you a rough estimation of how much body fat you have. If you weight 200lbs and they tell you your body fat is 20%, that means your LEAN BODY MASS is 160lbs.

So, to calculate macronutrients all you need to do is:
1g of protein per lb of lean body mass
0.4g of fat per lb of lean body mass
fill the rest of your calories with carbohydrates

Using the example above (200lbs with 20% body fat), you would have to eat 160g of protein, 64g of fat, and the rest of your calories will come from carbohydrates. Knowing that 1g of protein and 1g of carbohydrate equals 4calories and 1g of fat equals 9 calories, all you have to do to find out how many grams of carbohydrate you need is:
{CALORIES-[(PROTEIN*4)+(FAT*9)]}/4 = CARBS

This means:
1. Multiply protein by 4 (remember, 1g of protein = 4 calories)
2. Multiply fat by 9 (remember, 1g of fat = 9 calories)
3. Sum the protein and fat multiplications
4. Subtract that number from your total calories
5. Divide the number by 4 (remember, 1g of carb = 4 calories)

Using our example:
{2500-[(160*4)+(64*9)]}/4 = 321

So, a 200lb person with 20% body fat eating 2500kcals daily, you would have to eat 321g of carbs.

What can I eat to lose weight?
Now that you know your macros, it's time to find out how to eat correctly. This means you will have to measure all the food you eat (for maximum accuracy and results, I highly suggest buying a digital kitchen scale and measuring all the food you eat), check food labels, and in a few cases do some quick research. Logging EVERYTHING you eat is key to weight loss. I highly recommend using a website such as www.myfitnesspal.com to log all your food intake. This will make your life that much easier.

Now, how do you eat a BigMac every day and still lose weight? Simple. Here are the calories of a BigMac:

Calories: 590
Protein: 24g
Carbs: 47g
Fat: 34g

Remember that 200lbs person? Well, he can eat:

Calories: 2500
Protein: 160g
Carbs: 321g
Fat: 64g

This means that after he finishes that BigMac, he can STILL eat:

Calories: 1910
Protein: 136g
Carbs: 274g
Fat: 30g

As you can see, it didn't go over his calories or any of his macros, this means he still has a lot to eat before his day is done.

Adjusting your caloric intake.
After you stick to this diet for at least 3 weeks, you can adjust it to your personal needs. If you feel like weight loss is going too slow, you can drop you caloric intake further, which means lowering carb inake. So if you decide to increase the caloric intake to 2000kcals this means you have to reduce 500calories from one of your macros. It should be carbs. That means you have to reduce 125g of carbs (which has 500kcals) from your diet. In the previous example, from 321g to 196g.

Keep in mind that the first few weeks you will experience a lot of water weight loss, which basically means you're going to urinate/sweat a few lbs. This is why it is recommended waiting at least 3 weeks to change your caloric intake.

Exercise.
Cardiovascular exercises are a great aid to weight loss, as they burn calories and improves your overall health, but it is not necessarily essential. Burning 150calories doing exercise will yield the same results of eating 150 less calories in a day. This is not to say cardio should be avoided, though. It simply means that, yes, you can lose weight without it, but the benefits of cardiovascular exercises for both your health, and in turn for weight loss, are undeniable.

Lifting weights, though, makes a huge impact in weight loss and body composition. If you are a first time lifter you will gain muscle (which is extremely hard on a cut). This muscle gain is called Newbie Gains. It lasts for a few months and it will help you burn more fat, faster.

While gaining muscle, it may seem like you are not losing weight on the scale. This is called RECOMP. You are burning fat, but at the same time you are gaining muscle.

For information on routines visit: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=115643271

Supplements
A big question around weight loss is which supplements to aid lose fat. The truth is, to lose weight you DON'T need supplements, but they could be useful. Here's a quick list:

- Multi-vitamin: recommended to everyone
- Fish oil: recommended to everyone
- Protein powder: recommended if you are having trouble reaching your protein macros

Other than these, really, you don't need much. You can lose all your fat without taking absolutely any kind of supplement at all!

Now you know the very basics of dieting. I'll just add a few tips:
- Always try to hit your protein levels to avoid muscle loss.
- Dietary fat does NOT make you fat. Eating fat does not necessarily MAKE you fat.
- You can eat absolutely ANYTHING you want as long as you still without your macros. (For more information: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=133634471)
- The TIME you eat has little to no effect on your weight loss. If you want to eat your 2500kcals at night, 5minutes before going to sleep, do it. It won't make you fat.
- Reducing your caloric intake by 500kcals will result, roughly, in a 1lb weight loss weekly. It is not recommended to exceed 2lbs weight loss weekly unless you are obese.
- Starvation Mode does not exist in the way most people think of. Eating too little WILL NOT stop progress. It is not recommended to eat too little calories, though; it could be detrimental to your health.






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[goodthings]

top class post op, however the one issue I have is that fat is fat, I have to disagree, there are some fats which really are bad fats, trans fats, fats i.e hydrogenated fats are just not good and should be avoided.

[vSphereGuy]

good job man.

Problem is... people will read this.. and STILL ask the SAME questions EVERY DAY. Seriously. It seems a ton of people think they are genetic mutants or something and basic thermodynamic principles do not apply to them.

I have just learned to accept it and spend more time reading the Nutrition section.

[NeedANick]

top class post op, however the one issue I have is that fat is fat, I have to disagree, there are some fats which really are bad fats, trans fats, fats i.e hydrogenated fats are just not good and should be avoided.

I agree, but it's so rare to come across trans fat that I consider it irrelevant. I'll wait for a few more input on the idea.

good job man.

Problem is... people will read this.. and STILL ask the SAME questions EVERY DAY. Seriously. It seems a ton of people think they are genetic mutants or something and basic thermodynamic principles do not apply to them.

I have just learned to accept it and spend more time reading the Nutrition section.

Well, the main idea I wrote this is to just copy and past at threads. If someone asks, I'll redirect them here and it should clear things up. This basically mixed calculating macros (extremely simplified) and losing weight for noobs, also simplified. I hope it works.

[BadBrain]

good job man.

Problem is... people will read this.. and STILL ask the SAME questions EVERY DAY. Seriously. It seems a ton of people think they are genetic mutants or something and basic thermodynamic principles do not apply to them.

I have just learned to accept it and spend more time reading the Nutrition section.

You could make a post on "How to boil water" and you'd still end up with 400 pages of the same questions over and over.

[nlite2000]

top class post op, however the one issue I have is that fat is fat, I have to disagree, there are some fats which really are bad fats, trans fats, fats i.e hydrogenated fats are just not good and should be avoided.

Do they effect how the body stores, gains, loses adipose tissue? If not then it's moot.

[samsont]

~~Submit suggestions~~

IMO it can be summed up by:

calories in, calories out + hard work = obtaining weightloss goals. simple.

[NeedANick]

IMO it can be summed up by:

calories in, calories out + hard work = obtaining weightloss goals. simple.

Well, that wouldn't clear anything up, honestly.

[nlite2000]

I think the cardio stigma around here is vaguely irresponsible. Telling fat people not to move their asses? And, i only speak from personal experience, I have found that it has significant effects on losing fat.

A body builder trying to get to 5% bodyfat is different than a 300 pound fatty trying to get to a healthy weight.


And I think, THINK, that 150 calories burned from cardio has greater fat loss benefits than 150 calories you don't put in your mouth.


Completey non-scientific assertion: How many fat people do you know who run 20 miles a week?

[NeedANick]

I think the cardio stigma around here is vaguely irresponsible. Telling fat people not to move their asses? And, i only speak from personal experience, I have found that it has significant effects on losing fat.

A body builder trying to get to 5% bodyfat is different than a 300 pound fatty trying to get to a healthy weight.


And I think, THINK, that 150 calories burned from cardio has greater fat loss benefits than 150 calories you don't put in your mouth.


Completey non-scientific assertion: How many fat people do you know who run 20 miles a week?

I don't mean to say they should cut it out completely, but the idea is that 150calories burned is the same of 150 calories not eaten. You don't NEED cardio to lose weight, although it can be beneficial.

I run a mile every day because of the benefits of cardio cardio. It is great all over, but I still think calorie-wise it makes little difference.

[MetalLover]

Completey non-scientific assertion: How many fat people do you know who run 20 miles a week?

I see your point, but at the same time, how many 20 mile per week runners do you know who chow on pizzas, kebabs and cakes, and wash it down with gallons of Coca Cola?

[nlite2000]

I don't mean to say they should cut it out completely, but the idea is that 150calories burned is the same of 150 calories not eaten. You don't NEED cardio to lose weight, although it can be beneficial.

I run a mile every day because of the benefits of cardio cardio. It is great all over, but I still think calorie-wise it makes little difference.

The added energy from cardio, has to have positive effects on one's metabolism and energy needs.

I think, if anything, cardio's benefits shouldn't be overstated, you can't eat like **** and go running, but understating it is bad too.

[nlite2000]

I see your point, but at the same time, how many 20 mile per week runners do you know who chow on pizzas, kebabs and cakes, and wash it down with gallons of Coca Cola?

Athletic kids, for one. And what's your point? That diet is most important? You've really blown the lid off this one!

[samsont]

Well, that wouldn't clear anything up, honestly.

eh idk, it's simple, tried and true.. how many different ways can you reply to "is milk okay on a cut?" i mean, seriously people. lol.

[NeedANick]

The added energy from cardio, has to have positive effects on one's metabolism and energy needs.

I think, if anything, cardio's benefits shouldn't be overstated, you can't eat like **** and go running, but understating it is bad too.

"This is not to say cardio should be avoided, though. It simply states that, yes, you can lose weight without it, but the benefits of cardiovascular exercises for both your health, and in turn for weight loss, are undeniable."

I don't want to add bro-science to this thread, so I'll leave it at that. Let's keep it simple and useful.

[NeedANick]

eh idk, it's simple, tried and true.. how many different ways can you reply to "is milk okay on a cut?" i mean, seriously people. lol.

Well, get someone completely new to the whole weight loss part of life and tell them that:
"calories in, calories out + hard work = obtaining weightloss goals. simple."

Do you honestly think that will help them?

I'm not implying you are wrong, but for someone new to the subject it will sound like gibberish and make no sense.

[MetalLover]

Athletic kids, for one. And what's your point? That diet is most important? You've really blown the lid off this one!

Kids, yeah. Most of us aren't.

I'm not saying anything is important, I was responding to your non-scientific assertion.

But weren't you preaching the mantra that you can't out train a bad diet?

[goodthings]

Do they effect how the body stores, gains, loses adipose tissue? If not then it's moot.

moot?
"There is no such thing as BAD FAT or GOOD FAT. Fat is fat. " = wrong, if you want your arteries clogged up with sh!t then this is far from a moot point

[nlite2000]

"This is not to say cardio should be avoided, though. It simply states that, yes, you can lose weight without it, but the benefits of cardiovascular exercises for both your health, and in turn for weight loss, are undeniable."

I don't want to add bro-science to this thread, so I'll leave it at that. Let's keep it simple and useful.

You lead off the section about exercise with how cardio is unnecessary. Just lead it off with lift weights.



And again--forcing your body to burn 150 calories through activity, just think of the mechanisms at work, how is that possibly the same net effect as not eating 150 calories?


As for bro-science, one could make a fairly convincing case that the high protein requirements espoused by the weightlifting community are largely bro-science.

[nlite2000]

moot?
"There is no such thing as BAD FAT or GOOD FAT. Fat is fat. " = wrong, if you want your arteries clogged up with sh!t then this is far from a moot point

Somebody with an good body composition who eats more transfats than a fatty who eats nothing but olive oil is going to have lower blood cholesterol, for one, and better health in every demonstrable way.

[NeedANick]

moot?
"There is no such thing as BAD FAT or GOOD FAT. Fat is fat. " = wrong, if you want your arteries clogged up with sh!t then this is far from a moot point

I hope you're not implying cholesterol clogs your arteries. I'm not doctor, but if you do a quick research you'll find that the truth about clogged arteries is that it is caused by inflammation, not high cholesterol.

I know trans fat is bad, but that's about as far as I know.

Either way, in terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter, but you're right. I'll just remove that part and let the IIFYM thread take care of "clean" diet overall.

[nlite2000]

Kids, yeah. Most of us aren't.

I'm not saying anything is important, I was responding to your non-scientific assertion.

But weren't you preaching the mantra that you can't out train a bad diet?

It comes down to calories.

If one wants to be a "fit" person, they're going to eat right, do resistance training and be physically active (cardio)


I'm not going to budge from the stance that telling fat people that cardio is unnecessary for quality weight loss is irresponsible, and wrong too, if you consider that they are likely interested in keeping it off once they lose it.

[NeedANick]

You lead off the section about exercise with how cardio is unnecessary. Just lead it off with lift weights.



And again--forcing your body to burn 150 calories through activity, just think of the mechanisms at work, how is that possibly the same net effect as not eating 150 calories?


As for bro-science, one could make a fairly convincing case that the high protein requirements espoused by the weightlifting community are largely bro-science.

I removed the negative tone of cardio I had there. It's more friendly not. That should do it.

Also, for high protein, I think it is pretty useless. I've read a few articles that say it's unnecessary. Anything over 1g of protein per lb of lbm is essentially "wasted". You could switch it so carbs or fat and allow yourself a more flexible diet.

In fact, read msm00b's thread about his progress and he states the same thing. He's a doctor and he says he's done some research. I'm not going to try and get down to science, it just isn't my field and I won't pretend that I understand a lot about it.

Also, on the idea that "just think of the mechanisms at work, how is that possibly the same net effect as not eating 150 calories", it's exactly these mechanism that are burning those 150calories. Once that mechanism stops doing what it is doing, those calories stop counting.

It's like adding gasoline to a car and using the car to waste the gas, or no putting gas at all. In the end of both cases, the car will have 0 gas.

[goodthings]

I hope you're not implying cholesterol clogs your arteries. I'm not doctor, but if you do a quick research you'll find that the truth about clogged arteries is that it is caused by inflammation, not high cholesterol.

I know trans fat is bad, but that's about as far as I know.

Either way, in terms of weight loss, it doesn't matter, but you're right. I'll just remove that part and let the IIFYM thread take care of "clean" diet overall.

I clearly mentioned hydrogentated oil/fats, I never mentioned cholesterol. any fats with the afore mentioed should be avoided totally imo.

[NeedANick]

I clearly mentioned hydrogentated oil/fats, I never mentioned cholesterol. any fats with the afore mentioed should be avoided totally imo.

OK. I removed that comment. I'll let IFFYM take care of that.

EDIT: Actually, I'll just say eating fat does not make you fat.

[nlite2000]

My point about the broscience is that it's not always wrong. There is a reason why gyms have exercise bikes and ellipticals.


As for the car/gas example, I think it illustrates my point actually. Yes, you end up at zero gas, but the car had to use the gas in one case (pistons/muscles) where in the other it just sat there. I don't think it's as simple as in both cases you end up with an empty tank.



There is empirical evidence everywhere you look espousing the weight loss benefits of cardio.

[nlite2000]

I clearly mentioned hydrogentated oil/fats, I never mentioned cholesterol. any fats with the afore mentioed should be avoided totally imo.

Jesus dude, go to the paleo eating forums.

[NeedANick]

My point about the broscience is that it's not always wrong. There is a reason why gyms have exercise bikes and ellipticals.


As for the car/gas example, I think it illustrates my point actually. Yes, you end up at zero gas, but the car had to use the gas in one case (pistons/muscles) where in the other it just sat there. I don't think it's as simple as in both cases you end up with an empty tank.



There is empirical evidence everywhere you look espousing the weight loss benefits of cardio.

I'm by no means saying you're wrong in that cardio is great for not only fat people, but for everyone, really. I'm on your side, but I just to make clear that it is not necessary.

I do think fat people should put an effort and give all they can on cardio, but to say "if you don't you wont lose weight" is a lie, and we both know that.

[igglesphan]

top class post op, however the one issue I have is that fat is fat, I have to disagree, there are some fats which really are bad fats, trans fats, fats i.e hydrogenated fats are just not good and should be avoided.

Why should they be avoided?

[nlite2000]

I do think fat people should put an effort and give all they can on cardio, but to say "if you don't you wont lose weight" is a lie, and we both know that.

You could say the same thing about weightlifting.