Fat loss is easily one of the most common goals people have when it comes to their fitness and health.
There are several different types of fat in the body, but for this article, we’ll be focusing on what is known as subcutaneous fat, which is the fat everyone’s always focused on – the one that sits under the skin, and on top of muscle.
Of course, everyone is supposed to have some body fat. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, healthy body fat ranges for average adults are:
- Men: 8% – 20%
- Women: 20% – 33%
These ranges vary person to person depending on things like height, BMI, etc.
We used to live in a time where food was scarce, and people struggled to get up to a healthy body fat range, but nowadays it’s the exact opposite.
Food is quite abundant in modern society, and that’s just one of the reasons a lot of people find themselves trying to get down to a healthy body fat range.
Many people want to achieve fat loss. When body fat levels are above what’s considered normal and healthy.
Having excess body fat can lead to increased risks of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD), kidney problems, and even some types of cancer.
There are obviously plenty of health implications for fat loss, as well as other reasons such as athletic goals, or because someone genuinely feels uncomfortable in their own body, like I used to!
It should go without saying that there are many factors that play a role in fat loss, and also with how much, and where, fat is stored.
In this article, we’re going to dive into the basics of body fat, fat loss, and also cover some of the many other factors that are involved in it, as well.
WHY DO WE GAIN BODY FAT?
Body fat is simply stored energy.
This energy comes from calories, aka, the food we eat.
We also burn calories through activity, movement, digestion, exercise, even during sleep.
Therefore, gaining excess body fat essentially comes from too much energy going in, and not enough going out, or being burned off.
That’s body fat in the simplest terms.
Some other factors that play a role in how body fat is stored are things such as:
- Genetics – some people’s genetics may have them prone to storing more body fat than others – this also applies to where body fat is stored, as well
- Hormones – various hormones play a role in not only fat storage, but also food cravings, and metabolic function
- Lifestyle – regardless of genetics or hormones, those who tend to lead sedentary (not very active) lifestyles, and also indulge in foods that tend to be higher in calories (ultra-processed, junk foods), are also more prone to storing excess body fat
Regardless of all these factors, achieving fat-loss is still possible. But how?!
HOW DO WE LOSE BODY FAT?
Since gaining body fat comes from too much energy going in, and not enough coming out (caloric surplus), then in order to lose body fat you need more energy going out, and less going in (caloric deficit).
You must be in a caloric (energy) deficit in order to lose body fat.
There is no magic pill, specific diet, or workout program that is more superior in terms of fat-loss than being in an overall caloric deficit.
You could do intermittent fasting, cut carbs, and workout like a madman, but if you’re still eating in a caloric surplus, you will not lose body fat. Period.
However, it’s also not as daunting as you might think. You don’t have to eat nothing but salads, or have a restrictive “diet” in order to achieve fat loss.
You also don’t need crazy motivation or a monk-sense of discipline to achieve it, either.
The reason people may think that is because unfortunately we live in a society that has an over-abundance of hyper-palatable and addictive foods, as well as encourages lifestyles of lethargy and pleasure-indulgence – making simple things such as being healthy and in shape seem difficult and out of reach.
When in reality, it is very much possible and attainable.
So if a caloric deficit is the main key to fat loss, what is the main key to a caloric deficit?
Better yet, a proper caloric deficit. Not one where you’re just not eating, or eating very little.
There are three main principles to this. By themselves they can be effective, but combining two, if not all, of them will definitely set you on the right path towards fat loss! These principles are simply:
- Eating the right foods
- Moving more
- Tracking calories
HOW TO GET IN A CALORIE DEFICIT & LOSE BODY FAT
EATING THE RIGHT FOODS
Eating the right foods is by far one of the best routes to fat loss!
It’s true that as long as you’re in a deficit, you can eat virtually anything and lose weight. Key word there is weight, rather than specifically body fat. Let’s dive into this!
As I mentioned, many of us live in a society full of unhealthy, and addictive foods.
Giving us a lot of calories, and highly-palatable (tasty) flavors, but providing virtually no nutritional value, or satiating (feelings of fullness) effects, and even increasing our appetites to eat more of these foods – which leads to overeating calories, and thus, fat gain.
These are obviously foods such as: junk food, fast food, greasy food, desserts, etc
If your daily to weekly routine is usually filled with these types of foods, achieving fat loss is going to be much more difficult.
And on top of that, if you do achieve a deficit with these foods, you’re more likely to lose weight – usually in the form of muscle mass, water weight – rather than lose weight from body fat.
As well as feel tired, and probably moody!
Because again, these foods don’t contain the proper nutrients or the energy balance that our bodies need, but rather are created strictly to satisfy taste.
That’s why sticking to more of the right foods is important. The foods that not only have nutritional value, but will help you lose fat, and also help you to feel full and energized!
I’m talking, of course, about plant foods! And I’m not just talking about salads!
The plant foods that are the best for fat loss are: fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, *whole* grains, & legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils).
**Nuts & Seeds (hemp, flax, chia) are also healthy plant-based foods, but they do contain higher amounts of calories. They can 100% be a part of a fat-loss regime, just make sure to keep an eye on how much you’re having!**
Now this isn’t to say that you have to strictly eat these foods as a part of some “diet”, and that you have to completely cut out junk food and fast food, etc.
However, it is to say that having these foods as the foundation of your overall diet (“diet” simply referring to the sum of all the food you eat in, say, a given week) can help make fat-loss more achievable! But why?
Because these types of plant-based, whole-foods are packed with all the stuff we need, and typically lack the things we don’t need.
Plant foods are packed with proper nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, & minerals, and are not packed with things like added sugars, saturated or trans fats, cholesterol, highly-palatable ingredients, etc.
Another important nutrient exclusive to plant foods is fiber.
Fiber has been shown to help induce feelings of fullness, control blood sugar, and control appetite, among many other things.
Eating fiber-rich foods such as whole grains, legumes, fruit, etc, can be tremendous for fat loss because they can provide you with feelings of fullness before you overeat on calories – leading to fat loss without feeling hungry, restricted, or controlling portion sizes.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) partnered with the insurance company GEICO back in 2013 to conduct a study on the insurance company’s employees to see how a plant-based diet affected their everyday lives, mood, productivity, etc, in the workplace.
One of the promising results from the study was that participants following the plant based diet lost weight without adding exercise to their routine, being restrictive, or controlling portion sizes!
This was one of the first studies to illustrate the potential weight/fat loss effects of a plant-based diet.
Again, you can lose body fat eating pretty much anything. However, when it comes to the cost/benefit ratio, sticking to the right foods will get you further in the long run.
Especially since plant foods can help improve things like: cravings, metabolism, and hormones related to food, etc. – all things that are important for not just fat loss, but also for keeping the fat off.
Aka, eating this way is more sustainable.
Some of the best plant-based fat loss foods to start adding into your daily or weekly routine!…
- Whole grains – whole grain rice, whole grain pasta, oats, whole grain breads
- Legumes – Lentils, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, etc
- Veggies – eat them all! Including potatoes (one of the most satiating foods)
- Fruits – particularly berries, also bananas, apples, kiwi, etc.
Healthy, fat loss swaps:
- Brown or wild rice over white rice (fiber, some protein)
- Whole wheat, Sourdough, Rye, or whole grain bread/buns over white bread/buns (fiber, protein)
- Whole wheat or legume-based pasta over white pasta (fiber, protein)
- Multiple bean chili over meat-based chili
- Tub of oats over packaged oats (packaged = more processed, added sugars)
- Plant-based meat substitute (low saturated fat, some fiber)
- Side of beans or lentils over fries or chips
- Plant milk over Cow’s milk (lower saturated fat, no cow hormones, or animal cruelty)
- Cashew or other plant-based cheese over dairy cheese (more healthy fats rather than more unhealthy fats, no cow hormones, or “casomorphins” – the addictive component of cheese)
- Fruit, or Fruit & Nuts as snack over chips or other ultra-processed snacks
I can’t stress enough how important eating the right foods is for fat loss.
I also emphasize *whole* grains over refined grains (white bread, white pasta, added sugars) due to the whole form containing all of the fiber, nutrients, etc, whereas the refined forms of grains strip away all of the health-promoting nutrients.
And again, I’m not talking about eating these foods in a strict, exclusive way – as being strict and exclusive is not the formula for successful fat loss – but rather, I’m mainly talking about incorporating these foods and having them become some of the foundational staples to your daily or weekly routine, with some room for indulgence, of course!
An example could be that your overall diet in a given week consists of 70-80% whole-plant foods, and 20-30% foods of your indulgence.
MOVE MORE
This can, of course, be through any form of exercise, or through simply getting your steps in for the day. (around 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day is a healthy goal range)
Either way, our bodies were designed to move.
And in terms of fat loss, the more we move, the more calories we burn.
Contributing to a caloric deficit.
Living a sedentary (restful) lifestyle pretty much 10 times out of 10 will lead to excess body fat gain, as well as many other negative health effects.
Now this doesn’t mean that you have to go on long runs, or kill yourself in some high-intensity workout (unless that’s your thing).
Simply exposing your body to the various kinds of movement it was designed for (picking up and lifting things, walking, walking upstairs, or uphill, etc) on a regular basis can help to keep off unwanted fat gain.
Exercise in particular – say, running a mile – does help to burn more calories, and improve metabolism, but these simply aid in fat loss, they don’t determine it.
That’s why moving more in general is important, rather than just exercising for a period of time and then being sedentary for the rest of the day.
And if you combine moving more with eating more of the right foods, you’ll be more than well on your way to fat loss!
So whichever your preferred method is – exercise program, walking more, movement through other activities, etc – make sure to get your body moving!
TRACKING CALORIES
Tracking calories for fat loss works by simply making sure you’re not eating too much. And that you’re in a caloric deficit, and not a surplus.
First, before you do this, it’s important to figure out what your maintenance calories are. This is simply the amount of calories you need to eat in order to maintain your current weight/body fat levels.
Once you have that number, or at least an estimate, eating over maintenance (surplus) will elicit fat gain, while eating under maintenance (caloric deficit) will elicit fat loss.
There are tons of free calculators and apps that can help figure this out! The average maintenance number is around 2,000 calories per day, but of course this varies by person, height, weight, activity level, etc.
Once you have an idea of where your maintenance calories are, tracking calories is one of the lowest-hanging fruits when it comes to making sure you’re in a calorie deficit, and not a surplus.
You could do it the old school way and simply write down everything you eat and add up all the calories, or you could use a free app such as Myfitnesspal, or, Cronometer, where you enter in all of your food and they do all the calculations for you!
This method gives you a great estimate of how many calories you’re eating, as well as the nutrition content of the various foods you eat.
However, this method isn’t for everyone, as some people can start to over-obsess over everything they’re eating, and feel as though they can’t eat something unless they track it.
Tracking calories is easy, and a great way to get you started on understanding nutrition, and energy balance. But it’s not something that must be done, or always be done, in order to achieve fat-loss.
SUMMARY
Fat loss has always been a popular topic.
There continues to be so much confusion around it, and although there are several factors that determine fat loss, starting with some of the basics – eating the right foods, moving more, & tracking calories – can help to set you on the right path!
Thanks for reading and I hope this was helpful!