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How to lose all the fat you want (virtually) On Demand

From 3, 5 10 pounds to 50+ pounds, there is one way to lose all the fat you want.

And yes, you can do this pretty much on demand.

The best part is… 

it’s not a miracle diet, a supplement or some type of crazy routine you have to follow and stick to it.


This is possible all because it’s based on the science of fat loss and what I call the building block of all diets.

No matter whether you’re doing keto, intermittent fasting, clean eating, or counting calories… if you don’t have the building block of all diets in place, you won’t lose weight at all.

As simple as that.

Plus, this shows you don’t have to sacrifice your favorite food, feel like starving yourself… or like you’re dieting at all.


Once you know what makes any diet work or not, you are able to choose something that works for you and that will let you do all of this, while enjoying the process (and results, of course).

This isn’t anything new or some secret no one has ever heard of and whatnot…

This is based on science that tells the complete spectrum rather than trying to push a certain diet as the “only way” to lose fat.

If anything, using the building block of al diets is the only way to lose fat… 

and that’s something research can back up again and again.


If you’ve been going diet after diet and not seen any results (or kept them), then this is for you.

I just released my brand new ebook “Fat Loss On Demand”.

It shows you exactly that…

how by using the building block of all diets you can make your next diet the last one you’ll need to lose those pounds for good… pretty much on demand.


And if you order it on the page below, I also give you 3 Bonuses so you really have everything (and I mean, everything – I hold nothing back on this book) to lose fat and the science behind it.

So click the link below and get your digital copy today:

→ https://www.fatlossondemand.com/book

It’s time to put an end to yo-yo dieting and not knowing why is it that you can’t lose weight and keep it off…


And you now have the power to do it by getting this ebook.

Ivan Iniguez

Not all weight loss is created equal

Do you know why I’d rather lose 3-5 pounds of fat per month than 10+ of weight?

Simply because it lets me know that the majority of the weight I lose will come from fat and not other tissues like muscle.

There’s this idea that all weight loss is created equal.

And they simply don’t take into account that when you focus on losing weight, if you just want to see the scale moving down much of the weight can come from organs, muscles, or even water.

But you want to lose fat (most of it, it’s quite inevitable you will lose some other fluids or weight from other things like muscle – but you can minimize it).

This is why the first step to knowing what you are losing the most is the difference between Lean Body Mass (LBM) and Fat Mass (FM).

This concept isn’t new or special, and the definitions are quite simple:

LBM = everything that’s not fat tissue (organs, hair, water, and of course, muscle)

FM = all the fat tissue

This is why people constantly want to know about their body fat percentage because it allows them to know how much of a difference they see in their fat levels (it’s not 100% accurate, and I will expand on body fat in another post).

That’s why you want to focus on losing as much Fat Mass as you can while minimizing the loss of LBM.

You don’t have to think much about it to do this, because it’s something quite simple to do.

In fact, that’s what I will be covering in detail in my brand new book I will be launching a month from now.

You can check it out when I launch it and get a 75% discount by signing up early.

→ https://fitnessthetic.com/flodwaitlist/

But even if you don’t sign up for the waitlist, know that you want to focus on losing fat and not just weight… the way you look at the end of both decisions could be drastically different, which is something the scale will never show you.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

What I ate to lose 27 pounds in 4 months (and don’t gain them back)

Whether 27 pounds sounds like a lot or a little for you, what matters is the way I did it to lose that weight…

and how you can do the same to finally lose weight and keep it off.

That being said, you should know something.

This isn’t a magical diet or some type of super restrictive protocol (or fad diet) to lose fat.

If anything, it’s the opposite.

You won’t really see me telling you things like “I ate one apple at noon, followed by a meal where I ate oats mixed with protein powder, 7g of walnuts and some cinnamon” for a simple reason.

What I ate isn’t what made me lose that weight as much as it is how I ate (and why).

Once you know that and truly accept it, you’ll lose all the weight you want.

Now, it’s time to show you what and how I ate to lose those 27 pounds in 4 months.

Let’s start with my initial weight… which was 181 pounds.

It was until I realized I had a big belly that I couldn’t “hide” that made me say “I can’t believe I let myself get this far. I need to do a change.”

I was already exercising and was tracking my food, but I was going to actually start a fat loss phase.

So I started with a 500kcal deficit.

That means I went from eating about 2,600kcal to 2,100kcal.

The first changes I did wasn’t in terms of getting rid of fast food or restricting myself with the number of meals.

What I did was start reducing both carbs and fats (while keeping my protein high).

So yes, I was eating less rice, pasta and some cheese, but…

just because I needed to cut calories from some food, not because there was something particular about this food that made the difference.

In fact, to avoid hunger while still allowing me to actually feel satiated, I added more fiber and protein to my diet.

In terms of fiber, I ended up consuming about 25g of fiber per day… while going around 150g of protein per day (nothing crazy either, as you can tell).

With this…

For the first 2 weeks, I didn’t see any significant changes in my weight or in my shape.

So that meant I had to then cut another 500kcal out of my diet?

Not at all.

I didn’t change a thing for the next week…

and I didn’t have to, because that week I dropped about 3 pounds.

From there, I kept eating the same in terms of food options (some burger here and there, some ice cream every now and then…) while sticking true to my total calories and macronutrients.

But, what happened when I got to a point where I stopped losing weight with that deficit?

I made some adjustments (they were minor).

I probably dropped just another 100kcal to my current deficit and stay there for another 2-3 weeks, until my metabolism caught up and adapted to it…

which meant I needed to repeat the process.

I followed this until I finally lost 12 pounds from my starting 181.

Then, I decided to stop there for 2 months and do a reverse diet until I got back to my new maintenance calories.

Why?

Because I wanted to lose 20 pounds in 2 “sprints” rather than make it a marathon.

So once the 2 months went by, I repeated the exact same process that I did before.

But this time, I didn’t lose 10 or 12 pounds…

I lost 17 pounds!

That put me from the original 181 down to 153 pounds.

And right now, I am just finishing my reverse diet for the second diet… 

and haven’t gained any weight at all since then.

And when I look back… I didn’t feel like dieting at all.

In fact, no one around me knew I was “on a diet”, just because I was still eating my favorite food and was able to go out and socialize (no need to stress when you are going to eat out).

Now, guess what?

You can do the exact same thing.

There’s no reason why if you get into a real caloric deficit and only eat about 20% of your daily intake from processed food you can’t lose weight.

Who knows, and you can lose even more than 10 pounds in the same amount of time.

It all depends on your current situation, but know that it’s possible.

The point of this is to show you that there’s no magical diet, food or supplement to lose weight.

When you know what it takes to lose weight and keep it off… you just know you’ll lose fat.

There’s no other way.

And now, you should know what it really takes to lose weight.

But if you’d like to have more tips on how to make the next diet you make the last one you’ll need to lose that weight you want, you’re gonna want to sign up below to get daily email tips that make it happen:

www.fitnessthetic.com

For your success,

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

How to get past the tendency of your body to keep the same fat levels

Chances are you have heard about body fat set point before…

it’s the tendency of your body to keep the same fat levels you have in your body.

Said in another way,…

it’s the way for your body to stay on the same body fat levels (on average).

And in case the definition of body fat is not clear, it simply means all the tissue in your body that’s fat – the rest can be classified as Lean Body Mass (LBM), which includes muscles just as it is organs, hair, and even water.

But with a body fat set point, it sounds like something like losing fat should be either impossible or hard to do it…

and you’d be right.

The thing is that the same number of fat cells in your body will stay the same regardless of how much you lose fat, but the size of those cells is what it reduces, but…

losing fat is something simple to do.

When you want to lose fat, you’re telling your body that you want to use the fat cells in your body already as energy… that’s it.

The way you deliver this message to your body is by letting it know that it’s okay to use it as energy, to which you need to have some type of changes in your energy balance.

Sure, the food you eat can be the answer, but it’s not the only option.

You could simply focus on increasing how much energy you need to use in your day so that you also tell your body the same message.

And I’m not talking about doing hours of cardio or spending hours at the gym.

The most influential part of the energy balance equation is what’s called as Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)… which means all the activities you are not aware of it when doing it.

So fidgeting, moving your arms when explaining things, or walking count as NEAT… again, when not done on purpose (otherwise, it becomes some type of exercise).

In that way, you will eventually get over the tendency of your body to get to its current body fat set point and then create a new body fat set point… 

which is how your body would keep your new weight.

That is assuming you managed to keep the weight you lose off – which for most, it’s where the challenge is.

Either way, you need to know both how to overcome your current body tendency to your body fat set point and then know how to let your body know it’s okay to stay at that new weight, thus resetting your body fat set point.

Something to consider when looking for an approach to losing fat – more than just the fact of losing it as fast as possible.

And if you want to know how a more slow approach to losing fat than a quick and fast one can be the answer to keeping your weight off, then you’re gonna want to click the link below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

I give you not only daily tips on how to make the next diet you make the last one you’ll need, but I give away a guide of the 3-quick “tweaks” you can make to your diet that can help you lose fat faster.

Nothing special or magical, and it’s meaningless compared to when you have the most important thing in place, but they can help you start seeing some quick results when using them.

Check it out and see it for yourself.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

DIETING AS A RELIGION

How many times have you seen or heard someone who (no matter the situation), it seems that there’s just one diet that is the answer to everything?

In my decade in the industry, I’ve seen plenty of them.

Whether it was that it worked for them as a miracle (that’s how it usually starts), it seems like they start quite literally to glorify that diet.

It’s not even rare to get them to the point where they see a particular diet as their new religion.

No matter what everyone else says, they are firm in their convictions that X or Y diet is the only way to lose fat.

But now, you should know that there isn’t any specific diet that’s “better” or “worse” when it comes to fat loss.

What worked for you won’t necessarily work for me, and unless I go through the process of knowing myself and asking the questions to see if I can do that particular diet, I should not expect to see results and keep them.

And the problem comes from different sources:

1) There are these false expectations around the internet about what’s possible or how fast it’s possible

Social media is responsible for this one.

If you see those guys or girls posing in a great shape at the beach, then you know what I’m talking about (some people are trying to bring the truth by recognizing they don’t look like that all year round, but it’s not enough and I can talk about that in the future).

The issue is that you start either comparing yourself with those physiques and telling yourself you want to look like that.

But can you really look yourself like that?

Just the fact that your genetics are not the same will make it impossible for you to look like someone else, regardless if you follow to the T what they eat and how they train (in fact, doing this is the recipe for disaster).

That’s why on the main website you visited that got you here I didn’t have a photo of myself or my physique… and not you know why.

But this is not the only cause of this adoration for diets

2) Personal experiences don’t equate to duplicate results

This is why I gave you the science of fat loss, not what worked for me.

Because no matter your age, your sex, how many diets you’ve tried in the past or your situation, when you follow the science of fat loss and put into practice this knowledge, you can be confident that you will get results.

Not only from a knowledge standpoint, but because you have a system and know 1) why things work 2) how to correctly assess your progress, and 3) where and how to tweak it so you keep making progress.

No guessing.

No stress of not understanding why you’re stuck or thinking lowering calories is the answer

No need to start wondering why you’re not losing fat and out of that worry start looking for fad diets that will only make things worse for you in the long term (plus, there’s no way to tell they will help you and you now know why).

It’s just a matter of following this system and (almost like magic), start seeing those pounds be gone and knowing you won’t gain them back again.

But my point is…

whatever approach ends up working for you, know it’s only applied to your personal situation.

The science of fat loss is the one constant thing here, but the way you do it has to be adapted to every situation (since everyone is different by nature).

And if you’d like to know where you can get more tips like this, then all you have to do is sign up below to get them daily delivered to your inbox:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Don’t become a religious about any diet… do what works best for you and see which one adapts better to your situation, knowing it’s nothing magical.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Hormones vs. calories: which one is the ruler?

It’s said that whenever we talk about calories we disregard hormones.

Funny enough, it’s the exact opposite.

Energy balance is affected by hormones and vice versa. It’s a matter of influence that goes in both ways, not a one-direction path.

What’s more, energy balance is based on certain things like how many calories does your body burn at rest (because it needs calories just to keep you alive) or the type of food you’re eating (recall TEF?), as well as other factors that are influenced by hormones.

Does this mean that you should rather disregard calories and rather focus on hormones?

Not at all, and by doing so it’s like trying to focus and control the effect of something rather than the cause.

To have a better understanding of this scope, let’s look at 2 hormones in specific that are of great importance when it comes to fat loss: ghrelin and leptin.

Ghrelin is the hormone that controls hunger/appetite in your body. It’s produced in the stomach, and it sends signals to the brain whenever it feels it’s hungry. 

(As a rule of thumb, when we have a lot of weight to lose we have lower ghrelin levels, while underweight individuals have it higher.)

Leptin is the hormone that controls satiety, produced on the fat cells, and tells your brain that you have enough energy in the form of adipose tissue to survive.

Whenever we are on a deficit (eating less from what we’re burning), we are telling the body that we want to use the current resources that we have as energy.

Well, guess what happens with your hormones?

Ghrelin (the hunger hormone) sends the signal to the brain that there’s not enough food and that you need to feed your body, or else you might die – probably not literally today, but that’s how it was back with our ancestors.

In the meantime, leptin knows it has enough resources to fuel that deficit, but if it doesn’t work properly (like when we have damaged it after trying so many diets in the past)… it won’t communicate that to your brain, thus making you eat more even when you’re satiated.

Both ghrelin and leptin have a negative relationship – so while one is up, the other one is down and vice versa.

What’s more, if the brain doesn’t signal that it has enough resources to survive, it proceeds to start spending less energy on its daily activities to preserve more of it as a reserve (you know, just so that you can survive).

So if you add up all of this, it’s the recipe for disaster.

And this is exactly part of the vicious cycle many people who are constantly dieting experience.

So to finish this cycle, you should focus on your calories.

It’s simple said than done, but when you get your calories nailed down you don’t have to worry about hormones since they would be taken care of it as well.

Now, if you would like to know in greater detail how to do this and what you need to make it happen, then you’re gonna want to sign up below where I give you daily email tips to do it (and a Free guide when you sign up as well):

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

All diets are the same

Not all diets are created equal, but they are all guided towards the same results.

And let me show what I mean.

The ketogenic diet has the principle of using ketones (that are already in our body, just in small amounts when we’re eating a diet high in carbohydrates) as a source of energy rather than glucose.

The reason behind that?

Since glucose is the primary fuel in our bodies, this is what’s leading us to store more fat and not let us use the energy we have already in our bodies… our fat tissue. 

So to compensate for this, we have to eliminate the carbohydrates from our diets (or eat no more than 30grams per day) to turn on the switch of using ketones in our body as the primary source, which will allow us to start using the fat as energy and thus make us lose weight.

Ok… let’s stop right there for a second.

Before you go on and think that the ketogenic diet is the miracle or “the answer”, I want now to show you the full spectrum (rather than part of it).

Yes, the ketogenic diet does all of that and the reasoning behind it is pretty convincing, but… if we were to put the focus on what really matters in diets, it’s meaningless and useless.

There have been studies that compared how much weight people lose when doing a ketogenic diet vs. doing a High-carb Low-fat (HCLF) diet and measured things like how much weight they lost, how much muscle and Lean Body Mass they retained (if this doesn’t make sense to you yet, don’t worry – I’ll explain all of this in upcoming chapters).

The end result? After both groups completed the period of fat loss, they found something unexpected…

both groups basically lost the exact same amount of weight.

Plus, they retained pretty much the same amount of muscle and Lean Body Mass.

So… what does this all mean?

It means that the ketogenic diet isn’t somehow superior or better than a normal diet with carbohydrates in it.

So while the theory behind doing keto sounds compelling and it makes sense, in reality, it’s just that… it sounds good, but it doesn’t mean it’s true.

And this doesn’t happen only with the ketogenic diet.

Choose any other diet you have tried or heard before, and you’ll see the common denominator is not a “secret” or something special about them – if someone tells you there’s one, I’d run away.

Focus on what really matters and the building block of all diets.

When you do that, it’s only a matter of picking the right diet for you and lose fat (with some nuances in the process, of course).

If you’d like to get daily tips like this delivered to your inbox, then make sure you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

What does it take to lose 1 pound per week?

Whenever you have 10+ pounds to lose, you want to make sure you lose all of it as fast as possible.

And while it’s possible and there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s like trying to fix something that has been happening for years overnight (quite literally).

I feel that the insane approach of losing 10+ pounds per month is something that when plausible, it’s not ideal for most people.

Why?

Because in the case you can’t get to keep that weight off, you’ll continue going diet after diet trying to lose the same 10 pounds. 

I suggest that most people rather focus on 3-5 pounds per month and take their fat loss journey as a sprint rather than a marathon.

That’s what allowed me to go from 181 pounds to 154 pounds in 4 months total.

So if you were to choose a less aggressive approach (like losing 3-5 pounds per week), that would be about 1 pound per week.

But it would be a pound you know that once it’s gone… it’s completely gone.

You won’t have to think about gaining it later on after you’re done with your diet, because you follow a system that lets you lose 1 pound per week and keep it off.

Now, the question is…

What does it take to lose 1 pound per week?

While there are a lot of ways to answer and where that question can lead, I’d rather go with the direct approach:

For you to do it, you need to create a caloric deficit.

I know, nothing magical…

because whether you want to lose 1 pound per week or 1 pound per day the system is the same.

The only difference is that the approach will determine how aggressive and sustainable it is for you, hence how likely are you to stay on track and keep the results.

Now, there are formulas for you to know exactly how much of a deficit you need based on your current situation and your goal, but…

as a very basic guideline, creating a 500kcal deficit to begin with is a good starting point.

I don’t know how long it can take for your body to respond (of course, this varies from person to person), but give it some time to realize there’s a change and that it has to adapt.

2-3 weeks is a good starting point.

And just like that, if you were to keep a caloric deficit (no need to drastically cut calories – or food – just for the sake of cutting them), you’d see how over 3 months you’ve been consistently lost 12 pounds… maybe a little bit more or less. 

But of course, you’d know that those 12 pounds (or whatever number you lost) will never come back.

That’s why I prefer to lose 1 pound per week… and now, you even know how to do it.

So go and make sure that the next diet you make is the last one you’ll need to lose those pounds for good.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

P.S. if you want to get more daily tips like this delivered to your inbox, then sign up below so you don’t miss them.

–> www.fitnessthetic.com

3 steps to know if you’re on a real deficit or not

If you’ve tried to lose fat before by cutting more calories and it didn’t work, here’s why.

It has nothing to do with whether calories are not the same (spoiler alert: they are… but I can cover that in another post) or if you need to make a bigger deficit to see results.

As weird as it sounds, in some cases you don’t even need to tweak how much you’re eating to see a change in the scale and in the mirror.

The reason is simple.

In most cases, we can think we’re in a deficit when in reality we’re not.

And to show you what I mean, I will do it by giving you the 3 steps you can use to see if you’re on a real deficit or not.

STEP 1 – What brought you here won’t get you there

Sounds cliché, but it’s true.

Let’s say you were losing some fat cutting your calories by 500. That gave you an initial window for change, but what if that wasn’t enough?

Maybe where you thought you were creating a 500kcal deficit in reality it was a 300kcal deficit.

And there can be 3 reasons for that.

You either were eating less than what you thought, you are eating a deficit that’s not 500kcal (even when you think it is), or your metabolism wasn’t as good as you thought it was and that’s why it adapted to the change faster.

But whatever the case, you need to see if you’re actually stuck or not.

Sure, the scale might have stopped for 3-5 days, but that doesn’t always mean you can’t lose more weight with that deficit.

The body is very adaptive just as it is variable, so in some cases just giving it some time can be enough to see an extra pound or two (who knows and it can be a little bit more) melt off.

STEP 2 – Know where to tweak things

So let’s say you actually got stuck and don’t lose more weight, then it comes a matter of seeing if you’re doing all the things as accurately as you think.

Sadly, as much as 70% of people when dieting overestimate how much we exercise and underestimate how much we eat.

So if you think about it, only 3 out of 10 can blindly know these variables and stay consistent.

That’s why for those (like me) who can’t be that accurate by only guessing, using a way to measure progress and track things will be the answer.

If that means tracking macronutrients (and therefore, calories), so it will be.

Do what you feel you need to do to avoid mistakes and possible errors in things we can take for granted.

STEP 3 – How long have you been on a deficit

So you stopped losing weight on week 1, or week 3?

The answer will be related to step 1, as if you only lost some weight for one week it can be due to some of the reasons iexplained n step 1, but…

know that creating an insane deficit won’t necessarily be the answer at this point.

Instead, look at other metrics besides the scale.

Sure, maybe your weight hasn’t been moving, yet that doesn’t mean you haven’t been losing fat.

Maybe (and this depends on a lot of factors) you lost weight and gained muscle at the same time…?

But even if that wasn’t the case, know that the scale is not the only way to measure progress – and you shouldn’t rely on it either.

Take weekly assessments of yourself by taking photos in front of the mirror (it can be uncomfortable sometimes, but this is just for you and know that you’re changing that person you see in the mirror), and take measurements as well.

That way, you don’t rely on one way of measuring results – which only tells part of the story.

You might find that the scale stays the same, but your arms and waist are trimmed down 2-3 centimetres.

If you follow these steps, then chances are you can find where is it that you need to tweak so you can keep making progress.

That’s why when you have a system, you simply eliminate anxiety out of the equation and focus on what you can do.

And if you liked this tip and want to see more like this delivered to you inbox, then you’re gonna want to sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Dieting is making us fatter, Here’s why.

Have you asked yourself what happens in your body whenever you diet, yet for some reason, you couldn’t keep the weight off?

Well, science shows us that whether we like it or not, it has some negative consequences.

In fact, dieting is making us fatter.

Why?

Studies have shown that only 5 out of 100 who diet keeps their weight off in the long term (over 3 years).

But what happens with the 95 who gain their weight back (and maybe a little bit more) should be the main concern.

Out of those who can’t keep their weight off, close to ⅔ will end up heavier than they started.

And this happens because of the metabolic adaptations in your body and (if you let it) how it will look for ways to gain all the weight lost.

Plus, if we talk about how we end up eating way less because of metabolic adaptations as well, it now means that your body is more efficient at using calories to go throughout the day (which it’s one of those cases where you don’t want this).

But there’s something you can do about it.

You can make sure that the next diet you make is the last one you’ll need to lose those pounds and never gain them back.

This means that if you got to your weight loss goals, you should pay attention to what you do after as it can make or break all the progress you did with your fat loss.

And if you got stuck and stopped losing weight at some point, you are going to get more out of the process by stopping your fat loss phase right now and then coming back in 2-4 months later to make sure you now keep losing fat.

In whatever case…

you should know that if you keep dieting to try to lose more weight (or think you have to eat as you’re eating right now to keep the weight off), the end outcome will be much worse than where you started.

So if you don’t want to get even in a worse position than when you started, then simply stop and come back to the diet whenever you have more tools to make sure you now see results (for good).

When you sign up below, you’ll see how to do this as well as some other tips I give every day via email.

www.fitnessthetic.com

But even if you don’t subscribe, here are the 2 words you should pay attention to:

Reverse diet.

This can be considered the diet after the diet, and as you can see is just as important as the actual dieting phase (if not more), whether you got to your desired weight loss goal or not.

Let me finish by asking you something.

Which one would you choose?

  1. Lose 15 pounds in 1 month, but gain it back (and maybe more) 3 months later…
  2. or lose 3-5 pounds per month, yet knowing you’ll keep that weight off?

Something to consider asking yourself… 

especially in an era where we hear claims like “Lose 40 pounds in 30 days” or “This simple tweak in my diet made me lose 30 pounds in 14 days”.

Whatever the case, if you want to get more tips like this delivered to your inbox, feel free to sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Plus, you get 3-quick “tweaks” that force your body to lose fat while eating the food you enjoy.

Either way, don’t fall prey to being that person who’s always dieting to lose weight (I’ve been there, and the thing is I was dieting to lose the same weight again and again).

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Why losing fat is simpler than you think

f it seems that no matter how hard you try to lose weight with diets or exercise, then let me share something with you.

Even when you’ve tried a lot and haven’t seen the results you want (or keep them), losing fat is simpler than you think.

Here’s why.

You’ve probably heard a lot of times that yo need to exercise more and/or eat less to lose weight, but…

you’ve tried that and simply didn’t work for you.

Well, what if I told you that in reality it wasn’t because they don’t work for you or there’s something more complicated than that… 

but because you weren’t in a real deficit?

Let me show you what I mean.

For you to lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit (nothing more or less complicated than that), but if you did some type of restriction yet didn’t see results it was for one of two reasons:

  1. You weren’t in a real deficit (meaning, what you thought it was or what it once was a deficit for you it no longer is the case)
  2. You overestimated how much exercise you did, you underestimated how much you ate – or both.

For you to know which one it was and how to deal with it, here’s a simple way of doing it.

Start by calculating how many calories you need to eat per day (based on your Total Energy Daily Expenditure – TDEE) and stick to it at least for 2 weeks.

If you keep the same weight (which you should, as that’s the idea), it means your calories in theory match your real calories.

But you can guess what’s going to happen in the other situations.

If you gain some weight, it could be one of the 2 scenarios I mentioned above (and the only way to get accurate would be by weighing your food)… so you want to adjust and lower your real calories until you stop gaining weight.

And in case you lose some weight (assuming you were tracking accurately), then it was because your real calories are a little bit over from the predicted… so you’d have to increase your calories until you also get to your real calories.

From there, you’d know 2 important things:

  1. Your current and real maintenance calories
  2. How to get over the inaccuracy of overeating or undereating.

That leaves you only with the option that’s most important.

How to lose weight.

And with a caloric deficit (it can be somewhat aggressive only at first), you’d then be in a position where losing weight is almost guaranteed.

To put this with numbers, if you were to eat 2,300kcal as maintenance and you’d then cut 500kcal, you’d then start eating 1,800kcal a day… 

which should be enough to lose fat and not get stuck for 3-4 weeks.

Then, all you have to do is keep tweaking your diet (or increase exercise activity – or both) so you break past those moments where you feel stuck.

And that’s really it.

Of course, this is a general overview of something that can get pretty detailed and there can be a lot of nuances, but from there…

there’s not much I could add on what you need to do to lose weight for good.

Now, all you have to do is go out there and start doing it.

And if you’d like to get more tips like this one that help you do it, then sign up below to get them delivered to your inbox:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Are calories in vs. calories out real or BS?

Let me ask you a question,

How many times have you heard the saying “not all calories are equal”?

I’ve heard it a hundred times (maybe a hundred one with this one).

And this saying makes sense.

I mean, if you eat 100kcal of avocado (because it’s a healthy fat, right?…) is not the same as 100kcal of ice cream.

…and it’s true, but to an extent.

You see, there is this constant debate of calories in vs. calories out and whether they are a good approach to dieting and losing weight.

Well, what does the research say?
(By that, I mean all the scientific field and not cherry-picking specific studies to prove my point).

Over 30 studies have shown that whenever calories (and protein) are equated, it’s a matter of how many calories you eat to see whether you gain or lose fat (maybe the number of studies are trying to tell us something…)

But not everyone “trusts” that CICO is reliable or even accurate.

I’m sure someone even says “I’ve tried cutting out my calories before and it didn’t work”

Well, ironically they are the ones who promote some type of diet that restricts your food in some way or another to (you guessed it) create a deficit and lose weight.

Intermittent fasting? Cut out a meal and because you’re eating on a certain feeding window, then by default you’ll be eating less.

Keto? Even when you replace the carbs with 2x the fats and increase protein, the fact that you eliminated a macronutrient still creates a deficit.

“Clean eating”? Stop eating rice, sugar and any processed food… well, just like in any other diet, cut calories – and in these cases, by eliminating food – and you’re creating a deficit.

So the common denominator of all of these is to create a deficit and lose fat.

And it’s not a coincidence.

Because it just happens that creating a caloric deficit is the only way to lose weight.

Let me say that again.

No matter what approach you take, the only way for someone to lose fat is by burning more calories than you consume.

Whether you do it by eliminating food, reducing your feeding window or by restricting your food intake is not what you should focus on…

what you should focus on is which approach is right for you.

Look, nothing bad will happen if you keep eating some junk food and desserts (as long as they are not your main energy source and you follow the rules), but if you feel like you’d be better off by eating only a couple of hours as the strategy to lose fat, then go for it.

Or if you’d rather eat eggs, bacon and avocado for breakfast while completely eliminating carbohydrates (yes, that includes desserts) from your diet, then choose keto.

The issue is when you choose an approach that you can’t sustain and feel miserable while doing it.

Do you think you’d be able to lose weight if you’re feeling like going through hell? Maybe

But I bet binge eating, constant anxiety when eating out, and just adding stress to your life will be part of the equation – which makes no wonder why most people can’t seem to keep their weight off.

So in the end, everything (and I mean that) in your diet is based on calories in vs. calories out.

It doesn’t matter how you see it or how you do it, but all you need is to create a negative energy balance (meaning, burn more from what you consume) and you’ll lose weight.

Don’t think CICO is a miracle diet, a different approach, or a school of thought… 

it’s the building block of all diets.

That’s why I give daily tips like this so that you can see how everything in reality works and how to make the next diet you make the last one you’ll need…

A bold promise, but by knowing the science of fat loss (not all this BS you hear out there), you can get there.

If that’s something you want, then you’re gonna want to sign up below to get more daily email tips like this:

www.fintessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Why losing 3-5 pounds per month instead of 10+ can be the answer to keeping your weight off

You can lose 10+ pounds per month just as you can lose less, that’s for sure, but…

the issue is not how much weight you can lose, the issue is how long can you keep that weight you lose.

Here’s why.

Let’s say you go through a 12-week diet where you do Intermittent Fasting (it can be keto, clean eating, or anything in between) and you want to lose 20 pounds in those weeks.

Is it possible? Absolutely.

Is it ideal for you? I don’t know.

And that’s the problem.

Whenever you try to lose a lot of weight in a short period, in most cases you end up gaining those same pounds you lost a couple of months later.

That puts you where you just started, and even worse.

Research has shown that whenever you gain weight after an unsuccessful diet (meaning, you gain your weight back), you actually become a little bit fatter every time.

Sure, the size of your adipose cells won’t likely change, but the number of cells will.

So now you have more fat cells in your body just from a little bit smaller size.

Don’t you think that it will be easier for your body to at some point just use those new cells and make them bigger (if you’d be to gain weight pretty fast, which sadly is the case for most)?…

That’s why I take a counterintuitive approach to all of this.

So I aim to lose at least half of the weight that “popular diets” and “many coaches” aim to give you, but…

that doesn’t mean I have to only lose that exact number.

Because you can end up losing more than 3–5 pounds a month… it all depends on where you’re starting.

Take my last diet as an example.

I was able to lose 27 pounds in 4 months because I first lost 12 pounds in 2 months and then 15 pounds 2 months after that (with a 2-month break… but that’s for another topic).

So yeah, it took me a total of 5–6 months to lose weight rather than 3, but the true beauty is that those pounds of fat are completely gone.

I don’t have to worry about losing them again because I haven’t gained them back (and it’s been a year since I did this).

So it all comes down to which option do you prefer:

  1. Go crazy low on calories and probably starve yourself, only to do it again a couple of months later as the approach was so aggressive you couldn’t keep the results and you have to now lose again those same pounds.
  2. Go more moderate on the approach (you sometimes can lose more weight in the end, but that wasn’t your target), but knowing it will be the last diet you’ll make to lose those pounds.

The decision is yours, but just to let you know…

when I did both periods to lose weight, I didn’t even feel like dieting at all.

Why?

Because I was still eating all the food I enjoy (pizza, burger, ice cream) and was able to spend quality time going out and eating with friends and family.

I didn’t have any anxiety about eating out as it could screw up my progress.

In fact, no one around me knew I was even losing weight (besides the visible results).

So the decision is yours, but make sure you choose what allows you to have that peace of mind than knowing that the next diet you make, is the last one you’ll need to lose those pounds.

And if you want to know not only how to do this, but get daily tips that help you get there, you’re gonna want to sign up below:

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Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Why the Glycemic Index and spike in insulin are irrelevant for weight loss

If you think that the Glycemic Index (GI) and spikes in insulin caused by certain foods are important to losing weight, then here’s why that’s not the case.

But first, let’s understand where this myth is coming from.

It just happens that whenever we eat carbs, our body needs to break them down to their basic form (have you heard of glucose?).

And no, that’s not a bad thing…

because the preferred energy source of our bodies is glucose (and if carbs would be bad for our bodies, why would our bodies decide to use them?…).

Once digestion takes care of it and has turned it into its basic forms, then the liver decides what to do, to which it has 3 options:

  1. Store it as glycogen
  2. Turn it into fat 
  3. Release it into the bloodstream as glucose

But, why is this important?

Because there’s this common belief that those refined carbs (which are known for “fast absorption”) will be turned into fat as the energy from these wasn’t used right away.

Meanwhile, those carbs that are “slow” doesn’t necessarily have to be used after you eat them.

And that’s why this is a myth (and GI gets totally irrelevant).

Not only studies show that when you combine any carbohydrate (fast or slow absorption) with protein and fats in the same meal, they give you a much slower absorption, but…

the way the body uses energy is not something as instant as the GI portrays it.

The body is constantly fluctuating (on a daily basis), but it will be the total amount of energy (AKA, calories) you eat that will determine whether you’re using that excess of energy as fat or not.

If you’re not eating more than what you should and you’re eating all your macronutrients in every meal, there’s nothing to worry about.

You’ll lose weight regardless of the GI and any spikes in insulin you can have.

But as I said before, that’s why adding protein, fats (and fiber) to your meals will get rid of any idea that these spikes in insulin are not the reason why you can’t lose weight and keep it off.

Focus on what matters (which is eating a diversity of food rich in nutrients while making sure you’re on a deficit), and you’ll lose weight.

There’s just no other way to go about it.

Sadly, the fitness industry loves to complicate things and make you doubt whether the food you’re eating is good or bad.

That’s why if you want to get more daily tips like this delivered to your inbox, all you have to do is sign up below… so you don’t have to worry about what’s true and what’s completely BS.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Why do people gain weight when eating low calories?

Whether you’re at 1,500kcal… 1,00kcal, or even lower… 

there are some cases where you can gain weight (even when you’re eating low calories).

Here’s why.

In many cases, it’s because whether what you think is a deficit right now for you to lose weight… in reality, your metabolism has adapted to the point that it’s no longer a deficit.

This is assuming you’ve been accurately eating (ideally, tracking) the number of calories you’ve been eating for a while.

And I know it doesn’t make sense.

You started by creating a deficit of at least 500kcal or greater to lose weight.

Because of that, you started to see some changes and how the scale was actually moving as you were losing fat, yet…

after 2-3 weeks, the scale stopped moving.

That’s where you wanted to lower more your calories, thinking that it should be what moves the scale again.

But as you’ve seen, that’s not really happening.

So what should you do, and how to break past that plateau?

Well, you have 2 options.

You can either take the risk of going low calories to continue losing weight, but at the expense of feeling hungry all the time, not being able to go through your day without starving yourself and cravings, and maybe not even keeping that weight off because of how unsustainable it is.

Or… you can think long term and stop dieting for now while you start a reverse diet.

It’s not the answer you want to hear or the one that sounds good, but it’s the one that will make sure you can lose more weight without going through hell… while being able to keep that weight off.

It’s up to you and what you want the most.

But these are the options you have… especially when you’re so low on calories and there’s no much room to adapt.

Sure, you could affect the other side of the equation and increase your exercise activity (usually with some type of cardio).

But the end result is the same.

You will end up losing a couple of pounds more, but you’ll face another wall later on.

And chances are you end up eating very low on calories while exercising and doing cardio every day for 1-2 hours.

I don’t know about you, but not many can spend hours doing cardio every day – plus, adding more hours of it won’t help you any better.

In the end, choosing the second option allows you to lose weight (consistently) without having to go so long on calories… 

and maybe without having to do a single minute of cardio.

I’ve done it this way, and many people I’ve coached have done it as well.

You’ll have to choose between what you want now vs. what you want the most.

But if you go for the second option and would like to know in greater detail how to do a reverse diet, as well as how to make the next diet you make the last one you’ll need to lose those pounds… you’re gonna want to sign up below to my list where I give you daily email tips (just like this).

www.fitnessthetic.com

Now make your choice, but don’t forget to keep enjoying the food you like and the process of losing fat.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

This happens when you go so low on calories

Yesterday, someone in a forum asked me a very interesting question.

“I have been eating 600 calories or less for a whole year now. I want to reverse my diet according to my BMR 1200. What should I do? I am facing a medical problem because of the low calories lifestyle.”

Well, maybe I can help you expand on how to never get to this point where you face more health problems than benefits.

First, here’s the answer I gave her:

————————-

It’s great you’re looking to do a reverse diet, but it shouldn’t be to your BMR.

BMR is just part of the equation… as you need to take into account your Exercise Activity (EA) – yes, even if you don’t do any type of exercise.

BMR x EA = TDEE (TDEE is what’s your maintenance calories).

That’s the number you should go look for when reverse dieting (and in general, not BMR alone).

But for you to know your EA, we can summarize it into 3 different categories:

  1. Multiply your BMR by 1.2 if you have a sedentary lifestyle and don’t workout
  2. Multiply your BMR by 1.55 if you have a sedentary lifestyle but you work out about 5 times per week with some type of resistance training.
  3. Multiply by 1.9 if you are constantly moving and have a physically demanding job + you work out with resistance training for at least 5 days a week.

That being said…

Reverse dieting comes to a matter of how much can you tolerate gaining weight.

Will you gain a lot? Not at all.

Plus, you’d be looking at this for the short term rather than the long term. Because if you were to add 3–5 pounds (it could be more or less), you will be in a much greater position to lose that weight without having to go very low on calories – as you’d be eating your maintenance calories.

But don’t think you’ll be gaining weight (that’s the expected).

Many people (and I include myself in this group) have actually lost more weight when doing reverse dieting.

It’s counterintuitive to what we would expect and there is no clear way to know why this happens in some people, but you don’t have to get too caught up in that.

The goal of reverse dieting is to increase your calories to your maintenance calories.

Doing it in a way you don’t gain much weight is part of the process, yet not the main outcome of this.

I’d recommend you to start adding 3–5% of your current calories every week until you get to your maintenance calories (remember, not your BMR… but your TDEE).

So as you’re currently eating 600kcal per day, a 5% increase (chose the higher end at the beginning to get you eating more sustainable calories), you will be at 630kcal per day… next week, you can try at 661kcal.

If you start gaining more weight than you’d want to, start using the lower range (which would be 3%). And even then, don’t think that if you’re gaining some weight you’re maximizing your current calories.

If anything, go slow…

but don’t stop until you reach your maintenance calories.

And when you’re done with your reverse dieting, the best part is that you’ll be in a better position to maintain your weight… and if you decide to go for a fat loss phase, you’d be in a much greater position to successfully do it and without having to go that low on calories.

If you want more help with this or have some questions, you can either check out my website (I give a Cheatsheet as a Bonus where I tell you exactly how much you should eat) or contact me directly via email.

I’m glad to help you out if I can. 

————————-

If we add that doing a reverse diet is something everyone should do (when you fall in the 3 categories), then you’re going to see that you can keep off those pounds you lost while eating more.

As with any other diet, you need to treat it as such… unless you want to screw up all the progress you’ve made.

Because even when you’re adding calories (in a controlled matter), when you do things wrong you can easily add a couple of pounds of weight.

Sure, you might actually gain some pounds (in theory, you’re eating more than your current maintenance), but…

even if you were to gain them, you’d be able to lose them without much effort as your calories now would be way higher than what they are when you’re done with a diet.

Which one is more likely to not feel like dieting?

A man who is eating 1,400kcal a day while doing 4-5 hours of cardio per week… or a man who’s at 2,500kcal a day while doing 15 min of cardio per week?

Exactly…

The second option will be much easier to stick to it while not having to be so restrictive, yet…

he would just need to cut ~500kcal a day and would start losing weight in a matter of days.

So hopefully this helps you know when you should do a reverse diet and the reason why you’re doing it.

If you want to get more daily email tips like this as well as the 3-quick “tweaks” that can help you multiply the fat you lose when doing a caloric deficit, then you’re gonna want to sign up below to get these:

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Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Carbs or fats? Which one is ideal for fat loss

Raise your hand if you’ve heard at least once that you should eat fewer carbs to lose weight?

Now raise your hand if you’ve heard it for fats?

Ok, interesting.

Well, I got some bad news to share.

Whether you’ve tried to cut carbs or fasts out of your diet, it doesn’t really matter.

Why?

Because research has shown that when protein and calories are equated, fats and carbs come more to a matter of personal preference.

So answering which one is better (or worse) for fat loss doesn’t make sense, as there’s no macronutrient in general that’s responsible for it.

Just pick more of what you want to eat and can follow through.

Can’t get over some pizza, ice cream, or donuts?… Then keep a high-carb diet.

Do you love to eat eggs, avocado, and bacon every day?… Then fats will be the main macronutrient compared to carbs.

The point is…

You don’t need to think there’s a specific ratio that will magically help you.

In fact, these studies show you that what really matters is the calories you’re in (and whether you’re in a real deficit or not) and the amount of protein you consume.

But let’s get practical.

Let’s say you’re a man who’s weighing 200 lbs and wants to get down to 160 lbs.

After you calculated your TDEE and know how many calories you need to eat per day, you find out that you have to eat (theoretically, at least) 1,700kcal… out of which 165g will be of protein.

Since every gram of protein has 4kcal, we’d multiply it by the total amount of protein to know the calories that will come from protein.

So 165 x 4 = 660kcal from protein.

If we subtract that from the 1,700kcal, we get 1,040kcal left… which we need to now distribute between fats and carbs.

Since it doesn’t really seem to make any difference when losing fat, you can go with ranges that work best for you.

You can use a 40/60 fat:carb ratio… or maybe a 70/30 carb:fat ratio.

The goal is that you should have enough of both fats and carbs to make sure you don’t get hungry throughout the day or starve yourself with cravings.

One thing to consider…

Whenever you’re going to set the ratio between fats and carbs, don’t forget that you’re not looking to choose the lowest range… you’re looking to set a manageable range that allows you to not feel like you’re starving yourself, but more importantly…..

that’s something you enjoy and can stick to it.

If you cannot stick to the range you choose, then you’re only going to end up not making any progress and wondering where is the mistake.

Never go below the 80/20 ratio on either of the macros, and you should never try to pick the 80/20 on either side.

But I get it, sometimes this can get a little bit tricky and we can even overthink this.

So if you’re somewhat confused about how this works and how to calculate how much you should be eating, then you’re gonna want to get the Cheatsheet I give as a Bonus when people sign up to the link below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

You’ll find everything I covered in here in a 2-page Cheatsheet you can use to know in detail how much you should be eating to start your fat loss phase.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Gravity’s law of fat loss

Ignoring this law when losing weight is like ignoring gravity.

You can pretend it doesn’t exist or it won’t affect you, but soon enough you’ll be pulled into this law.

What is it?

The law of thermodynamics.

As common and usual you hear this law and how important it is to understand fat loss, many people and “experts” out there believe that you can bypass this law.

But as with gravity, whether you believe in it or not doesn’t mean it’s not there.

So in reality, the best way to use this law to your advantage is to not only accept it but know how to adapt your diet accordingly.

If this is too abstract, let me show you an example.

The law of thermodynamics says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transferred or changed. 

So this means that to lose weight, the only way to do it is to induce some type of deficit.

Whether that comes from feeding windows (like with Intermittent Fasting) or with an increased amount of energy expenditure (with cardio), it doesn’t matter.

There’s nothing special or magical about these methods… or any other diet for that matter.

They all can work as long as they create a caloric deficit.

Now, some people try things like counting calories and don’t see results.

The logical conclusion?… Counting calories doesn’t work.

Well, the fact it didn’t give you results doesn’t mean you’re somehow becoming the exception to the gravity’s law of fat loss…

it just means that there was something in your tracking that was off.

Maybe you were eating more than what you thought (which underreporting is the #1 mistake people do), or maybe you weren’t burning the calories you thought you were (AKA, overreporting your exercise activity).

These are just some of the most common reasons why tracking doesn’t work for people.

The point is…

If an approach didn’t work in the past, it doesn’t mean that approach doesn’t work or that somehow “calories in vs. calories out” is nonsense.

You may need to adapt or tweak your diet (or exercise) accordingly to start seeing results…

and in some cases, is a matter of knowing to be patient.

But if you don’t want to be guessing and rather would see the best results you can while avoiding these types of mistakes, then you can receive more tips like this that make the next diet the last one you’ll need when you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

This well-known doctor gets debunked

The other day, I was reading some articles in Medium about fat loss.

To my surprise, I found a well-known doctor making some posts.

But what really caught my attention was one of his articles that he posted 4 years ago, titled “The Useless concept of calories”.

It was quite a good article with some good points, yet…

everything he shared didn’t make sense.

In fact, a lot of what he was sharing was pseudoscience and biased studies.

For instance, here’s one idea I found in his article:

“Our body understands the language of ‘hormones’ and we are speaking ‘calories’.”

Interesting way of putting it.

Well, as I replied in his article… in reality, we’re speaking neither hormones nor calories – we’re speaking glucose.

That doesn’t mean it’s good or bad…

it’s just the preferred fuel of the body, regardless of what we want to believe in.

Plus, he unsurprisingly started to point out that since hormones are important, they are the ones we should care about – not calories.

You know, ignore the basic law of thermodynamics and pretend that hormones are the main driver in the game of weight loss (or weight gain)… sounds like an interesting concept, for sure.

In fact, he even referred to a specific hormone as the responsible for controlling our weight.

“The only currency the body really cares about is insulin. If you want to lose weight, reduce insulin.”

I don’t know about you, but as far as I know, insulin is a hormone that transports the nutrients via the bloodstream to reduce the glucose in the blood.

That’s his main function.

Plus, there’s no direct way of reducing or increasing insulin.

Why?

Because it will be determined by (you guessed it) the total amount of calories you end up eating in your day.

Sure, you’ll gain weight if you were to eat twice as many carbohydrates as normal… but not because you’re increasing insulin (that’s a natural process that comes from it), but because you increased your caloric intake.

Plain and simple.

And as I said in another post… 

I’m not saying hormones are useless or that they shouldn’t be taken into account.

Quite the opposite.

When you follow and use energy balance, you’re by default taking into consideration how hormones affect our bodies.

But even with all of this… what surprised me about this is how a doctor would actually give you a lot of science and fancy Kreb’s cycle images to prove his point.

Well… I think he’s trying so hard to get people to turn into Low Carbs, High Fats (LCHF) diets and Intermittent Fasting (IF) as “the solution” to maintain and control their weight.

But the only problem I see with that is how he portrays one way as the “end all be all” diet to lose weight and keep it off.

By this point, you should know that the path you choose is less important than the overall principles.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Sure, you can lose weight with LCHF diets and IF…

but you can end up being the 9 out of 10 people who can’t maintain their weight and end up adding all their weight back (some even more from where they started)… all because you don’t know how to keep it off or what to do when things like a plateau occur (because they always happen).

Something to think about.

Anway…

If you want unbiased science tips that actually show you what you need to do and focus on to make the next diet you make the last one you’ll need, then all you have to do is sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

And if you sign up with the link above, you’ll also get the 3-quick “tweaks” that force your body to lose more fat while reducing cravings and hunger.

It’s not magic, just real science.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Why hormones are not important when losing weight

I bet you’ve heard at least once that “hormones help you dictate how your body responds” when losing fat.

And I agree.

Hormones influence a lot of processes in our body… 

including the change in our weight.

For instance, the thyroid is the one that regulates your metabolism

…or how could I forget about insulin, which is responsible for transporting the nutrients throughout your body.

The issue is not whether hormones are important or not, the issue is that hormones are regulated and are taken into account when you do “calories in vs. calories out”.

That’s why it’s nonsense when I hear that losing weight is more than your net caloric balance and that you should pay attention to hormones.

And if you think that energy balance doesn’t consider hormones, here’s something to think about.

When calculating how much you should be eating per day (regardless of your goal), you need to know some factors like your exercise activity (EA) or your basal metabolic rate (BMR)… which is a fancy way of saying how many calories your body needs at rest to exist and function properly.

Well, guess what?

Energy balance (calories in vs. calories out) is based on these exact numbers… 

which just happen to consider the hormones factor into account.

That’s why you shouldn’t worry (or even think about) hormones when you do a caloric deficit to lose weight.

All that matters is that you have a system in place to know whether you’re in a caloric deficit or not (as most people think they are on one when they are not) and you will lose weight.

Period.

And if you want to find out not only how simple (not necessarily easy) it is to lose fat, but how to do it without food restrictions, cravings… or even feeling like dieting at all, you’re gonna want to subscribe below to get tips that will get you this.

www.fitnessthetic.com

You’ll also get what I call the 3 Fat Loss Multipliers + my 2-page Cheatsheet to know how much you should eat so you don’t have to worry ever again about how much you should be eating to keep the body you want.

But whatever the case…

Next time you hear that hormones are important and should be taken into account to lose weight, send them this post 😉

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

How to spot fad diets before doing them

Intermittent fasting (IF), Paleo, Keto… (or any other popular diet)

as much as you may like the idea behind them, there’s a problem.

They are fad diets… regardless of how “scientific”, “breakthrough” and “magical” they may look like.

Here’s something to look at.

The idea behind fad diets is that they start raising due to popularity of some sort, yet…

they usually 1) lack evidence to support their claims, and 2) you’re not going to be doing any better with or without them.

I’ve said it a couple of hundred times already.

There’s only one way to lose weight.

It doesn’t matter what “approach” you take, as long as you’re paying attention to what matters.

Want to use a Keto diet?… Great, go for it.

Feel like IF is for you?… Perfect. 

The thing is…

Fad diets like to dress up like the real answer to why you’re not losing weight (or why you’re gaining it back once you lost it), when in reality science has already shown us the reason why these happen.

But, how do you spot fad diets?

Simple.

If you feel like they are somehow pushing you to a particular way of eating as “the solution” to the weight loss problem, chances are it’s a fad diet.

Now, you may have tried some fad diet before and think it isn’t that bad.

I get it.

The issue is not a matter of whether they can work or not… the issue is that if you try them and you don’t lose weight AND keep it off, then you’re destined to keep playing the yo-yo diet game.

That’s why if you don’t focus on following a diet (any diet) that’s sustainable to you…

you’ll gain your weight back (while adding some more pounds).

Science has shown this over and over again.

All you have to do is follow something you can stick to it and it will be 10x superior to any “fad diet” you’ll ever encounter.

That’s the #1 requisite you need to pay attention to before even dieting.

If you’re not clear on how to do this (because it’s simple – to the point I condensed everything you need to know in a 2-page Cheatsheet) while using 3 quick “tweaks” in your diet that ‘force’ your body to lose more fat… then make sure you sign up below to get both of these for Free.

www.fitnessthetic.com

And before I leave…

I can’t stand for how fad diets are dressed up as the answer, because they made me waste a lot of years to finally lose my belly fat. If anything, they only made me gain more weight due to the rebound effect they have.

So this short post should help you avoid making the same mistakes I’ve made, as I’ve seen most people fall into fad diets.

What matters is knowing how to get out of them.

And the first step is by knowing what science tells you… regardless of the approach you take.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

In a big caloric deficit and not losing any weight? Do this

How many times have you been on a deficit to lose weight?

I bet in some cases you’ve simply created a big deficit by eating way less than before.

But here are the bad news…

If you’re in a deficit and you’re not losing any weight, then it means you’re not on a real deficit.

Let me explain.

Maybe you’re in what you have calculated to be a deficit for you at that point, yet…

If you’re not losing weight, that’s because your predicted and actual calories are different.

This doesn’t mean you have to create even a more aggressive deficit.

You might not even need to create a deficit at all.

It all depends on your situation, but…

you could be gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time.

Is that your case? 

I don’t know.

But that’s why we don’t solely rely on the scale as that just tells you part of the whole picture… you could be weighting 170 lbs and have added 3-4 lbs of muscle while losing some fat.

The scale might not move, but you’re doing body recomposition.

Plus, gaining muscle and losing fat is possible under 3 specific situations (which I talked about in another post).

The point is..

Don’t rely on the scale to determine what to do, as it tells you half the truth… and if you know you’re not really losing any weight, then it’s because you’re not on a deficit.

And if you want to know for good what you need to do to start losing weight, you’re gonna want to get my Free Cheatsheet you get as a Bonus when you sign up:

www.fitnessthetic.com

In that way, you know how to consistently and reliably lose weight (pretty much on command).

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

How not to lose weight (even when you’re on a deficit)

What do you need to do to follow a caloric deficit properly?

That’s the question someone asked me on a forum the other day, so I feel that my answer can help you as well.

Here’s my reply:

————————-

“I would focus on what you can control, first and foremost.

You cannot control how much weight you’re going to lose per week… but you can calculate that and follow your caloric deficit.

I mention this because in some cases, the main mistake I see is people thinking they are on a deficit when that’s not the case.

Why?

In some cases, it’s merely body adaptation (which is more than normal), but in other cases, it’s that they don’t know how much they are eating and they “think” they are on a deficit when in reality they are overeating.

That’s why I recommend counting calories as a tool to avoid guessing out of it… even if you haven’t done it before.

You won’t get it “perfect” and that’s okay.

What matters is that you do it consistently and you consistently track things.

When you know how much you should be eating and by the measurement, you know whether you’re eating that amount or not, then it’s easier to adjust when metabolic adaptations occur (because it will happen).

So focus on counting calories.

It might not be something sexy to do and in some cases, it might cause them anxiety.

The way to deal with that is knowing that you won’t get it right at first and it’s fine. Focus on consistency and you’ll be in a far better position than doing this without tracking calories.

Do you need to track calories?

Not really.

As I said, it’s a tool… but it’s a tool that helps you see how much of a tweak you need to make, which is better than merely guessing – and we know how guessing affects the fat loss progress.”

————————-

So if you have tried dieting before by cutting food (which I don’t recommend at all – plus, it’s unnecessary) and haven’t lost weight…

it’s because you weren’t on a deficit.

It doesn’t mean that caloric deficits don’t work or that carbs/fats are evil (can you imagine stopping eating pizza or cookies?…), it just means you weren’t on a real deficit…

even when you thought you were on a deficit.

Sounds simple, yet that’s why when I have coached some clients before (and when I’ve dieted as well) I know that it drives us desperate seeing that we’re reducing our food intake yet not seeing any results on the scale or in our bodies.

That doesn’t mean that lowering your calories is the only way to get into a caloric deficit, of course.

Most people only affect one side of the equation, but you can move the scale from the other side and still create a deficit without even touching your food intake.

It all comes down to what you like and feel comfortable doing it long enough.

In fact, one way to tweak this balance is by doing 3-quick “tweaks” in your diet that basically force your body to lose more fat. The results are meaningless compared to a caloric deficit, but they will help you ease that process.

And all you have to do to know these 3 tweaks for Free is sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Are you making these 3 mistakes when trying to lose weight?

Losing weight is simple.

You just need to eat less than you’re eating to create a caloric deficit, right?

Yes and no.

I agree you need to create a caloric deficit to lose weight (that’s literally the only way)… and you can do this either by eating less or exercising more.

The thing is…

as “simple” as this concept is, it doesn’t mean people don’t make mistakes along the way.

Otherwise, everyone who diets would lose all the weight they want and not gain it back.

The most common mistake I see is that we tend to underestimate how much we eat.

Plus, we tend to overestimate how much we exercise.

Sounds like a good combination to not make any progress…

Studies have shown that people can underreport their food intake by 50 to 70%.

That can be from 100 kcal to 500 kcal (maybe more)… 

enough to not make any progress.

Because whether you lower your calories or exercise more, if you’re doing this mistake you can falsely believe you’re on a deficit when you’re not.

It’s no wonder why many people can make the assumption “I was on a deficit and didn’t lose weight”.

This leads me to the 2nd mistake most people make…

which is that they have to be aggressive in their fat loss phase.

I mean… “That’s the only way to do it”, right?

Let me share something with you.

Yes, you need to create a considerate deficit at the beginning to get out of your range of maintenance calories (because they are not a set number, but a range), yet…

when you plateau, you don’t need to keep cutting food that aggressively.

Sometimes a 5-10% decrease from your current calories is enough.

So let’s say you went from 2,300kcal down to 1,700kcal as your initial deficit.

After 3-4 weeks, you start to plateau… 

at that moment, you would only need to lower your calories by 5-10% (be more conservative at first… until you get to know your body)…

which would give you a deficit of 85kcal… so now you would have to eat 1615 kcal to keep losing weight.

Plain and “simple”.

Lastly, but definitely not least…

is that most people make the mistake of assuming that following “common sense” advice is not only helpful but necessary.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I talked about this before, but here you’d be following the myths that people tend to believe like “cut carbs – or fats – out of your diet”… or “eat a lot of vegetables”… or “you need to do tons of cardio. If it’s HIIT, even better”.

I don’t want to talk about those myths right now as I’ve done it before.

The point is…

don’t follow any of that “advice” as you’d only be making it harder on yourself for no real reason.

In fact, if you were to follow these myths you’ll end up making no real progress whatsoever… especially if you don’t want to get rid of your favorite food (like pizza, ice cream, cookies…).

And you don’t have to eliminate the food you love from your diet to lose weight.

If you’d like to know not only how this is possible but how by using what I call the 3-quick “tweaks” in your diet… you’ll see how enjoyable it is to lose those pounds for good.

All you have to do is sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

A new (and better) way to lose fat?

How many times have you to diet and lose fat all at once, just to later on find out you have gained the weight back… sometimes even more?

Even if your answer is just once, I wouldn’t be surprised.

You see, most people want to lose the weight they have to lose (let’s say 25lbs as an example) all at once, yet…

while it’s possible, you’re putting a lot of pressure on yourself.

Here’s why.

For most people, losing fat means you go on a very aggressive caloric deficit while staying there as much as you can to maximize the fat you lose… until you plateau.

From there, you keep creating a deficit – which means cutting calories for most – and keep doing it until you lose those pounds.

But when you have a considerate amount of fat to lose, doing a fat loss phase as a marathon might not be the best way.

The good news is…

there’s actually a new (and better) way of doing this.

Now, this doesn’t ignore the basic law of physics or it means it’s somewhat magical, yet…

you can lose as much fat by minimizing the plateaus… while maximizing your muscle retention.

I’m talking about doing fat loss sprints.

Let me explain.

Instead of going on a 3-month period straight where you create deficits (while adding some refeeds here and there), you divide this in week periods.

That means that you can go 2-3 weeks somewhat aggressive on your caloric deficit, and then go to a diet break for 2 weeks.

From there, you’d go back to a caloric deficit, followed by diet breaks… and so on.

This way you’re doing fat loss as sprints rather than as a marathon.

But there’s a main negative side to this.

That is… 

as you’re taking literally these diet breaks from dieting instead of doing it all at once, by default you’ll be extending how long it will take you to lose the same weight.

Let me show you.

Let’s say you “need” 16 weeks to lose 25 pounds of fat.

Doing it as a marathon, you’d only need 16 weeks (maybe a little bit more if you add diet breaks here and there), but…

doing it as a sprint, it will still take you to lose 16 weeks to lose that weight – but you’d need to account for the weeks you are not dieting between them.

So let’s say you’d add about 12 weeks from those diet breaks to your 16 weeks of dieting…

that will give you a total of 28 weeks.

So that’s close to twice the duration to lose the same weight.

And let me ask you…

what’s the reason to rush it anyway?…

Unless you have been diagnosed with some medical condition (which you should be having medical advice for that), chances are you can make your fat loss phase longer.

Plus, you’d not only be able to retain more muscle and lose more fat, but also increase the likelihood you’ll keep that weight.

But in the end, you’re free to choose.

Do you want to make it less likely that you’ll feel like hell when dieting and you’ll gain your weight back? 

Then going for a fat loss sprint may be something you’re gonna want to use.

And if you want some extra help first not only with your fat loss phase, but also enjoying your life when doing it… then make sure you don’t miss my daily email tips – which you can sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Plus, you’ll get the guide (for Free) where I share the 3-quick “tweaks” in your diet that force your body to lose more fat – they aren’t miracles, but you bet they are helpful when dieting.

Either way, now you have a better approach to losing fat and make it more likely that it’s the last time you need to diet to lose those pounds of fat.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Why rapid fat loss = excess weight gain

The faster you lose fat, the greater the weight gain.

Let me explain.

In a world where people want to lose 10kg in 3 months – if possible, they would do it in a week – it’s not the one who loses that weight the fastest… 

but the one who gets to keep those results.

And while there are other factors that will determine whether you keep the weight lost, the one you can control before even starting your diet is the rate you want to lose that fat.

Does that mean 10kg isn’t possible in 3 months?

Quite the opposite.

It depends a lot on individual bases, but if you can lose about +20kg (not a set number), then you bet that it’s very likely your body to lose half of it in 3 months… simply because your body has a lot of resources to use from your body as energy.

The thing is when you don’t have to lose that much weight.

If you need to lose 5-10kg and want to do it all in 3 months, then you bet that not only you can end up starving yourself for no real reason, but if you don’t know how to properly manage the weight you lost and keep it… the instinct of your body will be to gain at least the same amount of weight you had before.

And of course, it can go beyond that.

That’s why in the last diet I did, I only aimed to lose 10 lbs (5kg) in 3 months… and then another 16 lbs (7.7kg) in 3 months after that.

There wasn’t a real reason for me to do it all at once, or to go for the 12kg in one go.

I could have done it, but it would have been for no real reason to spend 6 months (or more) on a caloric deficit.

And because I did it this way, I now have kept the weight I lost despite being over 5 months I ended up my diet.

So let me ask you?

What’s the reason to rush it?…

Yes, there might be an upcoming event you wanted to look different and fit better into your clothes…

Maybe summer is coming around and you wanted to go to the beach and show how proud you were of seeing those “toned” muscles.

But rushing your fat loss for no real reason is much worse than no dieting at all.

That’s both for you right now (as you’d feel like going through hell) as well as later on thinking it wasn’t really worth it… while having an extra 3-5kg than you had before.

So don’t speed things up for anything… but go all in when you do it.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

PS. If you want to “speed up” the fat you lose when dieting, then you can use 3-quick “tweaks” that almost force your body to lose more fat… and it’s all inside “The Fat Loss Multiplier” you get for Free when you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

You’ll also get more daily tips like this delivered to your inbox.

HOW TO KNOW IF THE CALORIES YOU’RE EATING WILL MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT

Which is a good number of calories for you to lose weight?

  • 1,200 kcal
  • 1,500 kcal
  • 700 kcal
  • 1,800 kcal

You’ve probably reached one of these numbers at some point, yet…

here’s the hard truth.

There isn’t a certain “magical” number of calories that will make you either gain or lose weight.

Why?

Because whether a certain number of calories will make you lose fat or not will be determined by a lot of factors that are only applicable to you.

I bet that you can lose a lot of weight with 700 kcal, but not only it’s a crazy low number of calories… 

it will make it harder for you to then keep losing it.

You will lose a lot of weight pretty quickly? Absolutely.

But once you reach a plateau, then what?…

The point is…

Asking whether a specific calorie intake is enough to lose weight or not is hard to answer as that depends on each individual, how much weight they “have” to lose… and for how long they’ve been doing it (as well as how much they were eating before that).

Focus on creating a somewhat aggressive caloric deficit at the beginning, that’s the first step.

But also know that cutting calories isn’t the only way to create a deficit.

Adding some cardio (don’t get crazy on this) is also a way of creating that negative energy balance for your body to lose weight.

I know there can be a lot of moving parts when losing weight, but when you stay consistent you’ll get there.

As I’ve said before…

Regardless of what approach you follow, if it’s not something you can sustain then you’re destined to keep playing the yo-yo diet cycle.

And if you want some guidance on the number of calories you need to create a deficit as well as how much you should be eating, then you’ll get it as a Bonus when you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Why extreme diets make you fatter

Quick question:

What’s the #1 reason why extreme diets fail?

  1. They aren’t sustainable
  2. They don’t work
  3. They prevent you from eating what you want
  4. They will always work – it’s a myth

Now, while some answers have some truths to the question (except the last one), there’s only one correct answer.

That is the first option, of course.

I’ve seen dieters start wondering about cutting their calories to create a deficit (good) of at least 2,000kcal… just eating less than a thousand calories a day (bad).

Doing this is only putting them in a bad situation

And the reason is pretty simple.

They are not only playing not to lose (rather than to gain), but…

they are putting themselves in a much harder situation for no reason.

Why?

Because for them to see results, they have no real reason to go so low on calories right out of the gate.

In fact, doing so will only make them feel the urge to binge eat, starve themselves, and make them wonder what to do when they reach a plateau.

That’s why extreme diets make you fatter.

People who try it aren’t able to not only follow through but actually keep it.

As a result, they end up gaining their weight back (and then some).

The true beauty is…

You don’t have to go so low in calories.

You might not even need to reduce the food you eat at all – will depend on some factors, of course.

And while I tell you on my daily email tips how to do this, if you want to actually eat the same (even more) while losing weight… I share with you the 3-quick “tweaks” in your diet ‘force’ your body to lose more fat when you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Sure, these tweaks aren’t miracles and will be meaningless compared to having a deficit, yet…

That doesn’t mean they can help you not even feel like dieting at all when you use them.

You can check it out for yourself when you sign up above.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

This is the worst time to lose weight

How many times have you tried dieting… yet, not being able to get to your weight goal?

There are a lot of reasons why that is the case.

The most common one studies have found is we overestimate how much we exercise, and we underestimate how much we eat.

Sure enough, there’s no wonder why you can lose weight but when you do it, you aren’t able to keep it off.

But assuming you are accurately assessing both how much you’re exercising and eating, there is a chance you won’t be able to lose weight.

It’s not that common to hear this out there (and you might feel it is obvious), yet…

based on the failed attempts when people go through diets, it’s important to not ignore it.

I’m talking about when you are trying to lose weight.

Here’s what I mean.

Let’s say you want to diet to lose about 10lbs for the next 2 to 3 months.

In one scenario, you’d do this when you are able to manage your schedule enough to not feel pressured, handling your home-related tasks, taking care of yourself and living without stress.

In the other scenario, you try to lose that weight when you’re struggling with bills, are having some conflicts either at work or at home, or seem to barely make it to the end of the day.

In which one do you think you have better chances to lose that weight (and keep it)?…

You see, if you have to deal with other priorities in your life that are taking a lot ofyou mental energy and you’re looking to lose weight at those times, then you would be doing it in the worst time possible for yourself.

So here’s not so common advice.

To make it more likely you’ll lose weight when you want to, make sure you are not facing other problems in your life that are taking a lot of mental energy from you.

Sure, that doesn’t mean you’ll excuse yourself onto believing that you are not doing what you need to lose those pounds because “this isn’t the right time”.

There isn’t and it will never be a right time (let alone a perfect time) to lose weight.

Just make sure you don’t have any added pressure from other areas of your life and you’ll be in a much better position to not only lose your weight, but keep it off.

And if you want to get some daily email tips that can show you how to do it in a simple and enjoyable way, then you’re gonna want to sign up below so you don’t miss these tips:

www.fitnessthetic.com

If any, assess your life first and think what’s the max you can handle in your life without compromising in other areas of your life to start dieting.

That alone will put you into a far better position to succeed.

Your fat loss coach,
Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

the worst way to lose weight?

Believe it or not, there’s a good, bad, and terrible way to lose weight.

But I just want to talk about the worst way right now.

Simply because I feel it’s the way most people choose to lose fat.

So, what do you need to do to lose weight the wrost way?

  • Deliberately starve yourself
  • Spend hours at the gym working out
  • Doing long sessions of cardio almost daily
  • Stop eating the food you enjoy
  • Giving up your social life with friends and family because “you’re on a diet”

You see the problem?

Each one of these options only make you lose weight starting from a tough place already.

It’s no wonder why compliance and adherence are rare in these situations.

Anything that adds extra pressure on your life will be a component to make your process even worse.

Sure, you can stick to it and probably lose the weight you want,…

but at what price?

Plus, as I’ve said in other posts, one thing is to lose weight… and another one completely different is keeping that weight off.

So even if you were to lose those pounds and got your desired physique, as chances are pretty close to zero you’ll be able to stick to something like that long-term, you will only gain all the weight back.

That’s why I’m really into helping you make the next diet you make, the last one you’ll need… without cravings, food restrictions, or even feeling like dieting at all.

I do this by giving you daily tips (just like this) delivered at your inbox + “The Fat Loss Multiplier” guide for Free when you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Diets shouldn’t add another layer of stress and pressure into your daily life.

If anything, they should help you go through them by helping you admire the progress you’re doing.

Keep that in mind.

Ivan @ Fitnesstheitc

What are the best exercises for (belly) fat loss?

The other day, someone asked me this questions on a forum:

“What are the best exercises to lose belly fat?”

Now, while I really think it’s a genuine concern this person had, in reality it doesn’t make any sense.

Why?

Because there’s no such a thing as exercises for fat loss… just as there aren’t exercises for muscle gain.

Plus, the mistake in this question is that it’s talking about exercises to lose belly fat… as if there was possible to lose weight on targeted points.

Have you ever seen a man with shredded abs and a slim arm without any muscle?

Me neither… because fat gain and fat loss happens in your whole body at the same time (your body just has more predisposition to distribute more in certain areas)

But I get it.

The idea is that you want to make sure you’re really losing fat where you want it.

Just keep this in mind.

As I answered in the forum, your routine when working out has to be the same intensity as you were before.

If any, you should train harder to make sure you’re preserving as much lean tissue as possible.

By focusing on creating a deficit and training hard(er),…

results will eventually be noticeable.

Don’t feel discouraged as the middle area is where we tend to see results the latest, yet…

with consistency and if you’re doing things right, you’ll eventually see changes in your belly (as well as in the rest of your body).

Now, if you’d want some extra boost in your diet and know what are 3-quick “tweaks” that basically forces most people to lose more weight (don’t expect miracles, of course), then you can get daily email tips + “The Fat Loss Multiplier” guide for Free when you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

The #1 issue with protein powder and fat loss

If you feel like there’s some protein powder specific for fat loss, here’s something to think about.

This common idea of having ‘tools’ targeted to our goal is great, yet…

It doesn’t mean it’s right.

Let me show you why.

Protein is protein, no matter what goal you’re going after.

Whether you want to build muscle or lose weight, there’s no difference in the protein sources you need to take to get the results you want.

This macronutrient is important, but one thing will determine whether you lose fat, keep your weight or add a few pounds of muscle… and protein powder (or any protein, for that matter) won’t be that determining factor.

As long as you’re eating fewer calories than what you’re burning (aka caloric deficit), you’ll be losing weight.

That’s the determining factor.

From there, it’s a matter of picking high quality protein sources to help you preserve as much muscle and lean tissue as possible.

It’s because of misconceptions like this caused by the industry and influencers who claim this (who ironically, are sponsored by a brand that sells protein powder) make weight loss hard.

But it doesn’t have to be.

In fact, when you get the “Ultimate Diet Planner” Cheatsheet I give as a Bonus when you sign up, you realize how simple losing weight actually is (not easy, simple).

All you have to do is click here to get yours and start on the right path to lose weight.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Remember, there’s no such a thing as protein powder (or protein, for that matter) for fat loss… you’ll be the one that determines that goal with what I just said above.

Now go ahead and don’t overthink about it too much (easier said than done, I know)… just take the first step and see it for yourself.

Ivan Iniguez

Why most people lose weight the hard way

First things first, let’s see how to lose fat the hard way.

It’s important to point out that regardless of the definition, this is based completely on science.

That means, opinions aren’t actually very helpful when data tells us the opposite.

Cool?…

Ok. 

So now, here it is how to know whether you’re trying to lose weight the hard way or the simpler way – you’ll see why I say simpler instead of easy in a moment.

The hard way means doing at least one of these:

  1. Starving yourself
  2. Limiting or restricting any food you enjoy and want
  3. Spending hours and hours at the gym working out
  4. Doing hours of cardio
  5. Rejecting to go out and have a social life because you fear it will screw up your progress
  6. Feeling like your heart raises when you’re eating out and you cannot stop worrying about what to eat

This isn’t a comprehensive list, yet… 

You can see it covers a lot of things on losing fat the hard way.

Look, even if you were to actually lose a lot of weight this way (I didn’t say it’s possible, but unnecessary)… what’s the point if because you felt like shit then you start gaining all the weight back?

That’s why I prefer to help people do it the simpler way.

Keep in mind I don’t say easy as there’s some work that needs to be done of course, but…

With the right information, you will know exactly what you’re doing without having to do any of the above.

If you’d like to see how to do it, then all you have to do is sign up below to stop worrying about whether your next meal is going to fit into what your goals are or not, and rather enjoy a good time… knowing you’ll still eat to stay on track:

Plus, when this basics are in place… having some advantages in your diet can make the difference in how you feel while doing it.

That’s why you’ll also get a Free copy of “The Fat Loss Multiplier” guide when you sign up:

Click below to get it:

—> https://fitnessthetic.com

Ivan “The Underground Fitness” Iniguez

What to do when you reach a plateau?

Let’s picture this.

You’ve been dieting for the past few weeks and you started to lose some weight (Congrats!), yet…

one week, you noticed the scale wasn’t really moving.

You wonder what exactly to do when you get to that point…

Maybe it’s eating less? But how much less? What if next week all of a sudden you kept losing weight without making any changes?

Well, let me give you the short answer.

I should start by mentioning that getting to this point is what’s known as a plateau, and it’s more than a normal part of the fat loss process (in fact, you should expect it).

Once you reach metabolic adaptation (a fancy way of saying your body has been forced to adapt to the caloric deficit to survive), you will stop your progress at a certain point…

But, that doesn’t mean you should jump and create an aggressive caloric deficit to continue seeing results (sometimes you don’t need to even create a change at all).

You know, there are different strategies to go about it.

One that has been highly suggested (and I used them as well) are either refeed days or diet breaks.

None of these are Cheat days or Cheat meals…

Both cheat days or meals won’t give you the actual progress you need to kick-ass your metabolism enough to continue the process… because they aren’t planned or controlled.

Anyhow…

If you want to see how you actually do this in a planned way so that you continue your fat loss process (without wondering whether you’re doing it right or wrong), then all you have to do is sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Plateaus are part of the process, unless you have one in a million metabolism who doesn’t adapt (which is the exception, not the rule).

So discover how simple it is to deal with plateaus by signing up.

Ivan “The Underground Fitness” Iniguez

Is a salad better than a cookie for fat loss?

How many times have you heard the “avoid processed foods because they make you fat” narrative?

This is only half true.

Yes, you should try to pick more Whole Foods instead of processed foods, yet not for the reason you’re thinking.

This is what many coaches and “experts” think it’s true, and I really don’t know why.

I call this the cookie or salad dilemma.

Here’s what it means.

Let’s say you’re eating about 2400kcal per day to create a deficit and lose weight.

One day, you had about 100kcal left and decided to go out and see what to eat to get those calories.

But you then go to a food court and see 2 different restaurants that got your attention. 

One is a restaurant that mainly offers salads, and the other one offers you all type of desserts like cookies, cakes or ice creams.

Now here’s where the dilemma comes in.

Which one do you choose? A cookie or a salad…?

You start thinking this beyond imagination… you can either go with the salad and feel more satiated (and maybe without guilt) than going with the cookie.

The issue is that you’re really craving that cookie as you haven’t eaten one for months and wanted to have one today.

So let me ask you again… which one do you choose?

Well, regardless of which one do you choose… here’s the way you should make that decision.

It’s not based on whether you think one is “healthier” than the other or that one is “good” and the other “bad”.

It should be on what you want that moment, what you like, and whether it’s going to help you reach your calories (and macros) goals.

If the cookie has 80kcal, then by all means go after it (again, assuming your macros are also checked). This is way simpler than what most people do it, yet they make it complicated for no reason.

Either way, if you want to know in great detail how this works as well as start reaching your fitness goals without having to crave foods or even feeling like dieting, then sign up below to receive daily email tips about it.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Now go and eat a salad… or a cookie, if you wish.

I’ll probably go eat the second option 😉

Ivan Iniguez

Losing fat vs. Burning fat. Which one should you focus on?

Most people want to burn fat, but very few want to lose fat.

Sounds kinda stupid, I know.

Let me explain.

If you thought that burning and losing fat were the same thing, let me show you that it’s not the case.

One is the process of actually burning fat (I mean…) and the other one refers to the “net” fat oxidation and deposition happening in your body every day.

When you’re “burning” fat, you’re oxidizing it… when you’re “storing” it, you’re depositing it.

With me so far?

So, what you want to actually do and should focus on when attempting to say goodbye to those pounds is fat loss.

Because it doesn’t matter if you’re burning 100-300 kcal per day if at the end of the day you’re having a positive net balance.

This means that doing cardio isn’t the solution… not the way you think about it, at least.

As always, what matters is if you create a caloric deficit to start actually losing weight (and ideally, losing fat).

But if you’ve tried already a caloric deficit and still haven’t lost weight, it’s for a simple reason I covered in another post.

What you should know for now is that in order to make progress and get sustainable results, then all you have to do is right here in what you just read.

Still, if you want more clarifications and want to know in great detail how this is done, then…

Sign up below to my daily tips where by subscribing I give you “The Ultimate Diet” Cheat sheet so you know exactly how much you should be eating to kickstart your fat loss process.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Above all, do yourself a favor and by any means fall prey of those claiming to have the “magic pill” (AKA, the miracle diet or the groundbreaking supplement) to lose weight and keep it off.

Keep working towards your goals… you’re moving forward (even when it doesn’t seem that way),

Ivan Iniguez

How to lose fat and gain muscle… at the same time

Let’s be clear on something.

Nothing and no one will be able to beat the law of physics… and in this case, the law of thermodynamics.

If you want to lose fat then you have to create a caloric deficit.

Want to build muscle? Then create a caloric surplus.

It’s that simple (no one said easy).

So with that in mind, let me ask you.

“Do you think it is possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time?”

Well, the answer might be quite contradictory.

But to put it simple, yes… it’s possible.

How do you do this? 

One way that can be the answer might be in what’s known as the diet after the diet.

You may know it by the name of reverse diet.

There have been numerous cases (and I’ve been part of these) of people who are increasing their calories to get it back to their maintenance (so theoretically creating a caloric surplus), yet…

They are able to not only keep the same weight they had when they started. 

Some even start losing weight (mostly fat).

But some individuals who are able to do this, the few pounds they add from doing a reverse diet can actually put that into muscle.

Don’t ask me how this is possible as there’s no actual research that helps clearly understand this, yet…

the hypotheses around it are pretty convincing.

Since reverse diets are done after you finish a cutting season, you are way lower to your predicted maintenance calories, even when your current calories are your actual maintenance calories.

The takeaway here is simple… 

even when it’s not clear how losing fat and gaining muscle is possible at the same time, it only happens under particular situations (if any), like when you’re a completely newbie to training or when you’re using some extra “help” (you know what I mean 💉).

Just don’t go and think that you’re going to do a reverse diet (or other way) today just so you can experience both results.

Doing this might actually get you the opposite results.

So know that when you are done with losing fat, you may be able to build some muscle… and in some cases, lose some more fat while increasing your calories.

That’s something you cannot 100% control, but you can control the goal you have when losing fat OR gaining muscle.

Focus on one goal at a time and you’re going to eventually get the body you can feel proud of.

But that doesn’t mean this is the only way to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

You see, besides this speculation… 

There are 3 other ways you can get shredded and jacked while losing fat at the same time.

You can do this when you’re a complete newbie to resistance training (or are getting back after years of not working out), when doctors would categorize you as overweight or obese, or… when using some steroids.

Chances are you won’t fit – and you shouldn’t, either – into one of these 3 options (or a combination of any of the previous ones).

The point being…

While is it 100% possible to get both lean and big at the same time, it’s not recommended and hardly applicable if you’re not in one of the 3 categories.

Your amigo fitness,

Ivan Iniguez

This is the only way to lose belly fat

“How do I lose my belly fat?”

That’s one of the most common questions whenever someone wants to see some changes in their bodies.

And I get it…

nothing would be better and feeling like all the effort is paying off than to start looking down and get a smile on your face because you’re seeing that your belly is flat.

The issue is that this is making you ask the wrong question.

Here’s why.

Whenever you’re trying to lose belly fat, it means that you have the idea that somehow you’ll lose only belly fat, yet…

that’s not the case.

In fact, there isn’t such a thing as localized fat loss.

Whenever you want to lose your belly, thigh or arms fat… you’ll be losing fat in all over your body.

The only difference is that it will be more notorious in some areas than others.

That’s why the same approach you’d take to lose your belly is the approach you need to lose fat…

because it is the only way.

However, that doesn’t mean you should start cutting meals or eliminating your favorite food out of your diet to start seeing results.

Not at all.

The good news is…

you can actually lose weight and keep it off by eating everything that you enjoy… without craving or starving yourself.

If you’d like to know how, then you can start by knowing how much you should be eating to start losing that belly, thighs and overall body fat.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan Iniguez

1917: Physician revealed what it takes to lose weight (and keep it)

You might be wondering,

If it has been this info out there for a while, why is it that people don’t use it or debate this?

And to be honest, I don’t have an answer for that.

But back in 1917, a physician named Lulu Peters introduced a concept that was new to everyone.

This concept has been now more than accepted and given as granted for many fitness experts and coaches, yet…

the vast majority seems to believe they can go against the law of physics itself.

Why?

Because Peters gave the foundation of what calories are to the body and what they mean.

Look, a calorie is a calorie no matter what (technically, the source of it is the only thing that varies, but that’s for another topic).

The point is… 

This physician showed that a caloric intake is the basis of energy balance.

No matter what diet you follow, what you eat or how often… if you don’t have the right energy balance to get to the outcome you want, then you’re not going to see any difference (even when you believe you’re making changes to your diet).

That’s why I’m giving you a Free cheat sheet you can use to know exactly how much you need from where you’re right now to start losing weight (and keep it).

Just sign up below to claim your Cheat sheet:

→www.fitnessthetic.com

Now, I’m going to go out and eat a burger… knowing I’ll still be within my calories to lose weight.

Ivan Iniguez

What do you need to do to get your desired weight (for good)?

Quick quiz

What do you need to do to achieve your desired weight?

  1. Lessen your calories
  2. Maintain your calories
  3. Add calories

Go ahead, take your time…

Ready?

Ok, so here’s the answer… all of them are wrong!

Let me show you why.

If you paid attention, there’s no exact information of what your current weight is, neither of what your desired weight is.

If you were to weigh 80kg and want to get to 70kg, then I know where you’re starting and that you need to create a caloric deficit (lessen your calories).

Want to gain muscle from 68kg to 74kg? Great. 

Now I know you need to create a caloric surplus (add calories).

You see, without knowing where you’re at right now and what is your desired weight, all advice becomes just a supposition.

Once you know both of these details, you can start knowing what to do to get there.

But keep in mind that once you know this, then the next step (and honestly, is the first step…) you should know and use an approach you’re likely to maintain for a period longer than the diet.

Meaning… you shouldn’t look to follow a diet for some months and then go back to normal. Instead, focus on finding something that won’t make you feel like dieting, so that you can eat in the same way from now on.

Won’t have any issue giving up carbs? Then keto might be a good way to do it. If you rather love carbs, then don’t even try this approach (there’s no magic in it).

Do you feel like you could skip a meal or two and don’t feel hungry at all (or feeling like a nightmare)? Perfect. Then intermittent fasting can be a good approach.

There’s no such a thing as a miracle diet, and whoever tells you there is… run away.

Focus on adherence and then on consuming the calories you need based on your goals (considering what I mentioned at the beginning) and you’ll get there.

If you want to receive daily email tips like this, sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan

3 myths that stop you from losing fat

One of the most common myths of all in the fitness industry is:

“People shouldn’t eat carbs. They are the enemy.”

Well, I’ve always wondered where they come up with that.

Because science says something totally opposite.

They have done a lot of research and here’s what they found. It doesn’t matter whether you distribute more carbs or fats in your diet… if calories and protein are equated, they lost the same amount of weight at the end of the study.

So what does this mean?

It means that if you feel more attached (and think you could even have an affair) with carbohydrates, then don’t eliminate them from your diet. You’re just making it harder for yourself for no reason.

The same goes with the next myth.

“Carbs are not the real enemy… Fat stores fat, so eat less of it”

The answer is the same explanation as for carbs.

What matters is that you’re in a deficit so you can actually lose weight… and remember, dieting on very low calories or using “magic tricks” will never outperform a diet you can sustain and that it doesn’t make you feel like dieting.

That’s why I use flexible diet.

No, it’s not the ultimate diet (won’t ever exist such a thing), but as long as I eat my daily macronutrients and have fiber and water in place (which you should anway, regardless)… I can eat a burger, pizza, ice cream, or anything I please.

The best part is I don’t feel guilty and then make things worse by binge eating.

Anyhow… 

Here’s my favorite myth of all

“Show me your abs. No one should give you advice if they don’t have a very shredded body with 6-packs.”

Yes, there is a huge bridge between theory and practice. Someone can have all the certificates and know how to lose weight or gain muscle, but if they haven’t even tried things on themselves and others, they shouldn’t even give advice, right?

Well, here’s something to think about.

You’ve seen jacked guys all over the fitness industry giving their advice, but not all of them can always give their advice to work on everyone. Why?

You tell me.

…Maybe they just did something that worked for them when they tried it and now they think they have it all figured out.

…Maybe it is that they don’t know the underlying principles, and they can ‘say’ whatever they want. Most people will believe them since this influencer has a great physique that “proves” he knows what he’s doing.

Who knows, but if that would be the case everyone would be fit by this time, and even better… people would know how to make the process easier and keep their weight off (it is easy to lose weight compared to keeping it off, but that’s for another email).

And I go against that.

That’s why when you sign up below, you get to know the science behind fat loss (and how to keep those results) without cravings, starving yourself… or even feeling like dieting.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Now go ahead and enjoy your next meal… just as I’m going to do mine 😉

Ivan Iniguez

Not losing fat in a deficit? Here’s why

If you’re not losing weight (of fat, for that matter) when you’re on a deficit, it’s because you’re not on a real deficit.

Here’s what I mean.

There’s nothing (and there’s really no magic formula) to losing fat that creates a caloric deficit, yet…

Many people seem to struggle losing that weight when they are already cutting calories.

That’s no surprise when you consider that they’re not in a deficit.

How’s it possible when they are already cutting calories?

Simple.

They are either not counting calories correctly (it’s a tool, yet more than useful if you were to ask me), or they are eating more from what they think they are eating – so not measuring it accurately.

Let me give you a quick example on how this would look like.

Let’s say that you went from 2300kcal down to 1900kcal (if you don’t know where and how many calories you should start cutting, then you’ve missed my Ultimate Diet Planner Cheat Sheet. Click here if you want to get yours).

That’s a 500kcal deficit… more than enough to get lower the current maintenance calories and start burning that fat.

Now, after your daily check ins, you find out that after 3 weeks you’re still at the same weight you started (on average).

Well, maybe what you think it’s 1 spoon of peanut butter is in reality 2 spoons (let’s say every spoon was 15g exactly… so that would easily be an extra 90kcal approx extra).

A little snack here and there throughout the day, and you’d add another 150kcal.

Lastly, what you thought were a simple smoothie or shake with 300kcal, that added in reality 500kcal… so an extra 200kcal you didn’t expect.

So after a simple math we can clearly see that those “little” and “innocent” additions gave you an extra 440kcal from your calories to create an initial deficit.

Even if you were to think this is an exaggeration, just by eating half from these additions is enough to make you wonder why you’re not losing weight… when you thought you were on a deficit.

That’s why I recommend counting calories and doing it in an “honest” way.

Counting calories is a tool, yet if you do it correctly then you reduce the chances of making these mistakes. There are a lot of apps out there available that make this easy.

Here are some that come to my mind (I’m not endorsed by any of them, if you’re wondering):

  • MyMacros+ (the one I have used for the past 8 years)
  • Fitmacros
  • MyFitnessPal (just focus on the calories you eat, not the ones you burn as they’re BS)

And if you want to know more of the actual science behind how to lose weight and keep it off… without feeling like dieting, then sign up to my daily newsletter where you’ll receive daily tips on it. No BS.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan Iniguez

This is what a “diet” really means

Many people go out there saying they are on a diet without paying attention to the real definition.

To begin with, let’s explore the roots of the word diet.

It comes from the greek diata, which means “a way of living”

So this means that when you say “you’re on a diet”, in reality, you mean that this is what you do on a daily basis.

So considering you are on a diet every day (regardless of the approach you take), you are already on a diet… even when you don’t think you’re in onne.

But, what does this has to do with fat loss…

And to be more specific, how can you use this concept and understanding to lose far?

The answer lies in the actual question.

If you go on a fat loss phase and take an approach that no matter how great, sexy or appealing it may look, you end up not being able to stick to it and maintain it, then you will get the weight back you put off in the first place.

You have to first know that doing those quick “X week challenges)” are what is going to help you navigate to your ideal body and not gain the results back, then you know that’s not true.

To make consistent results and actually make sure you don’t have to make another diet again to lose the same weight, then you have to change your eating preferences.

One thing worth mentioning…

This doesn’t mean you have to go super low on calories for the rest of your life or that you will be doing something like IF or keto to then get back to what you were used to doing before.

It all means you have to know that short-term fixes won’t get you long-term results.

Now, if you would like how you can actually lose fat and keep it off while doing something that lets you enjoy yourself during the process, I will be launching an ebook soon about how to do it.

When you sign up before the deadline, you get up to 75% discount for being interested before the official release.

Sign up below to be part of the waiting list:

→→ https://fitnessthetic.com/flodwaitlist/

I will answer the important questions when it comes to fat loss and not having to gain it back… all because it’s based on science that everyone xan replicate it.

Will you be part of the first ones to get what it really takes to be on a diet and change your body for good?

You are the only one who can answer that.

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

The myth of Glycemic Index and what to focus instead

If you were to say that GI is important, you’d be right.

But at the same time, you would be focusing only on one area rather than in the whole scenario.

Let me explain.

It’s not uncommon to hear that people should avoid high glycemic index food since that causes spike in insulin, thus leading to gain weight.

But here’s something important they don’t consider.

Every meal you eat increases your blood glucose levels, that’s for sure. 

But while there is a certain food that will spike your insulin and others that will keep it within normal range, it’s not seeing the full spectrum.

Not only research has shown that the glycemic index is meaningless when we add other macronutrients in the meal like protein and fats (and some fiber if possible), but it has shown that what dictates the change in weight isn’t really the glycemic index and its impact in the blood.

It’s quite easy to eat a ton of bread, rice, potatoes, or any “high glycemic index” food and not feel satiated, thus making you open to the idea of eating more. 

And that “extra” desire for eating more when you should be satiated is what leads you to eat more from what you should… thus, making you gain weight.

If you were to eat more “low glycemic index” (AKA. food high in fiber), you will start seeing that not only your hunger goes down, but your satiety goes up… and if you put into practice this while also eating at a negative energy balance and consuming an adequate amount of protein, you bet you will be in a far better position to lose fat.

So focus on what people consider “low glycemic index” food, but not for the reason of lowering your spikes of insulin.

Plus, you should pay attention to how much you’re eating more so than what you’re eating… if you focus on the latter without first taking care of the former, you can still gain weight by eating oats, vegetables and chicken breast.

I know this information can be sometimes confusing and for some even counterintuitive, but science is clear about this.

And in fact, if you want to get daily emails tips based on science on how to make the next diet you make the last one you’ll need, then you’re gonna want to click the link below and sign up so you don’t miss any tips:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

Cutting calories won’t give you results

How many times have you tried losing weight by simply cutting out your calories?

If it didn’t go as planned, there’s a simple reason for that.

Cutting calories won’t give you results.

(Not in the way most people do it, at least).

You see, the way most people go about it is that once they want to start losing fat, they simply cut out either their favorite food, a particular meal, or some type of food (like carbohydrates) and hope that’s the answer for them to lose fat and keep it off.

And while doing anything of the above will get the scale moving down, it will only do it for a couple of days.

That’s where the real issue comes in.

As they don’t know what to do or why is happening, they go out there and cut even more calories (choosing any approach, it doesn’t really make a difference).

The end result?

They get stuck, not knowing what to do and thinking that they can’t lose more weight out of it.

Maybe it’s time to add some cardio sessions to your routine, right?

And yes, it starts moving the balance a little bit…

until you get stuck at a certain number again.

So, what’s the solution?

Simply put, you need to know (and expect) that you will get stuck at some point during fat loss, and it’s a matter of knowing what to tweak to just get over them and keep losing fat.

For many, not doing even a 5% deficit from what they are currently eating is more than enough to keep the scale moving.

The tricky part is that you should know how much you are eating from the beginning so you know what a 5% deficit looks like, otherwise it becomes guessing.

That’s why I recommend counting calories as a way to manage progress (it’s not needed as it can stress some people, but there’s also a way to get around that).

Whatever approach you take…

Make sure you’re measuring something so you can then tweak things accordingly rather than simply cut out more food, your social life or meals from your diet.

If you like this and want to get daily tips like this delivered to your inbox, then make sure you sign up below:

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

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