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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

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

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

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

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:

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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

What if this is the myth that’s stopping you from losing fat for good?

Out of all the myths about dieting, there’s one that always catches my attention.

The reason is simple.

It’s based on wrong assumptions, inaccurate experience, or a lack of understanding of the science of fat loss.

What myth I’m talking about?

The fact that people who have tried cutting calories and didn’t lose weight say… “all calories are not equal.”

The thing is that they are right (and wrong) at the same time.

Let me explain.

Yes, the idea behind calories being all the same is somewhat good… 

but the way it’s said (and believed) isn’t the case.

When you think that eating 150kcal of popcorn vs 150kcal of rice will give you two different outcomes isn’t really how the body works.

A calorie is a calorie… just like a centimetre is a centimetre.

Both are a way of measuring the thing, not the thing itself.

So saying they are not the same is wrong.

But… 

What we can say and it’s true is that not all sources of calories are the same.

That’s something totally different.

If you were to eat 150kcal of popcorn instead of rice, you will be much fuller after the popcorn because the density of these two is different.

The point is…

You can change the way calories impact your satiety and fat loss rate by choosing food that makes you feel fuller, but not by avoiding certain food or thinking that one is better or worse than the other.

There isn’t such a thing as good/bad foods.

So if you’re planning to lose weight or you’re on a diet right now, keep this in mind.

It’s not uncommon to see many “experts” saying this myth as a truth and then telling you to focus on hormones, keto or “clean eating” (whatever that means).

Make sure you eat plenty of calories from food that has a good nutritional value,…

but no one says that 20% of your daily calories can come from ice cream, pizza… or the food you love.

There’s no need to trust myths that the only thing they are doing is make you wonder what’s true and what’s pseudoscience, which one stops you from losing fat and keeping it off.

That’s why when you sign up below to my list, I give you daily email tips that help you make the next diet you make the last one you’ll need to lose those pounds you want.

www.fitnessthetic.com

Ivan @ Fitnessthetic

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