Deb Cano
- Mar 29, 2020
- 10 min read

Your Weight Loss Guide: Part 1

Updated: May 4, 2020

How to lose weight???

That is the question...

Well, I'm just going to get right into it as that is clearly what you are here for, and I'm going to try to keep it as simple as possible.

Ok, so your goal is Fat Loss, you will need to be in a Calorie Deficit in order to achieve your goal.

What is a Calorie?

A calorie is a unit of measurement. It's a way of describing how much energy your body could get from eating a particular food or drinking a particular drink.

So when you consume more calories than your body is burning in a given day, you'll gain weight.
When you consume fewer calories than your body burns in a given day, you'll lose weight.
And when you consume the same amount of calories that your body is burning on a given day, then you'll maintain your weight.

So in order for you to achieve your goal of weight loss, you'll need to be in a calorie deficit, meaning you will need to consume fewer calories than your body burns in a given day.

So how do you figure out if you are in a calorie deficit?

Well first let's figure out what your calorie maintenance is.

Once you figure out that number I'll explain what to do next to make sure you are in a deficit.

Your Calorie Maintenance...

If you are consuming the same amount of calories that your body is burning on a given day, then you'll maintain your weight.

So here is a simple way to figure out what your calorie maintenance is.

(It's important to note that this is an estimate that factors in a genetic body type, age, and gender to help you calculate your maintenance level. It's also important to note that this is just a starting point, not an ending point. Even with all of this information, no calculator can determine YOUR exact needs.) With that in mind, you will likely have to make a few adjustments.

{Your weight in lbs X your activity level.}

{Sedentary (Very Inactive, Minimal Exercise) Your Weight X 12}

{Moderatly Active (Intense Workouts 3-4 times/ week) Your Weight X 14}

{Very Active (Intense Workouts 5-7 times/ week) Your Weight X 16}

For example, let's say you weigh 170 lbs and you are pretty inactive, (live a sedentary lifestyle, have a desk job, and don't do much extra activity.)

This is what the formula will look like: 170 lbs X 12 = 2,040 (the number of calories consumed daily to maintain your weight at 170 lbs)

Now...

As I've mentioned how you'll need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.

You might think, well I'll just skip breakfast or give up carbs...

And yes this might put you in a calorie deficit, but quite honestly how long will you be able to sustain it, especially if you really really love carbs and even more so if you have a history of losing the weight just to gain it right back.

So the goal isn't to solely be in a strict calorie deficit... NO, its to be in a sustainable calorie deficit, then to maintain it once you reach your goal.

Ok, let's talk more numbers now.

After you've calculated your calorie maintenance and figured out that 2,040 calories is your calorie maintenance...

{170 lbs X 12 = 2,040}

As your goal is weight loss, the 2,040 calorie intake a day needs to change. Like mentioned earlier, when you consume fewer calories than your body burns on a given day, you'll lose weight.

How to start...

First Option:

You can start by dropping your calories 15%, this will put you in a deficit of 306 calories a day, so this will put you at 1,734 calories per day. This is a good start.

And this can normally be done by eliminating 1-2 sodas a day and/or removing 1 snack per day.

[Before we continue I want you to know what kind of progress is possible and probable. So I would like you to keep in mind that how fast you lose body fat depends on how consistent you are, can, or want to be. Fat loss is often faster when you are first starting out and when you have more body fat to lose. The leaner you become, the slower the rate of loss becomes, with more frequent adjustments. Also, an important thing to keep in mind is that you will lose 2-10 pounds during the first week just by a decrease in glycogen stores.]

Ok, let's continue...

With a 15% deficit, you are looking to lose approximately .5 - .8 lbs per week.

So in 4 weeks, you should have lost 2-3.2 lbs... And this is great, you are in the "comfort" zone... meaning this should be super sustainable for you.

You're not in a huge hurry and don’t want to be super hungry 24/7.

This is a great starting point. Then you can adjust after 2-4 weeks depending on progress.

However, most people need and want to see faster results in order to create positive feedback for themselves, and when the goal is fat loss, bodyweight is a relevant measure of progress. So being in this small deficit might not work for you.

Second Option:

If you'd like to start off by seeing a strong initial progress in just the first few weeks and that will motivate you to stick with it. Then you can increase your deficit by 20-25%.

Using the 2,040 calorie example that will put you at a 408-510 calorie deficit and on track to lose approximately .8-1.65 lbs per week. So in 4 weeks, you should have lost 3.2-6.6 lbs. I would consider this to be a "reasonable" weight-loss rate.

Ok, but what if you have a big event in about 4 weeks, a wedding to attend, a cruise you've been planning or something along those lines and you want to lose as much weight as possible in the next 4 weeks.

You are probably going to want to be in a much larger deficit. Now before I show you what those numbers will look like, I want you to keep in mind that a much larger deficit is more appropriate for short term goals as your adherence will suffer on a long-term large deficit, and you'll also run the risk of losing muscle mass as your losing weight this fast. (I'll explain why maintaining your muscle mass is important, later. You can read more about that here.)

Third Option:

For a much more drastic weight loss and an initial very strong start, you'll want to decrease your calories by 30-40%. That will put you at a 612-816 calorie deficit, this will set you up to lose approximately 1.65-2.5 lb per week. So in 4 weeks for that big event, you will be attending you should have lost 6.6-10 lbs. This rate is pretty "extreme".

Doable? Yes!

However, I wouldn't recommend trying to lose more than 10 lbs per month.

How to figure out if you are in a calorie deficit...

What if after crunching these numbers, you think, "Well there is no way that I can be eating 2,040 calories a day... How is this even possible? I don't feel like I am... I hardly eat. I only eat 2 meals a day."

Ok, ok I get it, that number might seem too much to you.

However, you don't want to just guess what your daily calorie intake is either.

Studies have shown that people overestimate and underestimate their daily calorie consumption by up to 50%. That means on an average diet of 2000-2500 calories, they miss the mark by over 1000 calories per day. That is the equivalent of two pounds of fat per week. (Since 1 pound of fat equals approximately 3,500 calories.)

So this is what I want you to do...

The single most important thing you can do for yourself, to acquire the knowledge necessary to help you reach your goal of weight loss, is to count your calories.

Why?

"It's tedious and I just don't want to count my calories every day. It's annoying, it mentally drains me and stresses me out."

And I totally get that... However, it's not something you'll have to do every day for the rest of your life. You'll want to do it for at least 14 days, 2 weeks, this includes the weekends. (We all tend to eat slightly different on the weekends. I exaggerate when I say slightly lol!)

The benefits of calorie counting...

First, you'll get to see what the total amount of calories that you are actually consuming in a day is.

Second, you will also gain the knowledge of how much of each macronutrient you are getting. (This you may care about or you may not. However, it will be useful to know.)

How to Calorie Count...

Ok now that you've decided that you can do this for 2 weeks, you'll want to start tracking your food and drink intakes.

So everything you are consuming. I never ask my clients to change anything at first and you don't have to either, let's start by just collecting the data.

I want you to track everything you consume. Whether it's a snack, just a few bites of something even if you're just tasting it, and yes even what you are drinking, whether it's 1-2 sodas a day, a latte from Starbucks, and/or a glass of wine or 2 at night. Oh and even that cheeseburger and fries you don't want to log or that bag of chips you had, and yes even that bite-size snickers, eeevvvveeerrrryyyy-thing shall be logged. All this counts and adds up.

Now I'm not the calorie police nor am I telling you not to have none of these items. You'll just need to track all of this while you are food logging and counting your calories and remember this is not forever you are just collecting data right now.

Btw you can use a free app there are a lot of free apps, like My Fitness Pal or one of my personal favorites is Cronometer. (Keep in mind these are just tools to help you food log and keep track of your daily calorie intake. I would not suggest for you to start adjusting your food intake to the calories it recommends you to consume. These apps default to a really drastic calorie deficit that is normally not sustainable. I've personally seen it recommend 1,200 calories a day for all my clients, which each have a unique body type and different activity level.) Remember, once your done reading this you'll know how to adjust your own calories for your personal weight loss goal.

Ok, now that you have consistently counted your calories for 2 weeks you've noticed that you are averaging 1,800 calories per day and not 2,040.

So now that you have been tracking your food and you know how many calories you are consuming daily... What do you do with this info?

This is where you'll have to make the right changes, that are in your favor, of course, and that is to reduce calories.

How To Reduce Your Calories In:

Choose from the first, second, or third options explained above.

If you're not in a huge hurry, the first option of reducing your calories by 15% will work great and will be super sustainable for you. Do keep in mind you would need some patience with this option as well.
If you're the type of person that would like a strong initial start to your progress in just the first few weeks and that will motivate you to stick with it. Then choose the second option of reducing your calories by 20-25%.
And if you have a Big Event coming up in the next 4-6 weeks. Then start by choosing the third option of reducing your calorie intake by 30-40%. (Please don't use this option long-term and run the risk of losing your muscle mass.)

Keep in mind your personal preference, mental toughness, and motivation while choosing an option as well, as this will determine how much you can handle.

What if I don't want to count calories...

In Part 2 I'll teach you how to lose weight without counting calories.

However please keep in mind that... The single most important thing you can do for yourself, to acquire the knowledge necessary to help you reach your goal of weight loss, is to count your calories. At least for 30 days, especially at the beginning.

(Yes even after you figure out your deficit, you'll want to make sure you are hitting or slightly staying below that number.)

1) You'll get to see what the total amount of calories that you are actually consuming in a day is and know how to adjust from there.

2) You will also gain the knowledge of how much of each macronutrient you are getting.

Not to mention, acquiring this knowledge whether the goal is weight loss or not has helped my clients and I tremendously.

The goal is to eventually get good enough to not count your calories and make decent estimates in the future, and this is a learning curve that will be different for everyone. However, it will pay huge dividends in the future.

I promise you, you won’t be plugging all this data into your phone forever because you would have already put in the work, and this process will become easier for you. You will be able to eat within your daily calorie range without thinking much about it.

Final Thoughts

I hope you didn't think, there must be a special diet or a certain type of workout like adding cardio was a must or even a perfect timing of when to eat.

The truth is it doesn’t matter when you eat when it comes to weight loss all that matters is how much you eat. Regardless of whether you eat 7, 3, or 2 meals a day, the time you eat is irrelevant.

Remember, weight loss is a function of energy (calories), and as long as you eat the right amount of calories it doesn’t matter how often you eat.

Also, there is no “best” or "magical" workout or a "special" type of cardio that needs to be done for fat loss. They’re all equally effective and the type of cardio or workout that is “best” for you is based on your personal preference and the one you will actually do.

The fact is, and please keep this in mind, that no type of workout, cardio or not is better or worse than another. They all burn calories, they’re all effective, and they can all help you burn fat. However, also keep in mind that there is no "type" of cardio or workout that can ever take the place of your nutrition.

Yes, working out can help with increasing your calories (energy) out, however, no workout in itself can solely cause weight loss, your nutrition will be doing the heavy lifting when it comes to weight loss.

With all this being said, I also want you to keep in mind that I most defiantly do encourage working out. However, I do not just encourage or solely say that by adding more of a certain type of workout it will increase your rate of losing weight.

And when it comes to diets, well there isn't a special diet. The diet that you will stick with and that works for you is special enough. With that being said ther are certain foods that are more nutritionally dense than others, more on that in Part 2.

However, do keep in mind when it comes the weight loss a calorie deficit is what going to matter.