You may be delusional. Here are some cold, hard, brutal facts about fat loss which most people — including other coaches — are too nice to tell you.

1.Weight training burns a humorously low number of calories. Or a really sad number of calories, based on how sick your sense of humor is.

It’s unlikely you are burning more than 400 calories during a weight training session, and most people are probably closer to 100–200. On your phone half the session? Maybe 50.

2. Some foods, particularly those high in fat, can contain an astonishing number of calories, because they are calorically dense. A handful of nuts could easily be several hundred calories. Know what you are eating.

3. Whether a food is “healthy” or not has very little to do with if it will help you lose fat. Nuts, avocado, seeds, olive oil…it’ll still end up on your ass. Doesn’t matter how something is marketed, just how your body uses it.

Sleep enough. Sleep well.

If you are not weighing your food, you are not counting calories. That simple. Your “scoop” of peanut butter is probably two.

If you eat at a restaurant, you are not counting calories that day. Restaurant food probably has 50–100% more calories than you would expect. They load it up with butter, fat, lard, grease because they are not idiots and want it to taste GOOD.

Even cardio doesn’t burn all that many calories. If you have the work capacity to burn thousands of calories with cardio, you probably don’t have a fat loss problem anyway.

If you have a big appetite, one cheat meal can ruin a week of dieting. That 3k deficit you thought you created was actually half that due to counting errors, and now it’s zero. Or worse.

The scale can lie. Weight loss is rarely linear. But it’s still the best information you have. Those that say you shouldn’t weigh yourself on your fat loss journey are selling you a lie. It’s invaluable. Do it often.

Sugar isn’t going to make you fatter than other calories, but it might be easier to eat a lot of it.

Insulin isn’t the problem. It’s the shitty diet that releases it that’s the issue. Focus on what you can control. Excess calories make people fat, not insulin. Shredded bodybuilders literally inject insulin, and some quack doctors convince people that it’s causing the obesity crisis? Get the fuck out of here.

If your goal is to lose fat, that will almost certainly include losing weight. You can come up with some scenario where the muscle you gain from weight training offsets the fat you lost (recomping) but in reality fat loss should be SO much faster than muscle gain that if your primary goal is fat loss, that scale SHOULD be going down.

Some people can be obese and healthy, but statistically they are oddities and shouldn’t be used as justification for being obese. Furthermore, obesity is an independent risk factor for a whole host of issues including death, so it’s just not a good idea. Plus, those “fit but fat” people would be healthier if they were a lower body fat percentage.

If you have delicious food in the house, it will get eaten. By you. Probably all at once. Don’t keep that shit in the house. Reduce the need for willpower, don’t make things hard for yourself.

Never shop when hungry.

Eat more fiber and protein, ~1.6g/kg+ for the latter.

Drink more water. 2L minimum, 3L is better. I’ll be damn close to 6–8L in the summer. I’ve put away 10L before.

Most fat loss products are shit. Not all. Most. This is on YOU to do, not a product.

Keep a food log. Just the act of writing it down will make you think about it more.

If you are eating, eat. If you are doing something else, don’t eat. Computer/social media/TV plus food=disaster.

Don’t snack. This might be controversial, but I’ve seen it VERY correlated with poor body composition (600+ client questionnaires). Only exception is if you are lean already and very active, OR if you want to gain weight. If you want to lose weight, it’s likely a bad idea, especially if sedentary. Exception would be protein. That’s not most snacks.

Learn to go more than a few hours without food. Your body WILL adapt, and part of that adaptation is actually, you know…using body fat, not those pringles you’re scarfing between meals.

Know your family history of illness. If you have diabetes hiding in the leaves of both sides of your family tree, that should light a fucking fire under your ass to take care of yourself.

Get a coach. Knowledge, accountability, support, feedback…some clients send me every meal they eat. Or have a coworker/spouse/friend/family member hold you accountable. Or, hold yourself accountable.

If married or partnered up or whatever, your significant other had better be 100% on board. If they are also overweight, they should probably be losing weight as well. Only one side of a row boat rowing…just goes in circles.

You don’t have to lose the weight all at once. It can be done in phases.

Walk more.

You will be hungry at times. That’s not weird. It’s normal. It doesn’t mean you are dying. Just dieting.

Most people will fail. 90%, 95%, the exact percentage varies based on the study or source, but it’s certainly the vast majority. This can be depressing or motivating based on your perspective.

“Most people will fail, I’ll definitely fail”

vs

“I’m going to be one of the few that succeeds”

Apps are great. Calorie trackers and gadgets are great. Technology is great. It doesn’t change the fundamentals of fat loss, you still need to be in a caloric deficit. Also, most overestimate caloric burn.

Don’t underestimate your body fat percentage. You probably have more fat to lose than you think.

For example, I asked people to guess the difference in bodyweight between these two pics — admittedly different lighting, which is part of it. Most said 1–3kg. Some said zero weight loss at all, due to muscle growth. Nope…

About 9-10kg weight loss. Particularly if you want to get LEAN, you’re probably carrying around more fat than you think.

You can do this. It won’t be easy, but it’s certainly possible.