The Best Fat Burning Advice For Beginners: Count Calories For Fat Loss

The Best Fat Burning Advice For Beginners: Count Calories For Fat Loss

This article was originally posted on FitnessGeared.com, one of the leading fitness and bodybuilding forums on the web.

Overall if you are someone who is looking for a quick fix to lose pounds of pounds of fat and keep it off, there is no route to do so without a spectacular diet and exercise plan. As a matter of fact, there is really no route to do it without hard work, and some sort of a diet change. Screw all of the “lose 20 pounds in 20 days” and “melt the fat away” front covers that might catch your eye on a magazine cover in the grocery store, or an ad on the internet. It really is all a bunch of bull, and there are people making boat loads of money on desperate folks needing a quick answer to a long term problem. How many years did it take to pack on those excess pounds of fat? It will take some time to burn it off as well. Simply put, your body is a machine, and you need gasoline (energy) in the form of food to keep your engine running. Now the key with fat loss, is to ensure you have enough fuel to keep you effectively going, but also not too much in order for you to burn excess pounds of fat from your body.

What Calorie Count Do I Need to Lose Fat?

Studies have found that on average, women usually need around 1500-2000 calories a day, while men usually need 2000-2500. Thus the creation of the “2000 calorie diet”, which is found on your nutrition facts, is formed. It’s around the amount that an average person needs. Keep in mind though that there are a boat load of other factors that are involved: Age, height, weight, activity level, exercise amount, ethnicity, sex, medical history, etc. These will for sure alter the amount of calories that you need in a day.

The simplest way to explain fat loss, is that you need to turn you calorie intake into a math problem. Burn more calories than you consume, and congratulations, you are losing weight. Generally speaking, a pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories. Divide that by 7 and you get 500 calories that you want to have a deficit by the end of each day. You should average a pound of fat lost each week. Of course if you have 200 pounds to lose, this is going to take a while. But do not fall off track, because if you keep that main goal in mind, it will come before you know it.

Is Diet Alone Good Enough?

A better question might be, can I lose weight without exercise? The answer is pretty obvious and it is yes. You can lose weight, including fat with just diet alone. Again, it’s unfortunate that many can find themselves lost with the media by giving fat burners a try or silly fad diets that come and go. Don’t you find it funny that the product proves effective when “paired with a diet and exercise plan”? Don’t fool yourself.

We are not saying that it is a must to exercise, and work out. But for the best and optimum results, you should understand that a key ingredient to getting the body that you want includes a smart exercise plan.

A good idea would to be to research BMR, and BMR calculators. Find one that will show you the amount of calories you need to consume in order to lose X amount of pounds in X amount of days.

Counting Your Macros

Some go above and beyond on the amount of detail that they put into their diets. So be it. Honestly there is nothing wrong with counting your almonds, prepping your food, measuring your egg whites, and repeating this each and every week. It may be for some, but not for others.

Counting macros honestly is not for everyone. It does not need to consume your life. If you eat generally healthy, and take up exercise to get yourself in shape, it will come! Now if you want to get shredded, spray tan orange, and walk yourself on stage, then yes it is time to start counting those macros. But for the everyday individual, stick to the 40-40-20 plan. 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fats. If something is going to be vamped up and you eat more of, then it has got to be the protein.

Where Do I Start For Exercise?

You may be a little intimidated to step foot in a gym with a bunch of sweaty grunting dudes, and chicks that are clearly seasoned exercise veterans. Do something, anything to get your body moving. Even if that means starting by watching some at home exercise videos on the internet. Go outside every day and take a 15 minute talk. Eventually, you can make your way into the gym, and either venture off on your own, or seek the help of a personal trainer.

Just know that one thing; the person who loses all their weight, and eventually just gains it all right back, is not someone who is busting their butt day in and day out with an exercise program.