My Story
Kickstarting my transformation was much simpler than I thought. It was not some motivational video screaming at me from my computer, nor was it the texts from my mom to start taking care of myself nor my disappointment when looking into the mirror. Believe it or not It was simply walking. It started slow, when I began working I was on my feet more than when I was in college. After about a month of this I found clothes were fitting differently, ever so slightly. My Dad and I were at dinner and he asked if I had lost weight. I of course had no clue (I wasn’t tracking anything and was mainly focused on the bar scene) but that acknowledgement let me know something was changing without me trying.
Later as I got more into fitness I realized the change came from simply increasing my NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenic) or the calories you burn from moving more fidgeting taking stairs instead of an escalator etc. Raising this also raises the amount of calories you are burning in a day and makes up about 15-30% of calories burned. Theres more truth to Dennis’s “hummingbirds”link in It’s Always Sunny than you may think. So although it seems like a no brainer, moving more will lead to burning more calories which can help you lose weight or imped weight gain. This leads me to my next point. The absolute basic principle in losing weight energy in vs energy out.
Energy in vs. Energy Out
To lose weight you want more energy going out than coming in (caloric deficit). Your body will use energy in fat stores if it doesn’t get enough from the food you are eating, this is how you burn fat. They way we measure energy in/out is with calories. They are a measurement of the amount of energy foods contain. It is important to keep an eye on them and see how your body reacts to different amounts. We all burn different amounts at rest and while exerting energy. This is case by case. You don’t need to count calories forever but doing so with standard meals you eat can help you have an idea so that down the road you can eyeball your intake accurately.
What is a calorie?
Now different calories serve different purposes and are made up of 3 macronutrients: Protein, Carbs, and Fat. 1 gram of protein equals 4 calories, 1 gram of carbs equals 4 calories and 1 gram of Fat equals 9 calories. None are bad, all are necessary. Carbs and fat are not the enemy in any way shape or form. In fact they are crucial for muscle building and hormone production. As you may have heard its important to base your diet around protein. You should aim to get .8-1.2 grams of protein per lbs of body fat per day. This is not true in some cases like if you are over 25% body fat. For example if you are 300 lbs 30% BF you do not need to try and shovel 300 grams of protein down your gullet. Best to go off lean body mass or assume roughly 150 grams of protein per day to start. Protein helps you build muscle and takes more energy to digest. So your body is burning more calories while digesting your food.
Conclusion
To put it all together there are some non-invasive practices you can start to incorporate that will help you kickstart fat loss. They are increasing your NEAT, simply by going for a walk after work or fidgeting more (weird I know). Take 5 minutes on every hour at the office to get up and walk around. If you’re headed out to a bar walk there if possible. Picking up a sport you enjoy even just shooting around on a hoop for 30 minutes a few times a week. You should also up your protein intake, basing meals around a protein source will help you have more energy and burn more calories while resting due to the increase in energy needed to digest. Start with these basics and let me know how it works. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you for reading.