In a previous article, I talked about how to use your maintenance calories to lose weight. Let’s once again focus on the thumb rule that 1 pound of body fat is 3,500 calories. I don’t want you to learn this rule and use it to unintentionally starve yourself by reducing far too many calories.
A lot of people assume the greater they are below their maintenance calories the faster they’ll lose weight. Once they see they can lose one (2.2 kg) pound per week, they try to shoot for a two-pound (4.4 kg) loss per week by reducing their total weekly calories by 7,000!
Unfortunately, if you try this method, you’ll probably stay hungry. And there will come a point where you can no longer bear the hungry pangs. Then you’ll end up binge eating, ruining your diet in the process. Additionally, you should be careful not to allow your daily calories to drop below 1200 calories if you’re a woman or 1500 calories if you’re a man.
When I went through my personal body transformation, I went from 27% body fat at around 177 pounds to 10% body fat at 161 pounds and never reduced my calories below 1,800 per day. It was a slower process, but it was safe and got me the results I wanted. I want the same for you.
So, when you start using the “Auto-Diet” template, you’ll never be in a very large calorie deficit at any one time. You’re going to safely aim to lose 1 pound per week, so you won’t have to suffer from rebound weight gain or unhealthy food binges. Ultimately, you don’t want to lose any more than 1% of your body weight per week to safely lose weight.
I know it’s been a lot so far, but the point of learning about weight loss, and how to lose weight specifically, is to give you a teaser on why all diets work! For now, though, let’s talk about macronutrients and how they also relate to getting you lean.
After we cover macronutrients, not only will you understand how to diet, but you’ll also be ready to set up your own diet using the “Auto-Diet” template and my recommend food planning app. And finally, before closing out this topic on nutrition, you’ll learn to optimize the foods you eat so you can stay full and lift heavy in the gym as you work towards building muscle and getting lean.
