RP Mini Guide to Fat Loss
An estimated 45 million Americans go on
diets each year but with the majority of these
either failing or resulting in regained weight
in the long-term, it can feel like the odds are
stacked against you!
The first thing many people do when contemplating a new fitness goal is to
run a quick google search—which inevitably pulls up an overwhelming list of
different diets.
With Atkins, Low-Carb, DASH, Snake Diet, intermittent fasting, and more,
how do you choose the one that is best for you?
Thankfully, an effective diet doesn’t need to have a name—names are just
marketing tactics! There are some basic principles that lead to sustainable
weight loss, no matter how you title them. Below are some diet fundamentals
to help you beat the odds and shed the weight in a sustainable manner.
TIP #1 // INCLUDE A BASE OF LEAN PROTEINS
Lean protein, especially from whole food sources can help manage your
appetite while preserving your muscle mass as you lose fat. Make sure every
meal has some lean protein and that your total grams of protein for the day
is somewhere around your body weight in pounds (if you weigh 150lb, shoot
for around 150g of protein per day).
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RP Mini Guide to Fat Loss
TIP #2 // INCLUDE A BASE OF NON-STARCHY VEGETABLES
Along with your lean protein, including non-starchy vegetables at every
meal will help keep you more full with less calories, making it easier to
lose weight with less hunger. Eating a variety of veggies also helps provide
healthy micronutrients.
TIP #3 // STANDARDIZE MEAL SIZES AND TIMES
When it comes to weight loss, energy balance is critical (calories in versus
calories out). That being said, eating evenly sized, evenly spread out meals
consistently reduces hunger and cravings—which supports successful
weight loss. It also helps you form sustainable eating habits, making you
more likely to keep the weight off. Spreading your meals out evenly supports
fat loss and muscle maintenance as you lose weight as well—win-win!
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RP Mini Guide to Fat Loss
TIP #4 // CHOOSE WHOLE FOODS BEFORE SUPPLEMENTS
Grabbing a protein shake is a convenient way to hit your protein targets, but
because supplements lack volume and fiber, this will likely leave you hungry
again shortly after. The same goes for getting your fruits and vegetables
in liquid form. Whenever possible, reach for whole foods and you will find
yourself less hungry when dieting!
TIP #5 // CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Aiming for diet perfection sets you up for failure. At RP, we always remind
dieters that consistency is much more important than perfection. There is
no such thing as a perfect diet or perfect dieter—we are all humans living
complex lives and there will always be obstacles. Have a plan A and a plan
B for your diet, be as consistent as possible, and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Consistency will add up to results.
Remember, hitting 80% adherence every day for two months is much better
than completing one month of 100% diet adherence then completely falling
off the wagon.
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RP Mini Guide to Fat Loss
If you’re using the RP Diet Coach
app, make sure you keep an eye
on your progress chart. For the
best results, aim for at least an 80%
adherence score on your weekly
reviews. If your adherence score
begins to drop, don’t sweat it! The
app will send you diet adjustment
recommendations to help you keep
moving towards your diet goal.
LEARN MORE HERE
TIP #6 // ADD RESISTANCE TRAINING TO YOUR ROUTINE
Yes, we know—this isn’t technically a diet tip, but it is one of the best things
you can do outside of nutrition for body composition changes. Resistance
training can mean using resistance bands and bodyweight movements if you
are a beginner, or lifting weights if you have more experience in the gym.
Resistance training will drastically improve your fat loss to muscle loss ratio
on a diet. This means you lose more fat, but keep the muscle that makes
your body look firm and you feel strong. If you are new, as little as two
days per week can do the trick. The more advanced you are with resistance
training, the more days per week you will need for it to have a positive effect.
At RP, we actually recommend no one diet without resistance training—that
is how impactful it can be!
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