Yes, you can. (Quick Start Guide to fat loss)

Warning: A) Its not so quick, I got carried away Im no expert, this is just what I've picked up over time but it worked for me.
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Ok, Im going to be lazy here. I often answer the same or similar question for people so I figured if I write something up then I can just link to it later.

I thought doing it as Q&A might be easiest and then I'll perhaps be able to edit it and add to it. *Shrug* maybe it will work or maybe it wont, we'll see! I'll add that bit at the end.

What is TDEE and BMR?
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BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the amount of energy your body needs to function. That is basic function, not even getting up to turn the TV over. You dont really need to worry about that figure, what you do need to know is your TDEE. See below.

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is your energy usage per day "after" workload. Workload might be getting up and walking around right up to doing a marathon. Its how much energy your body needs all things considered. There are typical multipliers of your BMR to work out an average TDEE. These are :

Little/no exercise: BMR * 1.2 = TDEE
Light exercise: BMR * 1.375 = TDEE
Moderate exercise (3-5 days/wk): BMR * 1.5t = TDEE
Very active (6-7 days/wk): BMR * 1.725 = TDEE
Extra active (very active & physical job): BMR * 1.9 = TDEE

Personally I like to use 1.2 all of the time and then I use MyFitnessPal to add on my activity level.

For example, 2000 cals BMR x 1.2 = 2400 + Activity (cardio for example) 300 cals = 2700 Cals TDEE.

That means in that day I would eat 2700 cals "to stay still with my weight".

If you eat your TDEE every day exactly your weight would stay the same.

This is a calculator for it. There are loads online but this one is quite straight forward. I only enter at the bottom hous I sleep (6-7) and hours sitting. For reasons I have above (I use MFP to add in activity)
Link - http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced



Ok, so how do I lose weight?
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The easy answer

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Drop your calories consumed to 80% of your TDEE. In other words drop it by 20%.

Examples
TDEE is 2000 so you eat 1600 per day
TDEE is 2500 so you eat 2000 per day
TDEE is 1854 so you eat 1483 per day

A bit more complex

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Too simple? Ok, lets add days and exercise in to the mix.
From the sample above, lets say based on BMR x 1.2 your TDEE is 2000.

Your week would look like :
Mon - 2000
Tue - 2000
Wed - 2000
Thu - 2000
Fri - 2000
Sat - 2000
Sun - 2000

Now lets reduce your TDEE by 20% for sensible healthy fat loss
Mon - 1600
Tue - 1600
Wed - 1600
Thu - 1600
Fri - 1600
Sat - 1600
Sun - 1600

Now lets say you do a 450 calorie cardio session on Sat, Tue & Thu.
Mon - 1600
Tue - 2050
Wed - 1600
Thu - 2050
Fri - 1600
Sat - 2050
Sun - 1600

And on Saturday you also take the dog on a nice long walk for 250 cals
Mon - 1600
Tue - 2050
Wed - 1600
Thu - 2050
Fri - 1600
Sat - 2300
Sun - 1600

So, you get the idea? Each day you are saving that 20% deficit while eating your cals on exercise back. So that means energy in (eating) is less than < energy needed (activity)


Macro Nutrients
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Ok, so you are eating 2000 cals per day. But what about all this fat, carb, protein business?

I find the default MFP split a bit odd. Anyway, whats what:
Protein - used to build and repair muscles
Carbs - Dietry energy source
Fats - Important in diet for breakdown of some vitamins (essential fatty acids)

So how much should I eat?

This is called your macro ratio. Without going in to the what and why I'll just say that personally, for someone exercising I would start out with the following. Its not the only answer and for some people a different profile may be recommended. This is generic and your own needs may lead to a different suggestion, but this should give you a guide to what it all means.

Carbs = 50%
Protein = 30%
Fats = 20%

Again the maths based on a 2000 calorie day

Carbs = 50% = 1000 cals
Protein = 30% = 600 cals
Fats = 20% = 400 cals

And now what is that in grams of each?

Carbs = 50% = 1000 cals = 250g per day (as there are 4 cals in 1g)
Protein = 30% = 600 cals = 150g per day (as there are 4 cals in 1g)
Fats = 20% = 400 cals = 44g per day (as there are 9 cals in 1g)

Can I enter all of this in MyFitnessPal?
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YES!
On the Website only, go to MY HOME > GOALS > CHANGE GOALS > CUSTOM
Then add your daily cals and change the macro % ratios. You can just do Carbs / Protein / Fats if you want or can track other stuff there as well.

Food Logging
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Everything. Every nut, biscuit, sweet, gum, leaf, cow. Pretty much everything you eat has calories. Milk in tea, log it. Take 1 sugar? log it. you get the idea. I say this as it is so so easy to not log little things and next you are missing 200 cals and wonder why you aint shifting weight. Also dont guess! Be accurate. Your head will only tell you to under estimate.


Food Types
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Proteins - Beef, Chicken, Salmon, Tuna, Eggs, Greek Yoghurt, Quinoa, Almonds,
Carbs - Read - http://www.livestrong.com/article/379982-good-sources-for-carbohydrates/
Fats - Good sources of fat are nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish (like salmon)

I could load numerous but cant stress enough skipping these as much as you can :
Processed foods
Fast food take away joints (burger chains etc)
Biscuits (full of the worst fat types)
Cakes (see above)
Dust (it might feel like theres nothing else to eat, but there really is!)


Supplements
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YOU DO NOT NEED SUPPLEMENTS

But some can help.

While you know this, I must add that I am not a biologist, Im not a chemist, and Im no expect. But I do understand some marketing and I know that the vast majority of food / fitness supplements are BS marketing and unproven studies.

Im no going to go in to every supplement but I will add a few that I think its worth knowing about in my own special easy to grasp manner (ha!)

1 - Fat loss pills
Ok, lets get this out of the way first. Legally, there is very very little you can do to trim fat without hard work. Majority of fat loss pills are caffeine with a few fancy extras. Green Tea Extract. Sure, its been proven to aid fat loss (I think it was by increased thermogenics or something) but how much do you think you need to make it have a difference? Companies would love you to believe that their magic pill is the answer to your dreams. Well, there is a reason it says to take as part of an exercise and diet plan. Without that they wont work. With that, well, you wouldnt need the fat loss pills*

2 - Whey Protein.
We need Protein to repair our muscles (amongst other things). If you are not eating enough through natural means then this supplements it. A rough guide is to eat 1g of protein per day to lb of body weight. So this can help top you up. Often flavoured and mixed with water or milk (more cals though). For lactose intolerant people you might want to check out soy or rice protein.

3 - BCAA
Branch Chain Amino Acid. You get these in meat naturally, beef for example. so maybe you dont need to supplement them. But if like me you train first thing when you havent ate anything, then these can go a long way to helping retain muscle in a calorie deficit.

4 - Creatine
Largely the go to supplement. It will help during training. Maybe a few more reps or a bit more weight. More so in explosive routines etc. Read up - http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/creatine-side-effects-what-it-what-it-does?fullpage=true

5 - Pre-Workout Drinks
Again typically caffeine fuelled. Some have other ingredients like BCAA. you should research what you are drinking though. Generally a good cup of coffee pre workout is good enough. Or if you train late then a carb and protein meal like tuna and jacket potato. Id not recommend drinking coffee AND having a pre-drink. Thats a lot of caffeine to prelude pushing your heart in exercise. Be sensible and know what you are doing.

6 - WMS - Waxy Maize Starch - Its a simple carb and tastes like custard powder. Usually mixed with protein powder in a post workout shake to aid the delivery of protein.

6-50 - I could go on and list Taurine, argenine, yadda yadda but Ive covered the main ones.

Read more looking at - http://www.livestrong.com/supplements/


Q&A

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Q - If I do sit ups will it get rid of fat on my belly? Or chest press to get rid of chest fat?
A - Sadly no. You cannot spot reduce fat nor can you chose where fat will come off. We all have abs, but the fat is hiding them. You need to lose fat to change your shape and see whatever you want to see. Its in your DNA but where you put fat on first is likely where it will come off last. Yeah, thanks mother nature.

Q - should I be eating fat free foods?
A - If you mean that low fat yoghurt or low fat sauce, you will probably find the fat has been replaced by sugar so best not.

Q - How much water per day should I drink?
A - Rough figure is 2L but best read : http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

Q - You say to drop 20%, can't I just drop 40% or 50%?
A - Well, you'd be hungry and then you would give in and then rebound and then be back to square one. But also very aggressive fat loss is not healthy. It will have other detrimental side affects.

Q - How quick can I lose weight? (aka, Can I lose X pounds by X date)
A - 3500 cals needs to be burned to drop 1lb. So that is 500 cals per day. So 1lb per week would be a safe bet. some weeks are better than others. Many target 2lb per week but thats tough. Good weeks and bad weeks etc. Aim for 2lb by all means and hit 1lb and be happy. With that in mind, thats about 4lb per month. Or near 2kg.

Q - So if its all down to calorie deficit, cant I just eat 1600 cals of chips or cake and be under?
A - In theory yes. Stop there if you like. But really? If you are reading this you want to lose fat. You have likely tried fad diets and failed. You need to take control and change. Not a 2 month diet that you will give up and revert back on. You want to give yourself the best change to shed that fat so you also want a good energy balance. You want the protein to build and repair and the good fats for your body to use.

Q - So I cant eat cake?
A - Course you can. But in moderation. I find the odd treat helps spur me on. Maybe its the guilt. But after seeing success I dont want to throw it all away. so Ill have a treat, but you can bet Ill work 10% harder in the gym next session.

Q - Should I re-eat my exercise cals?
A - Be careful. Personally I like to think of it as a window of choice. If my TDEE (after 20% reduction) was 1800 cals and I exercise 400 cals I dont aim for 1800 (as thats a much higher than 20% reduction now) and I dont aim for 2200 as such. I typically think of 2200 as my new 20% under goal but it depends what I have been doing. If I done cardio then what I need is energy back, so carbs. I leave my fats and protein the same (MFP struggles with this) and eat more carbs but maybe 200 of the 400 burned. If I have been doing weights then I know by body is craving food for repair and energy. I still only add carbs as the extra cals but I do try and hit the adjusted 2200 or even slightly over. Some people say they done eat their exercise cals and fair play to them but personally I think its leading to too much loss in one day.

Q - I lost 1lb as at yesterday but I seem to have it back today!? WWWWHYYYY!
A - A few reasons. But first make sure you weight yourself at the same time each time. I do it as soon as Ive got out of bed and after my first loo trip. Really! But, consider that each day the levels of food in your system, water in your system and retained water etc will differ. It changes throughout the day as well. Over a week or two weeks will give a better indication, dont worry about over a few days.

Q - Its not working!!!
A - Chill out, go over what you are doing. How honest and accurate are you being? Chances are you are eating too much and not recording it, have calculated your TDEE wrong or are actually eating too little.

Q - I seen someone logged a walk that they burned 1000cals?! how?!
A - They didnt. Didnt burn that many cals that is. Sorry! Common sense has to apply here. I've seen to odd figures and Im not sure why, but dont forget it also depends on weight. It takes more energy for a 300lb man to climb a set of stairs than a 150lb man. But for some guides to check against have a look at http://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm


Q - Whats the meaning of life?
A - 42



Ok, posting now as if I lose this I'll cry. I'll come back and edit to add more. Happy to adjust if Ive made a big error or to and any other Q&A I pick up as I go.

Change Log (So I can keep track and you can see what Ive changed!)
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1 . Added Supplements

OK, I'm still confused a bit. BMR is required for normal function, but in your example (TDEE - 20% = 1600 calories) the calories eaten on days without exercise are lower than BMR (2000 calories). I've been maintaining/slight gain since I bumped up calories based upon my Fitbit estimate, so I've been trying to recalculate things. I'm a bit nervous to drop under my BMR, since I've read quite a bit not recommending that. Do you have any comments about recommending a daily allowance lower than BMR (on days with no exercise)? And just for my personal info: BMR is 1338 and following your guide would result in 1605 TDEE and 20% reduction to 1284 (plus exercise calories).

Hey, you're on the right track. Generally for women the amount of 1200 cals per day is considered low enough (maybe 1100 if you were a small petite woman). With a BMR of 1338 and a TDEE of 1605 Im guessing your BF% must be pretty good? On rest days you could take 10% off for example and then on work days not eat all of your cals back so that at the end of the week it averages out at -20% if that makes sense? 20% isnt any kind of magic figure, I just find it a good safe starting point.