Everything you need to know about fat loss/weight loss!

Had an AWESOME question about weight loss recently

And is it literally just a calorie deficit and that’s it? Or is there more to it?

by Grant Alexander

So for the purpose of WEIGHT loss as in literally just the number going down in the scales it’s really important to bear in mind that hour to hour and week to week we can have natural weight fluctuations.

If I’m dehydrated I’ll lose weight, nothing to do with body fat but the scales show a lower number.

The thing is it also works the opposite way too so if you’re well hydrated you may increase your body weight by 1lb, but lose 1lbs body fat that week which is great… but the bloody scales say you’ve not moved progress wise which is incorrect of course!!

Same with food in your stomach,

Different types of food in the digestive tract, in particular increases in fibre intakes,

Inflammation for a variety of reasons from injury to illness.

Salt intakes leads to fluid retention.

Higher carbohydrate intake leads to both storage of carbohydrates in the muscle tissue and liver but also the water molecules needed for storage too.

The above or a combination of a variety of the above can be masking weight loss results for weeks and still not look like you’re losing scale weight. Having said that 4 or more weeks we definitely should be seeing a drop in weight regardless.

Potential reasons for not losing weight Long term:

We can OVERestimate the cals burned in exercise in our sessions. Especially using apps onto estimate cal expenditure, it’s generally overestimated. Also as you get fitter and have a longer training history, doing a 1mile run at the beginning will mean you burn LOOOOOADS of cals per mile, whereas a trained runner of 5/10 years would burn next to no cals comparatively speaking over the exact same distance.

The calorie intakes can be underestimated- was it 100g mashed potato or 130g? Did I have 3 pints at the weekend or 2? Was it a teaspoon of peanut butter on toast or 2? Etc. Also genuinely just forgetting. I’ve done it a million times remembering what I had to eat yesterday… and literally forgetting whole meals/ 3 snacks throughout the day etc.

But what happens to the fat cells themselves? Do they increase/decrease in size/amount/both?

What specifically makes the amount of fat reduce in the body? JUST a calorie deficit? Or do Macros matter?

Fat cell amounts stay the same at all times. Only the SIZE of the cells reduce (In very sever cases of obesity the actual amount of fat cells will increase too but this is not relevant to the VAST majority).
The sole reason why fat cells reduce in size is a calorie deficit. The research is incredibly clear and extensive on the topic in that when diets with the SAME calorie deficit but different in macros (Low carb compared with low fat) the outcomes are within reason identical.
Here is some extremely high quality research for confirmation:

And is it literally just a calorie deficit and that’s it? Or is there more to it?

There is genuinely nothing more in the end than a calorie deficit overall, whether you’re hydrated, on a low carb or low fat diet etc.

Having high protein intakes helps massively however as up to 30% of the cals we consume can

Everything you need to know about fat loss/weight loss!

Had an AWESOME question about weight loss recently

And is it literally just a calorie deficit and that’s it? Or is there more to it?

by Grant Alexander

So for the purpose of WEIGHT loss as in literally just the number going down in the scales it’s really important to bear in mind that hour to hour and week to week we can have natural weight fluctuations.

Potential reasons for not losing weight Long term:

But what happens to the fat cells themselves? Do they increase/decrease in size/amount/both?

So in summary:

1) Calorie deficit

2) Good quality protein intakes and correct amounts

3) Nothing else matters but personal preference to keep you happy!