Fat Loss, Simplified: How I Lose Weight Without Losing My Mind (or Muscle)

Burning fat and getting lean isn’t as complicated — or as time consuming— as you might think.

When done right, fat loss should only take up about a third of your year at a maximum. The other two-thirds? That’s where you focus on maintaining, building muscle, and boosting performance.

Cutting shouldn’t be your default mode.

If you’re always trying to lose fat, something is off. Either your approach isn’t working, your expectations are off, or your lifestyle needs a reset.

The crazy thing is, when you spend more time in the two-thirds of maintaining or building, it makes the one third (or less) of time spent burning fat so much easier. Your muscle and metabolism are higher, making fat loss easier (and looking even better when you do drop weight).

Once you get close to your ideal body weight or body composition, fat loss becomes even a much smaller percentage of your year (and possibly doesn’t need to happen at all if you know how to maintain).

This is the power of getting this right from the start.

The health and fitness industry thrives on making people believe like they should always be dieting. Unfortunately, that’s because most people are focusing on the wrong things, so they always have the pressure of being overweight or carrying around more fat than they want to.

I see many men fail on this fat loss pursuit, not from a lack of effort, but from too extreme of an effort from the start.

If that sounds backwards, here’s what I mean.

When you start off a cutting phase too aggressively — whether with a sharp reduction in calories or major overhaul to your current style of eating — you’re on a path to crash and burnout.

It becomes unsustainable…and eventually your willpower gives.

When this happens, you probably know the result:

• You end up slipping up
• Now that you’ve slipped up, you think ‘might as well enjoy this’ so you overeat more (and of course promise to get back on track tomorrow or on Monday)
• You get a big rebound in weight gain, which brings more guilt, and either drives you to another strict push or to give up altogether, telling yourself it’s just not the time

If I’m speaking your language, it’s because I’m speaking from experience.

I’ve personally been in this cycle many times, and I’ve worked with men struggling for months (or years) with the same negative patterns.

But now that I’ve overcome the negative cycle, it’s important to know…

Losing weight, burning fat, or cutting calories is not a long-term pursuit.

There should be distinct and defined periods of cutting weight with the goal of burning fat (losing weight and losing fat are not always the same).

Rarely should you be in a calorie deficit for more than 12-16 weeks at a time (a mistake I often made early on).

You don’t need more willpower, motivation, or a special diet.

What you need instead are systems, strategies, and habits that allow you to smoothly transition from a fat loss phase to a maintenance or muscle building phase.

If you feel like you’ve been in a weight loss phase for more than a few months, you’re probably making one of these mistakes:

• You’re stuck in the cycle I described above, bouncing from rigid dieting —> overeating —> back to rigid dieting. This is one of the worst cycles to be in. Your body takes on all the stress that comes with rigid dieting, and actually negatively rebounds harder when you overeat, and you end up worse off than if you were just losing weight more conservatively (or maintaining while building muscle)
• You’re treating your weight loss phase too relaxed. It’s never fun to be dieting or limiting overall calories. Your body does not feel good (or perform good) when you’re in this for too long. If you’re being lax with your weight loss phase, you’ll end up spending a lot more time cutting weight than you should be (which is actually harder on your body). If you’re going to commit to burning some fat and getting lean — you’re better off getting strict and doing it right — so that you can more quickly get back to more calories and more building muscle

Here are some small tweaks, systems, and habits I use when cutting fat that allow me to effortlessly shift from building muscle —> burning fat —> back to building muscle:

1. I eat 2-3 meals, and I don’t snack

More meals doesn’t mean faster metabolism.

Fewer meals doesn’t automatically mean fat loss.

Eating only 2-3 meals is not necessarily superior phyisologically, but it makes a huge difference for me psychologically. 

I’ve tried the 4-6 small meals throughout the day when trying to lose weight. It works for some, but it made me miserable. I was always focused on food, thinking about my next meal (if you could call it a meal), and I was almost always hungry. 

All of my successful cuts have involved 2 or 3 square meals. This allows me to eat real meals (600-1000 calories), allows my digestion a break beween meals, and regulates my blood sugar better to not have constant cravings.

Clients that I work with notice the exact same thing. Once they reduce their meal frequency and cut out the snacking they see much quicker results.

Quick note on snacking: it’s tempting to think a small snack will help bridge the hunger gap between meals. I’ve found this not to be the case personally or with my clients. By training yourself to eat at consistent times, and push through those periods of hunger between meals, it actually makes it easier to control hunger and calories.

2. I start calories high and adjust low

As mentioned above, many men fail on their dieting pursuits because they get too aggressive with restricting calories from the beginning. If you cut calories significantly from the start, this causes two major problems:

• Your body has a hard time adjusting. You experience a lot of hunger, fatigue, irritability, and poor performance in the gym.
• You don’t have much room to adjust lower as your body does adapt. If you’re already eating a low amount of calories, what happens when weight loss stalls? By starting calories higher, it gives you some margin to reduce calories further when weight loss slows.

3. I eat a lot more veggies and a little more protein

I eat lots of veggies year round, and protein is almost always close to 1g/lb for me. When I’m cutting, I increase both. 

• Veggies get a big bump. Veggies are extremely filling, filled with fiber, and low in calories. When you load your plate with veggies, you can have a high volume of food with relatively low calories. This allows me to feel like I’m eating more, makes sure I’m getting my micronutrients, and keeps me full for longer between meals.
• Protein gets a small bump. Seeing I’m already close to 1g/lb year round, protein doesn’t need a major bump. If you’re around 0.7-0.8g/lb of protein, you’re probably getting enough. I will personally go slightly above 1g/lb for two reasons. First, I enjoy it and it also leaves me feeling more full and satisfied. Second, I want to be safe and make sure I’m holding onto muscle mass as I drop weight

4. I change my carb timing and carb types

I used to think carbs were keeping me from getting lean (which I will admit I was wrong about).

I don’t change my carb timing or the carbs I’m eating because I think they’re bad (some people get really lean by keeping carbs really high). I do it because it just works better for me.

This is for two reasons. First, carbs are the foods I have the hardest times controlling quantities (and easiest time overeating). Second, when carbs get high, I get hungrier between meals and my blood sugar isn’t as stable. This affects both my hunger and my focus. 

Here is what I adjust:

• Carb amount and timing: when I’m in a maintenance phase or muscle building phase, I tend to eat more carbs and spread my carbs out relatively evenly across all my meals. Based on what time of the day I’m working out, this might change, but for the most part I eat more carbs and eat them more often.
• Carb types:
  • When maintaining weight or building muscle, I’ll eat more:
    • Rice
    • Potatoes
    • Bananas
    • Oats/grains
    • Chocolate
    • Other natural sweeteners – honey, maple syrup, etc
  • When cutting weight, I’ll eat more:
    • Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower)
    • Squash, pumpkin, beets (slightly higher in carb contents, but still relatively low compared to above list)
    • Berries and lower glycemic/calorie fruits

5. I pay more attention to fats, sauces, and oils

While I don’t avoid oils or fats when I’m cutting, I am more aware. When cutting, I tend to use less oil when cooking, avoid fattier cuts of meats, and limit sauces that are usually higher in fat. When I’m not worried about dropping weight, these aren’t as big of a deal (and can actually be helpful for me to hit my calorie targets).

When cutting, I’ll use a lot of mustard, hot sauce, and other low/zero calorie alternatives.

Well, let’s be real. I use hot sauce, all year round, on almost everything.

6. I decrease my high intensity cardio and increase my daily steps

This one doesn’t make sense to most people. Believe it or not, eating less and exercising more is not the answer.

When cutting, my ability to recover and push it hard is compromised. This is not the time I’m lifting hard at the gym while trying to improve my running performance.

I don’t jump on the assualt bike or hit long/hard runs. I actually do the opposite.

Instead I walk…a lot.

My goal is minimum 12,000 steps, but usually up to 15,000 when cutting.

Why is walking a superpower to burning fat?

• It burns calories without raising cortisol
• It doesn’t interfere with strength training or recovery
• It boosts digestion, insulin sensitivity, and mental clarity

It may not be 15,000 steps for you, but if you’re serious about cutting fat, you should be walking more.

7. When possible, I get more sleep

As a husband and dad of three, this isn’t always realistic, but I do put a high priority on it when possible. I aim for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep year round (minus the newborn days), but this increases to 8 and even upwards of 9 at times when cutting.

When I consistently hit high quality sleep…

• My hunger and cravings go down
• My recovery and workouts feel better
• My energy and discipline improve

No supplement, workout, or meal plan can replace high-quality sleep.

8. I get pretty strict on calorie tracking

You can absolutely lose weight without tracking — but for me It’s like a cheat code that basically guarantees my results.

But tracking your macros is a fast track way to:

• Build awareness of what you’re actually eating
• Spot problem areas (too little protein, too much fat, hidden calories)
• Hit your calorie deficit consistently

It doesn’t have to be forever.

But if you want a clear picture of what’s working (or what’s not), tracking is a powerful tool that will get you to your goals faster.

Which means less time cutting and more time building (and enjoying life).

9. Some days I eat more, some days I eat less, but I hardly ever go over my weekly ‘budget’

I alway vary my calorie intake throughout the week, with higher and lower calorie days — but probably more so when cutting weight.

Because I’m often tracking calories when cutting, I make sure to stick within my weekly budget no matter what (which is more important than hitting your daily calorie targets). However, if I’m less hungry on a day, I don’t eat all the calories I have planned for just because they are available.

Say my target calories is 2,300:

• Some days I’m right at that 2,300 number
• On days I’m not as hungry I may eat 1,800 calories, but…
• That also allows for me to eat 2,700 or 2,800 calories on days I feel like my body needs it

All while staying within a ‘budget’ that allows me to consistently drop fat.

10. I remind myself that hunger is a good thing

Due to food always being available in our pantry and the fast food line, we’re somehow trained that hunger is a bad thing. 

This small mindset shift or telling myself hunger is good is extremely beneficial for my results.

When you’re hungry, like actually hungry and not just craving food, there is a high likelihood your body is getting into its fat storages.

Digging into fat storages is the whole point of cutting calories or dieting, so why not embrace it?

11. I have a plan for coming out

Most people have no idea how to stop dieting — and this is one of the biggest mistakes.

This leads to rapid weight re-gain and forces you back into another dieting phase way too soon.

Make sure you have a plan for coming out of your diet. For me, this typically involves:

• A gradual increase in average calories by 100-250 calorie daily average per week, until I’m closer to maintenance. This isn’t necessary, but it allows me to better adapt
• I don’t go right back to eating the foods I missed, gave up, or love after a stricter dieting phase. This is way too easy to overeat and doesn’t allow my body to adjust. Instead, I’ll still keep most of my habits listed above — eating lots of veggies, protein, and the carb sources I listed (just slightly increasing quantities). Only when I’m feeling mentally/physically recovered will I start to increase more ‘non-diet’ foods like pizza, ice cream, sweets, etc

---

Those are a handful of ways that allow me to easily transition from a building phase to a cutting phase. The point is not to do all the same things I’m doing — but to find a few habits (or even one habit) that will allow you to sustainably and effectively drop fat.

You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) overhaul your whole life to lose fat.

It’s not complicated and doesn’t take a heroic effort.

It does take some discipline, the right habits, and consistency.

Start there and you’ll be amazed at your results.