Instead of overloading clients with complicated workouts or detailed meal plans, we use an approach based on years of cognitive and behavioral research.
It’s called habit-based coaching and it’s helped us change literally thousands of lives. But we’ll get into that in a minute. And we’ll show you how it can work for you, too.
First, let’s go over what a good fat-loss program looks like.
THE 5 RULES OF FAT LOSS
Successful fat loss plans have a few things in common. Five, actually. You probably already know what they are, but let’s refresh just in case.
1. Don’t eat so much
In other words, if you’re eating a typical diet, you’re probably eating a bit too much food to lose fat. That’s right, the food you eat that isn’t used by your body for energy and re-building gets stored as fat. Simple stuff, but it’s often overlooked. That’s because most of us have no idea how much food we really eat.
Our job is to help our clients become aware of how much food they’re eating. Seems small, but it makes a big difference.
Here’s a simple way to do that: Grab a notebook and write down everything you eat for the next three days, or start using Livestrong’s easy online food diary and calorie tracker, MyPlate. After three days of tracking your food, you’ll have a pretty good idea of how much food you normally eat.
Then all you have to do is replace a few calorie dense foods with calorie dilute foods. Or just trim back your portions a little. Voila. Same amount of food, instant calorie-reduction, no stress.
2. Eat healthy food
Depending on who you ask, “healthy” food can mean different things. But there is one universal truth: More nutrients with fewer calories is a recipe for success.
In general, the best foods are lean meats, vegetables, high-quality fats, and maybe a small amount of starches, depending on your carbohydrate tolerance. The best part about these foods? They’re also fairly low in calories compared to processed stuff.
But what’s all that look like on a plate? Just check out this graphic:
And for those meals directly after a workout:
What about plant-based eaters? We’ve got them covered too.
