Learn how to build your fat loss plan

If you search Google for diets for fat loss, you will find lots of results, the problem is, will you find the ideal diet for you?

Is there a diet that works for everyone?

Or do you have different needs from your colleague next door?

The truth is, the most important factor for the success of a diet, is that it is adapted to you, and that, is what does not exist in the generic diets that you find on the internet outside.

In addition, diet is only part of the equation and therefore we must also take into account weight training and cardio, and finally, supplementation.

So, what are you going to find here?

A guide that will help you build your own diet, help you with cardiovascular and weight training, and show you which supplements you can choose for this purpose.

This is not a guide that you read in 2 minutes, it is long, so it’s only worth reading if you want REALLY lose fat effectively.

Goals

What is the first step when looking to lose fat?
No, it's not signing up for the gym.

It is to define your goals.

It is not enough to say that you want to lose weight, you must define EXACTLY what you want in a concrete way. Be it losing 5kg, 10kg or having visible abdominals.

You must define a concrete, final and realistic objective.
In addition to defining the goal, you must set a deadline to reach it.

Why should you set a deadline?
?A goal without a timeline is just a dream.? ? Robert Herjavec

You don't need to put it on your bedroom wall that on June 5th at 4pm you will have 10kg less than today, but you must have a tangible date to reach your goal, this it will make you commit and take the plan seriously.

Losing weight is not only physical, but also mental. You really have to WANT to lose weight in order to be successful, it has to be essential for you, you have to take this process seriously.

Example.
António. I want to lose 2.5 kg by the end of this month, this is my goal and I will achieve it.
José. Want to see if I lose any weight?

Who do you think will be more successful?

Evolution

The evolution in a weight loss program is very different from what happens in a muscle mass gain program.

Why?

The evolution in a weight loss program is much faster than the evolution for those looking to gain muscle mass.

It is faster to burn 1 kg of fat than to gain 1 kg of muscle mass.

It is important to have a sense of the pace at which weight loss takes place, to make sure that we are moving in the right direction.

It is possible to lose 15kg in a few weeks, but is this what we are looking for?
Do not.

What we are looking for is to lose fat quickly, maintaining as much muscle mass as possible.

So while it is possible to lose 15kg in a few weeks, it would lead to very high muscle mass loss, and that is not what we want.

So, what is the pace that we should seek to achieve?
Something between 0.5kg to 1kg per week will be a good pace.

Probably at the beginning of the plan you will be closer to 1kg, while further ahead the pace will be closer to 0.5kg. It's normal.

Individual Approach

Why should you have your own diet instead of following your gym partner's?
Because there are too many individual factors that lead to different approaches, especially when it comes to diet.

Pedro who works in civil construction, cannot have the same food as João who works in an office, sitting long hours in front of a computer, even though his goals are identical.

In addition, someone who is easy to lose weight cannot follow the same plan as someone who has always had a tendency to gain weight, can they?

We will organize the construction of the plan by body type, and there are three main ones, they are: Ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph.

Each type of body requires different approaches, both in terms of calories and macronutrients.

Before you know how much and how you should eat, you must know what body type you fit into.

Ectomorph ? Ectomorphs are thin and have a typically narrower body frame, with a small rib cage and narrow shoulders as well. Typically this is the weakest body type of the three.

One of its main characteristics is the difficulty that the ectomorph has in gaining weight, due to its fast metabolism. This is a disadvantage when the goal is to gain weight and muscle mass, but when you want to lose fat, it is a great advantage.

However, as the endomorph loses weight quickly, care must be taken not to lose muscle mass in the process.

Mesomorph ? Of the three types, we can say that the mesomorph is the one that has the greatest advantage, as it has the best characteristics to develop a lean and muscular body.

Mesomorphs usually look athletic, often with little training. The shoulders are broad and are usually strong. Gain muscle easily and losing fat is also no problem for the mesomorph.

Although it has enormous advantages, the mesomorph can also be out of shape, and above all, if the goal is the best possible physical condition, proper training and a proper diet is important.

Endomorph ? The endomorph can be considered the opposite of the ectomorph. While the ectomorph is thin and thin, the endomorph is heavy, with a wide rib cage and broad shoulders. The endomorph easily gains muscle, but also fat, which makes it difficult for the endomorph to have a low body fat index.

The endomorph is clearly the one with the biggest obstacles when it comes to fat loss, however, it is not impossible to achieve low fat levels.

In addition, the endomorph's ability to gain muscle will help you burn fat in the long run.

These are the three main body types that exist, however, it does not mean that you have to identify the 100% with one of them.

The most likely is to be a mixture of two, however, there is always a prevalence for one of them, and that is where you should guide yourself to build your plan.

Calories and Macronutrients

The three macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates and fat.

If you live on planet Earth, you've probably heard of them.

The consumption, and especially the non-consumption, of macronutrients will be decisive to lose fat.

Each has its role in the body, so it is important to consume them in the correct amounts.

This is where the personalization of the diet begins, with each body type and degree of activity having different approaches to macronutrients and different caloric needs.

Calories

Calories for here.

Calories over there.

You've heard of calories, but what are they for sure?

Calories are the units of measurement used to show how much energy a food contains.

Your body burns calories daily, and what happens is:

• If you consume more calories than your body burns / uses, they will be stored as fat.
• If you consume fewer calories than your body burns / uses, your body will use energy reserves to achieve daily energy needs, burning fat in the process.

This is the most important thing in the whole process of losing fat.

If you only put one approach into practice for the entire guide, this would undoubtedly have to be caloric reduction.

Proteins, carbohydrates and fats contain calories.

One gram of protein contains 4 calories.

One gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories.

One gram of fat contains 9 calories.

Each body type will have different caloric requirements, in addition to which we will take into account the degree of activity of each one.

Ectomorph? Body weight x 31-32-33 = Number of daily calories
Mesomorph? Body weight x 30-31-32 = Number of daily calories
Endomorph? Body weight x 28-29-30 = Number of calories per day

How are you going to choose the number to multiply?
Easy.

• If your day is very sedentary, you use the first number to multiply by your body weight.
• If your day is moderate, you use the second number to multiply by your body weight.
• If your day is very active, you use the third number to multiply by your body weight.

Don't forget that, as you lose weight, you must adapt the number of calories per day.

It does not mean that you need to recalculate calories whenever you lose 1kg, but you should recalculate whenever your progress stops, or whenever your weight loss is significant, for example 5kg.

Now that you know how many calories you need daily, you need to know where you are going to get these calories.

Proteins

Proteins are fundamental molecules for the human body, and are responsible for immense functions, in which the most important for our objective will undoubtedly be the building and repairing muscle tissue.

In any weight loss plan, we must seek to burn fat and not muscle, and adequate protein consumption will help make that happen.
The body prefers to store the protein as muscle tissue, instead of using it as energy, however, these can be used as an energy source if the body needs it, it is called glycogenesis, and it is what we really want to escape.

How much protein should I consume?
Protein consumption in this program should be as follows:

Ectomorph ? Body weight x 2.65
Mesomorph ? Body weight x 2,875
Endomorph ? body weight x 3

Fats

Fats, or lipids, are essential molecules and should not be ignored, even in a fat loss plan.
This macronutrient plays a very important role at the hormonal level, and is essential in the testosterone production process.

Fat is the nutrient with the highest caloric density, that is, while carbohydrates and proteins contain 4 calories per gram, fats contain 9 calories, so we must pay attention to their consumption.

You should never eliminate this macronutrient from your diet, but it is undoubtedly the one that you should pay the most attention to, since a small slip in the consumption of lipids, easily leads to a large caloric increase.

How much fat should I consume?

Ectomorph

Between 45kg to 69kg body weight = 45 to 50 grams of fat per day
Between 70kg to 90kg of body weight = 50 to 55 grams of fat per day
More than 90kg of body weight = 55 to 60 grams of fat per day

Mesomorph

Between 45kg to 69kg of body weight = 40 to 45 grams of fat per day
Between 70kg to 90kg body weight = 45 to 50 grams of fat per day
More than 90kg of body weight = 50 to 55 grams of fat per day

Endomorph

Between 45kg to 69kg of body weight = 50 to 55 grams of fat per day
Between 70kg to 90kg body weight = 55 to 60 grams of fat per day
More than 90kg of body weight = 60 to 65 grams of fat per day

Carbohydrates

When we talk about carbohydrates, we talk about energy, since this is the main function of this nutrient. When you ingest carbohydrates, they are either quickly used as energy, or stored as glycogen, to be used later.

When the body has low glycogen levels, it can start using amino acids (muscle) as an energy source, that is, carbohydrates can also be considered anti-catabolic. In addition, this nutrient plays an important role in insulin release.

You should not neglect carbohydrates, as they will give you better training, and better results, but you should use them in the right amounts, and at the best times.

How much carbohydrate should I consume?

Now that you’ve calculated the amounts of protein and fat you’ll need to consume daily, it’s easy to calculate how many carbohydrates you’ll need.
All the calories that are left after calculating both proteins and fats, should be used for carbohydrates.

See how many calories are left to reach your daily calorie requirement and divide this value by 4. This is the amount of carbohydrates you should consume per day.

Choice of food

You already know the amounts of macronutrients that you should consume per day, so now let's move on to the foods that you should use to achieve those same amounts.

First of all, the type of food you use is much less important than the amount of food you consume daily.

This means that you can even use the healthiest foods possible, but if you are in excess of calories, you will not be successful in your plan.

Proteins

When looking to build and maintain muscle tissue, protein consumption is essential.

The best sources of protein are animal proteins.

These are the main foods that you should use in your diet as a protein source:

• Chicken and turkey breast
• Fish
• Cottage cheese
• Quark cheese
• Lean cuts of pork and cow
• Eggs
• Protein Supplements

Fats

Fats play several important roles in the body, so you should not eliminate this macronutrient from your diet.

Some fatty acids are considered essential, because the body cannot produce them, you must consume sources of fat high in essential fatty acids, and you have excellent choices here:

• Fish oil
• Oil
• Linseed oil
• Oil
• Dry fruits
• Peanut butter or almond
• Gems *
• Salmon*

* Yolks and salmon are also excellent sources of protein.

Finally, it is important to highlight two fats ? Saturated fats and hydrogenated fats.

Although the reputation of saturated fats is not the best, they play an important role in the body, and should not be eliminated from the diet, only ingested in a reduced form in relation to essential fatty acids.

As for hydrogenated fats, they do not play any role in the human body, and must be eliminated entirely from the diet.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy and can be classified into two categories: Complex and simple.

In a simplified way, we can say that complexes provide a slower and more sustained release of energy, while simple ones cause a rapid burst of blood sugar.

We should prioritize complex carbohydrates with every meal, except in the post-workout shake, where simple carbohydrates can and should be used.
Simple carbohydrates increase insulin levels more markedly compared to complexes, being useful after training to reduce cortisol levels and therefore reduce the catabolic effects of training.

Here you have the best choices of carbohydrates:

• Brown rice and pasta
• Sweet potato
• Oat
• Vegetables
• Whole grain bread
• Beans
• Fruit
• Dextrose (simple)
• Maltodextrin (simple)

Again, these foods are the best and most nutritious choices, however, it does not mean that you cannot include other foods that are not here, it just means that they should be the basis of your diet.

Lastly, don't forget to include a good dose of vegetables in your diet, such as broccoli. Vegetables offer large amounts of vitamins, minerals and fiber for a healthy, but also effective, diet.

When to eat?

We have already seen that the most important point for the success of a fat loss diet is the calories.

Then we have the distribution of macronutrients, the choice of food, and now we pass the next level: the most important times to eat your meals.

There are 5 important times of the day to eat your meals, 3 of which can be considered crucial.

Breakfast

We start with breakfast, your first meal of the day and one of the top 5 meals you should have.

You should not skip breakfast, especially when the goal is to sleep a few more minutes, and the consequence is to eat a croissant at the cafe closest to your work.
If you want the best possible results, you shouldn't make this mistake.

When you eat a protein-rich breakfast, you will have a greater satiety and therefore you will reduce the possibility of making mistakes in the diet. (Link)
In addition, after eight hours or more without eating any food, your body will thank you for a good dose of protein.

Pre workout

The pre-workout meal is one of those considered crucial, since this is what will serve as ?fuel? for your training.
The act of training alone is already quite catabolic, being the most catabolic moment of the day, and that is why a good meal is very important here.

You should consume a meal composed of carbohydrates and proteins before training, in order to have energy and provide the amino acids that the body needs to get the best out of the training.
This meal should be taken between 1.5 to 3 hours before training.

Post-workout shake

Even with a good pre-workout meal, secretion of catabolic hormones during training is inevitable, so this is another one of the crucial moments when you must supply the key nutrients to your body.

Cortisol levels remain high after training, and will remain high if you do nothing to lower them.
The best way to reduce cortisol and start promoting anabolism quickly, is by combining proteins and simple carbohydrates after training.

The best meal you can have right after your workout is a smoothly assimilated protein shake, together with simple carbohydrates.
This will provide the amino acids necessary for muscle building and will cause a marked release of insulin.

Insulin is a cortisol antagonist, that is, when insulin levels are high, cortisol levels are low, and vice versa.
In addition, insulin is an extremely anabolic hormone that promotes protein synthesis and nutrient absorption.

Post-workout meal

The third crucial meal that you cannot skip is the post-workout meal.

After training you should take a fast-absorbing shake and also simple carbohydrates, to quickly lower cortisol levels, and promote muscle growth quickly. However, as this shake is fast-acting, it will not maintain protein synthesis at high levels for a long time. You should therefore consume a solid meal between 1 and 2 hours after training.

This meal should consist of proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Before bedtime

Lastly, another important time to have a meal is before bed.
This is another valuable time to eat a protein-rich meal, which will provide a flow of amino acids during sleep, and thus promote muscle recovery.Link)

Ideal for this meal will be a slow-absorbing protein intake, such as cottage cheese, quark cheese, or a casein supplement. This will allow for a constant flow of amino acids during the night.
Another interesting nutrient to add to this meal is fats.
Fats will delay the absorption of proteins, which is perfect before bed.

As for carbohydrates before bed, it is not negative as many make it seem.
Imagine that your daily carbohydrate consumption is 250g, and before going to sleep you still need 30g to reach this value, there is no problem in ingesting these 30g before going to sleep.
No, they will not be instantly converted to fat.

Organize the plan

You already know the amounts of macronutrients, and you already know the most important times to ingest them.

What's missing now?

Know the quantities you should use per meal.

Proteins

You should ideally divide the total amount of protein by the number of meals you eat each day.
That is, if you eat 5 meals a day, take the total amount of protein you should consume daily, and divide by 5.

Example. If you need to consume 200g of protein per day and eat 5 meals, divide that 200g by 5, that is, you will consume an average of 40g for each meal.

Carbohydrates

Unlike proteins, you should be more careful when you consume carbohydrates, as they cause a marked release of insulin, and you should take advantage of this hormone, not be harmed by it.

The three main moments in which you should consume carbohydrates are the pre-workout meal, the post-workout shake and the post-workout meal.
You should distribute the carbohydrates in this way:

35% of carbohydrates in the pre-workout meal
20% of carbohydrates in post-workout shake
25% of carbohydrates in the post-workout meal

If you add these values, you will conclude that there are still 20% of this nutrient left. These 20% should be consumed when you prefer.
If you like to make a big breakfast, you can choose to have them for breakfast. You can also divide these 20%s into two meals, the choice is yours.

Fats

The only time of the day when you should really avoid consuming fats is after your workout, as fats will delay the absorption of these meals, and after training that is not what we are looking for.
In the rest of the meals, there is no problem in adding this macronutrient.

You can spread your fat intake over several meals, or you can concentrate it on two or three specific meals.
A good time to consume fats is before bed, as they will delay the absorption of this meal, which is positive when you will be eating for several hours.

High carbohydrate days

If you've ever been on a fat loss diet, you know how these programs usually work.
First the weight comes off quickly and easily, then it takes longer, until it reaches a stage, in which little or nothing happens, progress stagnates.

Why does this happen?

The body's main concern is survival. When you go through long periods of time when you supply less energy to the body than it needs, it assumes that the supply is scarce, and therefore adapts itself so that the energy consumption goes down.

It's basically like you're driving a car, with only 20km of fuel left, but you don't know when and where you're going to find another petrol station again. It can even be 2km, as it can be 50km, you just don't have that information.

And what do you do in this situation?
You reduce the speed, you try to save fuel, because you don't know when you can refuel, and at the risk of running out of fuel and so the car stops, you reduce consumption.

It's the same thing that happens with the human body, when it finds itself with little ?fuel?, it starts to save. It reduces leptin levels and lowers energy consumption, in order to lower the rate at which it burns its energy reserves, that is, fats.

Leptin is one of the major hormones in fat burning, and when we are low on this hormone, we are unlikely to succeed in our weight loss program.
One way to keep leptin levels high is through days with high carbohydrate intake.

How much to use?

The amount of carbohydrates you should use these days, depends a lot on your body type. The increase should be between 55% to 155% in the amount you regularly eat.

If your body type is ectomorphic, then you should be closer to 150%.
If, on the other hand, you have a slower metabolism and consider yourself an endomorph, you will want to get closer to 50%.
Finally, the mesomorph should be increased by 100%.

For example, José is endomorphic with a slow metabolism, and normally consumes 200 grams of carbohydrates per day.
An increase of 55% means that he should eat 310g on a high carbohydrate day.
These carbohydrates should be distributed throughout the day as on a normal day.

In addition, this increase in carbohydrate levels means that you will eat more calories this day than the rest, which will not only help you hormonally, but will also serve a little to ?recharge your batteries?.

You can use these days on a rest day to help with recovery, or, you can use them in your heaviest workout of the week, such as leg training.

Frequency of high days in HC

It is important to introduce these days high in carbohydrates in your plan, however, these should not be too frequent, as this would harm your fat loss plan.
The frequency of these days will again be different from person A to person B.

More than 10% of body fat
Ectomorph? once every 7-8 days
Mesomorph? once every 8-9 days
Endomorph? once every 9-10 days

Less than 10% of body fat
Ectomorph? once every 4-6 days
Mesomorph? once every 5-7 days
Endomorph? once every 6-7 days

Cardiovascular Training

Now that you have your meal plan organized and ready to put it into practice, it's time to move on to the training part.
Let's start by addressing cardio training.

HIIT Training

The HIIT workout is a workout performed at intervals of high intensity, combined with intervals of low intensity, or rest.
An example of HIIT training:
You do a sprint, that is, you do your maximum effort for a short period of time, for example 30 seconds, and then rest for 1 minute.
This cycle is repeated several times.

The biggest benefits of HIIT training are a greater use of fat, in the period after training, in relation to any other type of cardio, that is, even after training is finished, metabolism remains high, burning calories and fat more quickly.

Then, the time spent on this type of cardio is much less than that of ordinary low-intensity cardio.
In addition, this training method is much more motivating than spending eternities on a treadmill.

The biggest disadvantage of HIIT training, is that it cannot be performed many times during the week, especially during a low calorie diet.
This type of training is very demanding not only on a physical level, but on a mental level. For this reason, you should only do two HIIT training sessions per week, for periods of 10 to 20 minutes per session.
These workouts should be done on days without weight training.
Start with just 10 minutes, and gradually increase as you progress.
You can use the type of cardio exercise you prefer, from running, to elliptical or bicycle.

Find more information about HIIT training here.

MISS Training

MISS training is medium intensity and medium duration training. Since we will limit ourselves to two HIIT training sessions per week, we will complement the plan with this type of cardio, which is less taxing not only physically, but mentally, and it will allow us to burn some extra calories.

This type of training must be carried out with a moderate intensity, and its duration, as we have already seen, must also be moderate. As with HIIT training, cardio exercise is indifferent, choose the one you like to do the most, or alternating.
Unlike HIIT, in this type of cardio training, the intensity must be maintained steadily throughout the session. If you are unable to maintain the same pace throughout your workout, you should reduce the intensity in the next session.

And what is a moderate intensity?
Something between 65% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. It is the type of intensity high enough to make you sweat, but moderate to the point where you can speak while doing your exercise.
The duration of the training should never exceed 35 minutes, staying between 20 to 35 minutes as an ideal duration.

How many MISS training sessions per week?

We already know that the HIIT training must be performed twice a week, now, as for the MISS training the number is not so certain.

You should add MISS training sessions as needed, that is, if you see that two HIIT training sessions are not delivering the results you are looking for, add one or two MISS training sessions per week.
It starts with just one or two sessions per week, and increases up to a maximum of four sessions.

At the beginning you will not need to add this type of training more than once, or twice a week, as the diet and the rest of the plan will give you good results.

You should use this type of training as a weapon for when progress starts to slow down.

Bodybuilding Workout

Weight training is essential, even when the goal is to lose fat. Not only do you burn calories during weight training, but the fact that you have a higher percentage of muscle mass will lead you to burn more calories on a daily basis.
Do not make the mistake of prioritizing cardiovascular training and leave weight training behind.

It is important to distinguish between, losing weight and losing fat, as they are not always the same thing.

If you focus only on cardio training and neglect bodybuilding training, you will undoubtedly lose weight and fat, the problem is that you will also lose a lot of muscle mass.

If, on the other hand, you bet on weight training in conjunction with cardio training, you will probably not lose as much weight in the short term as the person who forgets weight training, since they will also lose a lot of weight due to the loss of muscle mass. , however, in the medium and long term you'll burn more fat, and get a much more aesthetic physique.

Type of training

Bodybuilding training is essential in this process, you know that, now, what kind of training should you do?
Let's start by dismissing now the biggest myth that exists, in relation to bodybuilding training applied to fat loss.

High repetitions and light weights?
Do not.

You should not use high repetitions and light weights to achieve greater fat burning. If you are coming from a muscle mass training plan, you can continue the same training with weights you already did. What can happen in the medium to long term is a small drop in loads, natural, due to the lower caloric consumption.

The repetitions should be between 6 and 12 per exercise, never below this number, since the risk of injury is greater in fat loss plans.

The best approach will be to use heavy and compound exercises, to train each body part 1 to 2 times a week, without neglecting any muscle. (Yes, the legs are also muscles, be sure to train them.)

Abdominal training

Those looking to lose fat, usually want to have defined abs, so we see a lot of people doing Olympic series of abdominal exercises daily.

Is this how you get the famous sixpack?
Difficultly.
First of all, abdominal training will not burn fat in the belly area. That is, if this area is very fat, there is no abdominal training that works miracles.
What will give you sit-ups will be a good diet, done consistently, with cardio and weight training.

Now, this does not mean that you do not need to train abs.
The abdominals, like all other muscles, must be worked on to achieve the best possible results. You must train them with specific exercises once or twice a week. Bodybuilding training with compound exercises, cardio training and diet together with abdominal training, that will give you the desired sixpack.

Supplementation

Finally, let's discuss the supplements you can use to help you with your fat loss program.

Whey Protein

Whey protein is the basic supplement for the gym athlete, and can also be a great help when the goal is to lose weight.
The benefits of protein are obvious, and whey protein is one of the best sources of this macronutrient.

It will help you maintain your lean mass while dispatching the fat mass and, due to its rapid absorption, it is your best bet after an intense workout.

In addition, you can use this supplement to increase the protein content of meals, and more easily meet your daily protein needs.

To find out more about whey protein supplements, you can find here our guide with all the information you need.

If you don't know which whey supplement you should buy, try going through our analysis zone.

Fish Oil / Fish Oil

Supplementing with fish oil has immense benefits, many beyond simple weight loss. Fish oil consists of two fatty acids called EPA and DHA, that is, omega-3.

Our diet tends to consist of an enormous amount of omega-6 and much lower doses of omega-3, which will create a negative imbalance.

Some of the benefits of omega-3 are:

• Helps reduce body fat (Link)
• Decreases inflammation (Less risk of injury)
• Increases insulin sensitivity
• Improves cardiovascular health

Not only does it optimize fat loss, it also plays a key role in health.

You find the Omega-3 available here.

Caffeine

Supplementation with caffeine also has benefits when the goal is to lose fat.

We can classify two great benefits of supplementation with caffeine, the increase in thermogenesis (Link) and increased energy.
With the increase in thermogenesis we will have a higher fat burning rate, in other words, you will burn more fat than you would burn without caffeine for the same period of time.

As for the energy aspect, when you ingest caffeine before training, you can get more performance, due to the greater energy and alertness conferred by caffeine.

Note. It is advisable not to abuse caffeine, and not to use it whenever you are tired, as the caffeine loses its effect with prolonged intake and increased dosage.
Do not mistake lack of will, lack of energy.

You find caffeine in tablet here, or simply use coffee.

5-HTP

If you have difficulty controlling your appetite, this is an interesting supplement that can help you.

Unlike caffeine, which increases thermogenesis, 5-HTP has a more indirect effect on fat loss, as it will lead to weight reduction by reducing food consumption.

When you go on low-calorie diets, the levels of tryptophan go down, and consequently, also lower the levels of serotonin, since tryptophan is the precursor amino acid of serotonin.
Low levels of serotonin lead to the famous ?cravings?, that huge desire to eat sweets, making it more difficult to stick to your plan.

Supplementation with 5-HTP leads to an increase in serotonin levels, and consequently mitigates this problem, leading to greater satiety. (Link 1 and Link 2)

If your problem with fat loss diets is hunger, this is an interesting supplement to try.

You find 5-HTP available here.

These are just some of the interesting supplements that you can include in your plan.

One type of supplement that you would expect to find here would be so-called fat-burners.

And why aren't they here?

Because they are supplements that often bring ingredients that are more harmful than beneficial, without studies proving their effectiveness and sometimes their safety.

Of course there are exceptions, but you are well served with the supplements we recommend here.

Extra

Record the loads you use in each workout, and the number of repetitions and sets.

As you reduce calories and weight, the tendency will be to reduce loads and make training easier, often without realizing it. This is simply because you have less energy and tired more easily.

When you record the loads, repetitions and sets you use in each workout, it will be easier in the next workout to maintain the intensity of the previous workout.

You can also record cardio times, to make sure you are not regressing.

Don't limit yourself to assessing progress by scale

There are many ways to measure progress when the goal is to lose fat, however, the one where you have the most faith is usually the balance.

Don't limit yourself to assessing your progress by the scale, the mirror also counts.
Don't limit yourself to evaluating your progress in the mirror, you often fall into error and discourage yourself.

The ideal is to combine more than one method of evaluation.

If you look the same in front of the mirror, but the scale says you have 1kg less than last week, you have made progress.
If the scale says you are the same weight, but in front of the mirror you look thinner and more defined, you may have gained muscle mass and lost fat mass, you have made progress.

Another way to measure your progress that you can easily add to these two methods is through measurement.
Measure your arms, waist, hips and both legs. Add these numbers up and write them down on paper. When this number goes down, it is a sign that you have made progress.

Another simple method is to take weekly pictures in front of the mirror. It is important to always take at the same time of day and with the same lighting.

This leaves you with 4 simple assessment methods, which will allow you to better measure your progress. When you are unmotivated, look for example at the photos you took from the beginning of the plan, and see how much you have already evolved.

Don't follow all the advice they give you

Nowadays, everyone has a say when it comes to losing fat, whether it's training or eating.
In addition, nowadays everyone is PT, mainly online.

There are several approaches to losing fat effectively, but there are two common denominators in all of them: Consistency and calorie deficit.

These are the two rules that all weight loss diets follow, and that make up the bulk of the results.
The secret to achieving good results is to be consistent. Don't jump from plan to plan weekly, or change your diet every other day just because you read a new article.
You don't have to be a genius to gain or lose weight, nor do you need the latest science to achieve it.

What does it take?

Consistency and work.

?We are what we repeatedly do.? ? Aristotle

This article was based on the Muscle & Strength guide that you can find here.

If you have any questions or suggestions, use the comments area below.