How to approach losing fat

A small amount of knowledge followed by a scientific process can help people achieve their goals.

One approach that's worked for me is as follows:

Gather a small amount of knowledge grounded in science
Set a process for measurement
Observe results
Make changes
Observe results
Back to step 4, but continue researching and gathering knowledge.

Let's take this approach with weight loss, and instead of following endless diets, we might go on our knowledge-gathering journey.

First, we go to the fundamentals. Fat loss occurs in a calorie deficit—total energy expenditure minus our energy consumption.

Most people know this, but digging into its details might help. For example, what is a calorie?

"A calorie is amount of heat required at a pressure of one atmosphere to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree."

Hmm, how does that help us know how much to eat? Let's dig in.

What are calories, and how do we know how many calories are in food?

A bomb calorimeter measures the energy produced when food burns.

Mostly, the food is dehydrated, then powdered and finally moulded into pellets. Next, we put the shots in the bomb calorimeter, which is put into the water itself.

A spark sets the pellet ablaze; the energy recorded is the calories you see on your favourite chocolate bar.

Given the ever-decreasing attention span worldwide, I have tried to sum it up in as few words as possible. Yet if you have your thinking hat, you'll notice some problems.

Humans are a bit different.

We can't extract all the energy from food
Digesting food burns calories (called the thermic effect of food)
It isn't easy to know how many calories are in the vast array of home-cooked meals

Under the majority of jurisdictions, many food manufacturers must label how much energy is in their food. The hope was that this would help alleviate the weight gain seen worldwide (it has not helped at all because humans are a bit more complicated than that, but that's a discussion for another time).

Measuring calories in

Before we start trying to implement a calorie-deficit diet, it's good to measure the effects of your lifestyle regularly.

Here are some ways you can measure your calorie intake:

Apps:

Mobile apps like MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, and Macrofactor allow people to log meals by searching through extensive databases of food items.

Food Diaries:

The traditional method of maintaining a food diary involves jotting down everything you eat and drink throughout the day. This manual recording helps raise awareness of eating habits and portion sizes.

Pre-Packaged Food Labels:

Despite the caveats about the bomb calorimeter, this is still an excellent place to start, but it has its pitfalls because it's not always convenient to eat only packaged food.

Before attempting to lose weight, it's good to pick a method of measuring that is sustainable for you and your lifestyle. I find food-logging apps annoying, but some people swear by them.

Now that we have covered measuring food, we must pick another metric to correlate our food intake with fat loss.

Measuring fat-loss

Here, we pick one form of measurement that we will do regularly.

Using a Scale:

The most common method is using a bathroom scale. Stepping on a scale provides a numerical representation of total body weight. Regularly weighing oneself, preferably under consistent conditions like in the morning before eating or drinking, helps monitor changes over time.

Body Composition Scales:

These specialized scales estimate total weight and body composition metrics like body fat percentage, muscle mass, and water weight. They use bioelectrical impedance or other methods to provide a more comprehensive view of body composition.

Professional Assessments:

Health professionals, such as doctors, dietitians, or fitness trainers, may offer more detailed assessments using tools like DEXA scans or hydrostatic weighing for precise body composition analysis.

Body fat percentage indicates the proportion of fat to the body's total weight. It's a crucial metric as excessive body fat can pose health risks. Measuring fat gain or loss involves specific methods:

Skinfold Calipers:

This method involves measuring skinfold thickness at various body sites using callipers. One can estimate body fat percentage based on these measurements by pinching specific areas like the triceps or abdomen.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA):

Many body composition scales and handheld devices use BIA to estimate body fat percentage by sending a low-level electrical current through the body. Fat conducts electricity differently than muscle, allowing for estimations based on resistance.

Visual Assessments:

Visual body shape and size changes can also indicate fat gain or loss. While less precise than other methods, observing changes in how clothes fit or body contours can offer clues about changes in body composition. This can be as simple as taking a selfie every day.

The important part is to pick something that you can use regularly.

Making changes

After tracking your food intake and body for a few weeks, you can start experimenting with changing your diet. There is no superior diet; the one that works for you is the best (which is the point of this approach).

This is the hard way to lose weight, and it's also a hard sell. Most of the work is done by you; it's boring and boils everything down to observing results based on changes.

Yet it works, and you get ownership over it. Who knows, you might even stumble upon the next hot diet.