Simple and Easy — Fat Loss for the Busy

I don’t believe that fat loss should require so much extra effort that it becomes an additional part of our daily routine. It is not the humongous task portrayed by today’s fitness influencers. In this article, I will propose a simplified model and an alternative perspective on fat loss, especially for those who don’t have much free time to spare in their daily lives.

Fat loss works on this basic principle: If you burn more calories than you eat, you will burn fat.
i.e., Fat burned = Calories spent in a day — Calorie intake.
When there is a need for extra energy beyond what you ate, the body will tap into fat reserves to make up for those calories (provided you are not doing anaerobic respiration, i.e., intensive activities such as weight training or sprinting. More about this in the last section).

The popular framework often quoted is that 60% of fat loss is about diet and 40% is about physical exercise . But the problem with this is that not everyone has time for this 40% exercise in their daily routine. Now, the exercise part can’t be completely foregone but can be further simplified to make things easier, especially for those who aren’t willing or unable to dedicate much time each day. With that being said, here is another way to look at fat loss:
Fat loss is still 50% about diet, 25% about daily activity levels and other lifestyle choices, and the remaining 25% can be attributed to exercise.

…

The Diet

Let’s understand why popular fat loss advice exists before discussing anything relevant. Why should one avoid calorie-dense foods during fat loss?

Since the goal is to eat fewer calories than we burn, avoiding calorie-dense foods makes space for healthy foods. Calorie-dense foods add more calories with very small quantities, which won’t satisfy your hunger, prompting you to eat more and thus adding more calories. Anything you eat above the required calories will be converted to fat, even if it is something extremely healthy. Therefore, foods like peanut butter, chocolate, and that slice of cake often offered in offices are NOT for you.

You will find tons of articles and videos on this part. Above everything that is already being said (multiple times by multiple people), I would like to add a few dos and don’ts.

Use the Cronometer app to log your daily food intake and monitor it
Download the Cronometer application and enter everything you eat so that you can get a fair idea of your daily calorie intake.
Check the amount of oil in “supposedly” non-oily foods — When it comes to fried foods, people are aware that they are oily and calorie-dense. But other food items, let’s say pasta, daal, vegetable sabzi, and chicken curry, too might contain considerable amounts of oil hidden in plain sight. Keep a check on the amount of oil used in your day-to-day cooking.
Don’t fall for the zero-sugar protein bar / millet bar / whatever-the-fu*k bar trap.
Excess sugar is bad, and so are any sugar alternatives with a high glycemic index (sometimes 4 times higher than that of sugar). I am no one to dictate what you should eat and what you should not, but please don’t eat something that is a product of opportunistic marketing, far more unhealthier than what it substitutes as a “HEALTHY” alternative. IT IS NOT HEALTHY. JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER SUGARY FOOD, THEY TOO CAUSE AN INSULIN SPIKE AND HARM YOUR METABOLISM.
Don’t deprive your body of quality food because you want to go on a caloric deficit. Don’t shy away from whole foods such as bananas, sweet potatoes, and curd/yogurt.
Quite contrary to the popular opinion/misconception, eating a single banana or a few pieces of boiled sweet potato or half a cup of curd/yogurt won’t magically inflate you. These are a few of the healthy foods that are victims of widespread fear-mongering. Bananas have a low glycemic index and release energy slowly into your bloodstream, helping you stay energetic throughout the day and are rich in potassium, an essential mineral. Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber and keep you satiated. Yogurt is probiotic and is good for your gut.

…

Activity Level and Lifestyle Choices

If you consider yourself someone who lives a sedentary life, spending your entire day sitting in front of a screen or at a counter, then this section is especially for you. Sitting in one place for long durations is associated with multiple conditions linked to obesity. Here are a few basic steps you can take which, over the long term, will have a huge impact on your health:

Incorporate walking into your daily routine.
Walk whenever possible. Walking, I believe, is one of the highest ROI exercises that any busy person can do. Try to walk as much as you can in a day. Steal 5–10 minutes every 1.5 hours from your schedule and utilize that time for walking. Have a mandatory walking session post-lunch and dinner. Try to walk at least 5000 steps during your working hours and 10000 steps per day. And do this consistently every day. This seemingly basic activity can help you burn more calories and make a very large difference without requiring you to move mountains.
Replace sitting with standing.
Standing may not burn substantially more calories compared to sitting, but it has its own benefits. While standing isn’t an effective weight-loss strategy, it can help some people avoid gaining weight. This is because even minor energy surpluses, like consuming slightly more calories than you burn each day, can lead to long-term weight gain and obesity.
Quit smoking and drinking.
No explanation is needed.

Elevated activity levels are beneficial regardless of whether you are a gym regular or a couch potato. Once you start exercising, your body will initially respond exceptionally well, and you will see very good results. But after a few weeks, your body will adapt to the exercise and figure out a way to perform those movements efficiently, burning as few calories as possible. This is when you might start wondering what you are doing wrong. It’s part of the process, and everyone will encounter it. But imagine you lead a very active life apart from exercises; then your day-to-day life, coupled with exercises, will form a positive feedback loop that yields far superior results. In my previous article, I have spoken about the same topic extensively.

Even if you are a young graduate who is freshly starting out in a corporate job, it is crucial to start monitoring your daily activity levels. Take proactive steps to keep it above a certain threshold.

…

Exercise

If you are someone who has very little time to spare, try to do at least 10 to 15 minutes of any form of exercise (preferably body weight exercises or weight training). You will find many exercise routines intended to be finished within 10–15 minutes.

For someone who has started exercising recently and is more oriented towards fat loss, below are some things to consider:

Don’t be overly fixated on losing fat alone ignoring muscles
Muscles are metabolism monsters that will make fat loss easier. More muscle implies more calories are being burned even when you are resting, i.e., high BMR.
Know the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration
This video has the best explanation of the topic.
Be consistent
If you are late by 30 minutes, then do 30 minutes of exercise instead of skipping the entire 1 hour session.

…

Ideal Daily Routine

The ideal everyday routine for a busy person is something like this —

An active life with walking atleast 10 to 15k steps per day
Very well managed High volume less calorie diet
A 30 minute exercise session ( 10 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of full body circuit exercises and 10 minutes of isolated movements).

This schedule practiced for long enough duration will let you achieve your fitness goals sustainably.

That feeling when you overcome the insecurity about your body and start to feel confident about it is worth every sacrifice. Losing fat/getting fit is just one aspect of that process. More power to you.

…

I hope you’re finding the blog helpful on your journey to better health and fitness! I would love to hear your feedback. Please take a moment to fill out this quick survey. Your input is incredibly important, and it will guide me in crafting even more practical, actionable advice for you. Thank you for being a part of this journey!

—

This post was previously published on medium.com.

***