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How to Lose Weight. Simply.
We've seen it countless times.
Someone comes to us and says they don't eat much. They're on 1,200 calories a day and can't lose weight. Months, sometimes years, telling the same story to themselves and everyone around them.
This isn't lying. It's a drift from reality.
They believed it because their serving looked small. The salad at lunch wasn't much. Dinner was just meat and veg. So in their mind, calories were under control.
But they weren't weighing and logging everything. The cooking oil in the pan. The small piece of chocolate after dinner. The two bites of their kid's pasta. The wine on Friday night. The dressing on that salad that wasn't much.
None of it feels like it counts. But it does.
20 calories here. 50 there. Spread across the day, seven days a week, and you're looking at 600 to 700 extra calories daily. Nearly 5,000 calories over the course of a week. That's not a broken metabolism. That's an invisible surplus hiding in plain sight.
The gap between what people think they're eating and what they're actually eating is usually where the answer sits.
The untracked surplus.
The binge eating session that follows restriction.
The denial.
The truth.
This post is about closing that gap. And everything else that actually makes fat loss work.
STOP FOCUSING ON THE SCALE
The number on the scale is not the full story.
Two people can weigh exactly the same and look, move, and feel completely different. What matters far more than total body weight is what that weight is made up of, how much is muscle, and how much is fat.
More muscle means a faster metabolism, better performance in training, and more efficient movement. Less excess body fat means less strain on your joints, better heat management during workouts, and reduced risk of conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The goal isn't to weigh less. The goal is to build a body that works better. That generally happens when lean muscle mass is higher and body fat percentage is lower.
When training and nutrition are right, that change tends to follow naturally.
THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES YOU LOSE FAT
A calorie deficit.
That's it. Fat loss happens when you burn more calories than you consume. Keto, intermittent fasting, low fat, clean eating, the method changes, the labels change, the rules change. The mechanism doesn't. It never has.
The good news is you don't need to go low.... At first.
Start here:
Multiply your bodyweight in kilograms by 30 to 35. That's your daily calorie target for fat loss.
A 70kg person = 2100 to 2450 calories per day.
Start at the mid to higher end of the range. If we don't see a change after 2 to 3 weeks of solid compliance, reduce by 10% or 200 calories. The best approach is the one you can stick to while still training well, recovering properly, and living your life. You can always reduce later if progress stalls.
BUILD YOUR MEALS AROUND PROTEIN
If there's one thing to focus on, it's protein.
Protein protects your muscle while you're in a deficit. It keeps you fuller for longer. It reduces cravings and helps with appetite control in a way that carbs and fats simply don't match.
Target: 2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day.
A 70kg person = 140g of protein daily.
Include a protein source at every meal. Eggs, chicken, beef, fish, Greek yoghurt, protein shakes. Spread it across the day rather than trying to hit your target in one sitting.
LET EVERYTHING ELSE FILL IN
Once protein is set, keep fat moderate and let carbohydrates make up the rest of your calories.
Fat supports hormones and overall health. A rough guide is 0.7 to 1.0 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day.
Carbohydrates fuel your training. They're not the enemy. Whatever calories are left after protein and fat are accounted for, carbs fill that gap.
Simple order:
- Set your calorie target
- Hit your protein
- Keep fat reasonable
- Carbs fill the rest
WHAT DOES A DAY OF EATING ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?
This is where most people get stuck. The theory makes sense, but translating it into a real day of food is another thing entirely.
We've put together two examples below. Both hit around 2,000 calories with strong protein. One is built for when you have time to cook. The other is for when life gets in the way and you need something fast.
One is slightly more nutritious on paper. But from a calorie and fat loss standpoint, both work the same.
Both days sit at around 2,000 calories with strong protein. The no time day leans on ready-made meals and takes zero prep. The got time day uses whole ingredients and gives you more control over what goes in.
The point is the same either way: hit your calories, lead with protein, and build a structure you can repeat.
TRACK YOUR FOOD
Tracking food turns guesswork into real data. It closes the gap between what you think you're eating and what you're actually eating.
We use Cronometer with our members because it's built around verified nutritional data, not crowdsourced guesses. Use the barcode scanner for packaged food and weigh everything else in grams.
The common drift points to watch:
- Cooking oils and dressings, small amounts, large calories
- Bites and tastes that never get logged
- Weekend intake that's higher than it feels
- Eyeballing portions instead of weighing after you've been tracking for a while
- Calling a meal small because it felt small, not because you measured it
The goal isn't perfection. It's accuracy good enough to act on.
WEIGH YOURSELF CONSISTENTLY, NOT OBSESSIVELY
Body weight fluctuates daily. Hydration, sodium, sleep, stress, and hormones all move the number up and down. A single weigh-in means nothing.
What matters is the trend over two to three weeks.
Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom, before eating or drinking. Same conditions every time. Then look at the average over time, not the daily number.
If the trend is genuinely flat after two to three weeks of solid compliance, reduce intake by 200 calories and repeat.
CONSISTENCY BEATS PERFECTION EVERY TIME
One bad day doesn't derail progress. One missed meal doesn't undo a week of good habits.
What does derail progress is when one off day becomes three, then a week, then a pattern.
Your body doesn't reset overnight. It carries over: fuel, hydration, recovery. When your baseline habits are solid, you can handle the days that aren't perfect. When they're not, everything feels like an uphill battle.
Stop asking "did I eat well today?" Start asking "what has my routine looked like over the last few days?"
That's the question that actually reflects where your results are heading.
NO FOODS ARE OFF LIMITS
A diet built mostly on whole foods, lean meats, vegetables, fruit, quality carbs, will generally produce the best results. Better energy, better recovery, better appetite control.
But that doesn't mean certain foods are banned.
When most of your day is dialled in, there's room for flexibility. A biscuit, a soft drink, a piece of chocolate. These don't break a plan. They often make it easier to stick to.
When calories come down during a harder phase, those foods naturally reduce. Not because they're bad, but because there's less room for them.
The relationship with food matters. A plan you resent won't last.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Losing weight isn't complicated. It does require consistency.
Eat in a moderate deficit. Prioritise protein. Build meals around whole foods. Track your intake until the patterns become clear. Weigh yourself regularly and adjust based on trends, not emotions.
Do that repeatedly, not perfectly, but consistently, and results follow.
That's all this is.
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