How to Diet- A Comprehensive Guide

Dieting isn’t as hard, or as expensive as people make it out to be.

The Weight Loss Formula

As mentioned in the linked article the weight loss formula is simple.

(BMR) > (Calories Consumed)-(Calories Burned)

Or quite simply: Eat less calories than  your body needs. 

Step #1. Figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain current weight (BMR).

Before you can start dieting, you really should figure out how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight . I like to use this calculator to calculate my BMR. Currently my BMR is approximately 1900 calories (I’m 5’8, 192, 32 years old). BMR is the calculation of how many calories your body needs to maintain current weight if you were just sitting and breathing all day. This doesn’t include what your body needs if you workout, work, etc.

 

Step #2. How many pounds of fat do I want to burn each week?

Of the thousands of people who will read this article, I’m sure 95% of you will say “as much as possible”. Although this sounds like a good idea, it is not. Losing weight too fast can be detrimental to your health. You should want to lose weight safely and effectively while leaving as much muscle as possible.  The old adage is that cutting calories by 500 a day will help you burn 1 pound of fat a week. Although there are multiple studies confirming and denying the 500 calorie figure, I like to use it in my cheat sheet.

There are three ways to “cut calories”. The first way is to eat fewer calories. The second way is to burn those calories. The most effective way to diet is to do both. Burning calories through weight training and cardio will help you grow muscle and burn fat. Changing your diet will further help your weight loss journey. The third way to burn calories is through supplements such as The Bliss Go Pack or Commander Go Pack from 1st Phorm. These help speed up your metabolism to help you shred fat faster.

How many pounds should I shoot for losing each week? In most cases I don’t suggest trying to lose more than 1-3 pounds per week. This is equates to 4-12 pounds per month. Keep in mind that we are talking about “Fat” and not clearly just pounds. If you were normally eating a high sodium diet, you will lose a ton of water weight the first few weeks on top of the fat.

Equation:

To Lose 1 pound per week- Cut/burn 500 additional calories than your body needs each day.

To Lose 2 pounds per week- Cut/burn 1000 additional calories than your body needs each day.

To lose 3 pounds per week- Cut/burn 1500 additional calories than your body needs each day.

Step #3. How am I going to burn these calories?

Part A. Plan a Diet

I suggest starting out to try to eat your BMR. The BMR is the amount of calories your body needs at rest to maintain current body weight. Since you will be active and in the gym, your body is going to be burning much more calories than normal, so eating your BMR should be 500-1000 calories less than your body will actually need to maintain current body weight.

This means I need to shoot for around 1900 calories per day.

Sample Meal Plan

Breakfast- Level-1 Shake + Banana= 230 calories

Snack #1- 1 servings of almonds= 160 calories

Lunch- Broccoli and Chicken Breast (6 oz)- 330 calories

Snack #2- 1 servings of almonds- 160 calories

Dinner-2 fillets of Tilapia, 2 servings of brown rice (200 grams), Cauliflower- 500 calories

Post-Workout Snack- 2 servings of Phormula-1 + 1 serving of Ignition= 360 calories

Before Bed Snack- Peanut butter with apples- 200 calories

Total Calories= 1940

Part B. Workout Plan

When I’m cutting, I want to be in the gym at least 5 days a week. I like to hit specific muscle groups on specific days. I will then finish the workout by doing cardio.

Monday- Biceps/Triceps + 20 minutes HIIT

Tuesday- Chest + 20 minutes of HIIT

Wednesday- Legs + 20 minute jog

Thursday- Back + 20 minute jog

Friday- Shoulders + Calves + 20 minute HIIT.

Weekends- I may go for a jog or play basketball. I try to give my muscles the weekend off.

Part C. Supplement Plan

Supplements help supplement your diet and exercise. If you are a gym rat, you will need to supplement your diet more because you lose many vitamins and minerals through sweat. We also miss out on a lot of vitamins and minerals because of our diet. Many American’s don’t eat enough fish.

Here is my supplement plan:

Commander + Thyro-Drive with Breakfast– Commander is my favorite fat burner on the market. Commander gives me energy, reduces cravings, and burns fat.

Commander  with Lunch– Commander is my favorite fat burner on the market. Commander gives me energy, reduces cravings, and burns fat.

M-Factor Hero before bed– A great multivitamin that isn’t pixie dusted. It works by giving you essential vitamin and minerals your body needs in a capsule, much more proven way to inject vitamins.

Thyro-Drive before bed– Thyro-Drive helps maintain optimal thyroid performance to maxmize weight loss.

Opti-Core before bed– Stress makes you gain weight, lack of sleep helps prevent gains. Opti-Core helps reduce stress and increase sleep.

Full Mega before bed– We don’t eat enough fish. Fish Oil is great for your heart, is an anti-inflammatory, and studies have shown weight loss with fish oil.

Creatine Post Workout-  I mix creatine with Ignition and Phormula-1 Protein post workout to help with muscle growth and recovery.

 

Summary:

Losing weight isn’t difficult, but keep consistent with it can be. Plan everything from your workouts, to your diet, to you supplements to ensure that you maximize the weight loss. After each month I take a look back to see if I achieved the results I wanted. I then make tweaks.

 

If you need further advice on diet, training, or other goals, feel free to email me: nutritionandpersonaltraining@yahoo.com. Also feel free to click on any of the links through the page to receive the lowest price and free shipping on your 1st Phorm orders.

 

Thank you,

 

Dustin Holston

Certified Personal Trainer/Sports Nutritionist

1stphorm.com/nutritiontrain