“Fitman” Eric Brown, who owns the Fitman Performance & Physique Center in Roslyn and is one of the foremost professional personal trainers in the world, says that many people fall under the powerful spell of specific types of dieting especially when it comes to losing body fat.

“Some natural bodybuilders have said that the ketogenic diet (Gironda, Atkins, or South Beach) is the only way to lose body fat,” Fitman said. “Some athletes say that the low-fat diet is the only way to eliminate body fat. You even have some people who say that the most effective ways to lose fat are using the carnivore diet or even the vegan diet.”

“But the truth of the matter is this: the fat loss diet you use or choose will not work without you being in an energy deficit and consuming the properly calculated macronutrients.”

The Trick

Fitman told us that many people, including athletes, celebrities, and the general public love popular fat loss diets because when they initially start them, they see fast results.

“For example, if you are currently overeating and change over to a ketogenic diet, you will definitely lose weight fast during the first week. The average person then thinks that the new diet is solely responsible for their weight loss,” Fitman said. “The reason that the diet worked was not because the diet is some magical way of eating. The reason that this ketogenic diet worked for you is because you eliminated all of the carbs. And when you removed the carbs, you removed a lot of calories from your intake.”

“This action automatically reduces your overall caloric/energy input which leads to the weight loss. But when you do such a drastic caloric drop at the beginning of your fat loss phase, you’ll have nowhere to go when you eventually stagnate.”

“Losing body fat is a gradual process. If it took you 5 years to add 50lbs of bad weight to your frame, you cannot expect to instantly lose it!”

You Can Do It All

Fitman told us that you do not have to eliminate carbs or fats to get lean.

“There are three things you must do to get rid of body fat and retain the large majority of your muscle mass when your goal is to get leaner,” Fitman said.

1) Lower Your Overall Caloric Intake

“If you were on the ketogenic diet, but you were still eating in a caloric/energy surplus then guess what? You will not lose the body fat that you want to,” Fitman said. “If you were on the low-fat diet, but you were still eating in a caloric/energy surplus then guess what? You will be gaining fat instead of losing it.”

“And if you were eating a vegan diet, but you were still eating in a caloric/energy surplus guess what? You will still be adding fat to your gut instead of dropping it like a bad habit.”

“You have to adhere to the rule of reducing your calories (reducing energy intake) enough so that you are in a slight caloric/energy deficit. The magic is not in the ketogenic, low fat, vegan, or any diet. The magic is in the number of the total amount of calories/energy that you consume or burn.”

“And while being in a caloric/energy deficit is very important, this does not mean you can eat whatever you want to. You can and will absolutely lose weight while in a caloric/energy deficit. The weight loss will occur even if you were eating at the Golden Arches everyday like in the movie Supersize Me. That is the power of the energy deficit,” the 2022 Mr. Natural Philadelphia champion said. “But the caloric/energy deficit is not the Infinity Gauntlet. If the majority of what you eat is low quality foods that are high in carbs, fats, sugar, and low in protein your body will not look, feel or perform well. You will not be anywhere near optimal condition.”

2) Get Your Macronutrients In Order

Some natural bodybuilders, athletes, and members of the general public think that the caloric/energy deficit is the end all be all in terms of losing body fat.

“Many people cut calories far too aggressively and while they lose weight, they look flabby and sick at the end of the diet,” Fitman said. This will always happen when your diet is high in carbs and fat and very low in protein. This also happens if while you are losing weight, you are not lifting weights.”

Macronutrients are broken down into three categories. Carbohydrates, fats, and protein. This is how we identify the foods we eat.

“Your calories definitely matter, but your macros matter too especially when it comes to retaining muscle mass and improving your performance,” Fitman said.

Consuming a diet that is relatively high in protein, while being moderate in carbohydrates and fats, while still being in an energy deficit will create consistent fat loss.”

“And when you pair that diet with a consistent strength training program, you will completely upgrade your physique and your health!”

3) Lift Weights

“Focusing on losing body fat by making better eating choices is paramount to the success you will have,” Fitman said. But you cannot build or retain your muscle mass without pumping iron.”

Fitman recommends that the average person lift weights at least 2 days per week to improve their strength and muscle mass.

“A pro natural bodybuilder like myself is going to have to lift more days per week to build a physique worthy of the stage. But for most of you all reading this, 2 or 3 days a week of following a progressive strength training program is all you’ll need to build and retain your muscle mass.”

Conclusion

“How much you eat and what you eat matters big time when you are on a specific fat loss diet,” Fitman said. “The cold truth is that if you eat whatever you want and as much as you want, you will get exactly what you deserve: a bad body. Nobody wants to hear that, but I’m not here to give you what you want. I’m here to give you what you need. Success requires struggle and sacrifice.”

I’ll holla at you next time.

Follow Fitman

Fitman is on multiple websites and social media platforms. Fitman is also an internationally published author of 3 eBooks. To get the unvarnished truth about natural bodybuilding, athletic performance, fitness/health, and to purchase his eBooks, follow him at:

Books:
FitmanClassicBodybuilding.com/Books

Websites:
FitmanPerformance.com
FitmanClassicBodybuilding.com

Social Media:
Instagram: @FitmanEB
Tik Tok: @FitmanEB
X: @FitmanEB
YouTube: @FitmanEB
Facebook: @Fitman

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