Losing weight is simple. Maintain a caloric deficit for a period of time. How you create the deficit is immaterial. For weight loss, caloric reduction is the only firm rule. Everything else is debatable.

Simple is not the same as easy. Purposely creating and maintaining a reduced calorie diet requires a special mindset, and the body has certain needs. Caloric reduction affects how the body uses food, which in turn affects the body’s performance.

Dialing in nutrition is the hardest part of any fitness program, whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain it, or build muscle. How the body performs is the measure of a good nutrition plan, and by that I mean that the plan must provide the energy and strength to perform all daily tasks, grow and maintain tissue, ensure proper organ function, digestion and waste removal.

When it comes to nutrition, the only thing health and fitness professionals agree on is that you need it. What, how much, and even when, is hotly contested.

Nutrition is the total process by which an animal or plant takes in and uses food substances. To operate optimally, your groovy body requires three macronutrients, protein, carbohydrates, and fat, perfectly dosed.

Super simply stated, protein builds strength by growing and maintaining tissue, carbohydrates produce most of your energy, and fats are the most concentrated energy source, and provide some security and protection for your organs. The Recommended Daily Allowances for these three macros range from ten to seventy percent. The most common recommendation in the fitness world is thirty percent protein, forty percent carbs, and thirty percent fat.

Most weight loss programs limit carbohydrate or fat intake. Think about that for a minute. The body’s two energy producers getting messed around in hopes of losing weight. When you consider the fact that it’s total caloric intake that affects weight loss or gain, does it make sense to alter the macronutrient profile, especially the two that make it possible to be productive?

Calories are manipulated for anabolic purposes. Exercise is used for physique enhancement. Consequently, diet and exercise, specifically eat less, move more, are the most prescribed duo for weight loss. Stressing the body with exercise, increasing the stress with a reduced calorie diet, and cutting your two energy sources to make the reduction makes weight loss success difficult.

Cleaning up your diet should be your first step in a weight loss program, even before you start training. Protein from beef, chicken, eggs, and fish, the fat that comes with them, along with nuts and natural oils, and lots of fruits and vegetables should be the bulk of your menu. Experiment until you find the perfect dosage for you. Combined with a good strength training program, you might lose weight and change your shape without drastically cutting calories. If you still desire to lose more weight, with the solid foundation you’ve established with your training and menu, it’s easy to adjust both of them to meet your goals. Eat and train to improve physical performance, and let weight loss be a result.

The key to long term success with weight loss is a realistic eating style, and not one that severely limits or omits one of the macronutrients. Our goal is optimum performance, in every part of life, not just in the gym. Instead of a diet, create a lifestyle.

Lot’s of us in the middle of life’s number line have some well-set habits, especially when it comes to food. We like what we like, and have for a number of years. When we decide to lose weight, or get in shape, we have to deal with those habits, and create a new lifestyle. This doesn’t mean that we have to toss away everything, but it does mean that we have to examine our habits, decide which can stay, which have to go, and which can be modified. Do you have to give up ice cream? No. Can you eat ice cream every day? It depends. How does it affect your performance, and hence, your lifestyle?

In my perfect world, everyone would train hard and eat a lot of food, while looking and performing like superheroes. We wouldn’t work, either, but that’s off topic. I believe that we should all create a lifestyle combining an eating plan with a training plan that maximizes our performance and allows us to enjoy living.

Want to lose weight, and look great? Create a healthy lifestyle. It really is that simple, not to be confused with easy.