The Simple Math Behind Losing a Fat Belly (the Lazy Way)

There is no Dark Art to fat loss after 40, you just need to do a few sums…

Losing weight after 40 feels like a big deal, a PROJECT.

Something that’s going to involve a lot of;

• 
  change
• effort
• cast-iron discipline
• meal-prepping & tupperware
• hunger

So, quite understandably, we procrastinate. A lot.

“I really want to lose weight, but it’s Joe’s birthday next week, then I’m on vacation for 2 weeks the month after that, plus I have a few work dinners coming up… it’s just not a good time right now”.

So the belly stays right where it is, annoying you, embarrassing you.

Yet you feel powerless to do anything about it, until you have the magical Quiet 12 Weeks window you feel you need for Project Go On A Diet.

There is a much easier way to go about this, and it’s ‘lazy’ in the sense that you just need to do some math.

This helps you understand how much you can eat in total, across the week, around your social/family life, to lose weight.

Here’s the blueprint I use, as a 46-year-old Dad of 3, to lose weight when I need to.

But Hold On… Isn’t it Harder to Lose Weight After 40?

You have probably noticed things DO tend to bite us in the ass faster after 40 in terms of gaining fat.

My go-to diet in my 20s of beer, some more beer, burger-for-dinner, sandwich-for-lunch led to no weight gain at the time.

If I followed that diet now at 46 you can bet my health and waistline would suffer!

So there’s a temptation to blame our age, our slower metabolism, like this is all out of our hands, Oh Woe Is Me.

But that theory has been pretty much debunked by now.

We burn fewer calories after 40 because of a more sedentary lifestyle, and the hormonal imbalance caused by that lifestyle

OK Let’s Do Some Simple Math

We can kickstart fat loss, without turning our family meals upside down or living a teetotal, junk-free life, by doing a simple calculation.

Find your BMR by using a calculator like this one

Then make allowances for your activity level

Now multiply that figure by 7 (days per week)

Great, now we have the number of calories you can consume each week to stay the same weight, neither gaining nor losing weight.

The lazy way to lose weight is to work in terms of Weekly Calories, not Daily.

This means we can roll with the punches of the average crazy-busy week, AND enjoy some of the finer things in life occasionally without derailing the whole thing.

For example, let’s say I want to lose 1lb/0.5kg of fat per week (a sustainable, realistic amount):

My Weekly Maintenance Calories: 7 x 2500 = 17500

Calories in 1lb Body Fat: 3500

My Weekly Calorie Allowance for 1lb Fat Loss: 14000

I can by all means consume 2000 calories per day every day…

But that doesn’t allow for life to get in the way — the most common cause of a lack of progress on a diet for folks like us.

Instead, we can build in some Wiggle Room for restaurant meals, social drinks, take-out meals, etc by eating fewer calories 5 days per week.

For example, my weekly calories look like this when trying to lose weight:

5 x 1750 (Monday-Friday)

2 x 2625 (Saturday & Sunday)

I still come in at 14000 calories, but I feel like I’m having a regular, Non-Diet weekend.

How do You Know What 1750 Calories looks like?

That’s the tricky thing with diets involving calculations, right?

1750 calories per day sound fine, but what does that amount of food like? We are infamously rubbish at knowing the calorie content of our meals!

Before trying to lose weight, it is useful to track the calories and macronutrients of your regular breakfasts and lunches.

It doesn’t really matter if breakfast, lunch, or dinner is your biggest meal of the day, as long as you come in around that Monday-Friday calorie limit.

But in practice, most of us graze on smaller portions at breakfast and lunch (and snacks in between), then dinner is the biggest meal of the day.

And maybe you have more calories in the evening after dinner in front of the TV?

So a simple way to split that 1750 (or whatever YOUR figure is) to avoid turning life upside down, would be:

350–400 calories at breakfast

350–400 calories at lunch

950–1050 calories at dinner

No snacks between meals

No calories after dinner

Diving into the macronutrients, by prioritizing protein in our meals we will stay fuller for longer, and help retain lean muscle mass despite restricting calories.

So to avoid hunger and erratic blood sugar levels:

base breakfasts on eggs or yogurt rather than cereal and bread.

base lunches on salads with plenty of meat/fish/egg rather than bread and pasta

include plenty of protein at dinner time too.

The Benefits of Wiggle Room
The reason so many of us ‘fail’ on diets is that they are unsustainable around what else we have going on in life.

They feel like a prison sentence, we can’t wait to get out and eat ‘normally’ again.

That is why building in some leeway for extra calories on a couple of days each week (weekends or whatever suits you) is key for busy folks over 40.

For me, weekends tend to be much less structured than weekdays, as I’m out and about with my family, or have social engagements.

If you have done the ‘Hard Work’ on those other 5 days each week, you can forget about healthier choices at meal times for the other 2 days.

You can eat and drink whatever you want, as long as you still keep an eye on portion sizes and don’t gorge yourself on pizza and beer.

Doesn’t That Sound Better Than A ‘Diet’?

Follow this simple process, to lose weight and improve your health and body shape, without the usual high-maintenance approach of the many diets you’ll read about online:

Find out how many calories you burn on a weekly basis

Then calculate your new Fat Loss Weekly Allowance

Split Up that total in whatever way suits YOUR week

Prioritise protein in the lower calorie days to manage hunger

Avoid going completely crazy on your indulgent days

Finally lose the belly without having turned life upside down!

#Copied @Chris Davidson

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Are you trying to get in shape without supplement?

If YES, As a health and wellness consultant to Men and women, I can help you in multiple ways — here’s a couple of free ebook guides (on workouts plan and nutritious custom diet plan for both men and women wanting to get into shape without the use of suppllement)

==============================================

Are you trying to get in shape without supplement?

If YES, As a health and wellness consultant to Men and women, I can help you in multiple ways — here’s a couple of free ebook guides (on workouts plan and nutritious custom diet plan for both men and women wanting to get into shape without the use of suppllement)