Fat Loss: Tips, Tricks and Tools of the Trade

At LiveFit, Holly and I spend a lot of time writing fat loss meal plans for our clients. Once we've assessed them, taken into account their food likes and dislikes, set their calories and macro nutrients, and laid out each meal in great detail (down to the gram), they are usually very excited when they receive their meal plan and can't wait to get started on their fat loss journey. 

Holly and I understand that meal plans are very unfamiliar for most people. While we have been living and eating a certain way for a long time, as Holly is an IFBB PRO FIGURE competitor, and our "eating style" has become 2nd nature, as well as a necessity for her to compete at a high level, we know it can be a bit of an adjustment for others.

While it all looks great on paper, implementing the plan we lay out takes planning, preparation, and, most importantly, a certain mindset and a lot of "trench time". Furthermore, it takes developing and implementing actionable strategies and habits, and also having the right tools in your toolbox to make the fat loss process more efficient.

Keeping all of the above in mind, Holly and I wanted to share with you our top fat loss tips and tricks. This is the little "behind the scenes" stuff which can make or break you, and is equally as important as the specifics of a meal plan itself. So, without further ado, in no particular order, here ya' go:

1. Get to the Grocery

This may seem like a "Capt Obvious" point, but you'd be surprised how many people we've worked with who don't get to the store frequently enough. If you are going to take your meal plan on paper and put it into action (or in your mouth), it starts with going to the grocery and having the necessary food on hand.

Figure on going to the store 1 or 2 days each week (maybe more). Going on a weekend day to get you to mid week is a good plan of attack. Take your meal plan with you and try to buy as much in bulk as you possibly can to get you through the week. You can buy meat, fish and poultry in bulk and it all freezes just fine. If you are going to buy FRESH produce in bulk, be careful: it goes bad quickly. Maybe buy enough fresh produce for 3 days and then head back to the store. Alternatively, buy as much as you can frozen and cook as needed, but the last thing you want is a bunch of rotting fruits and veggies. No fun.

Once you get familiar with your meal plan, you'll get into a routine and you'll become very familiar with what and how much you need at the store. You'll also become more familiar with the store itself, and all of this means grocery shopping becomes far more efficient. I'm usually in and out of there in less than 25 minutes because I know exactly what I need and where everything is.

2. Buy a Food Scale

When we write meal plans for people, we are as precise as possible. That means our clients have to be precise as possible or the plan won't work optimally. YOU NEED A FOOD SCALE IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT FAST FAT LOSS. The more precise you are, the better your results will be, and that's true in any area of your life. If we tell you you need to eat 100 grams of cooked bison, we mean 100 grams of cooked bison. Eye balling it won't cut it.


A nice food scale can be purchased for under $30. You'll want to get one which offers both gram and ounce measurement options, and which you can also zero out (this is key). When weighing your food, place whatever container, utensil or plate you plan on using on the scale first and then zero out the weight of that item. If you take the item off of the scale, the scale will remember what it weighed. Then it's simply a matter of adding the amount of food called for.

Finally, food scales usually require a special battery. When you purchase a scale, it normally comes with a battery, but you'll want to buy a couple of additional batteries because you'll only get a month or two out of a battery.

3. Become a Tupperware Hoarder

If you've ever been to a bodybuilding competition (and if you have not, I'd highly suggest it from a people watching perspective), you'll see more Tupperware per square foot than any other place in the world. Tupperware is an essential tool of the trade in getting the body you want. Holly and I buy very large Tupperware containers to store bulk amounts of chicken, flank, rice, quinoa, sweet potato and hard boiled eggs, and then we portion it out into smaller Tupperware containers so we can take it with us when we go to work or are out "doing life". See the pic below:

In addition to Tupperware, you'll want to have plenty of plastic utensils on hand, as well as a set of measuring spoons and a measuring cup. A Magic Bullet blender for protein shakes and a couple of blender/shaker bottles are also must haves. Finally, it's essential you invest in an insulated cooler bag and ice packs so you can take your food with you during the day while at work or on the go. 

4. Bulk Up

I'm not talking about gorging yourself with food and trying to get all "meathead". I'm talking about preparing your food in bulk. As noted above, preparing chicken, flank, sweet potatoes, rice, quinoa and eggs in bulk quantities-and storing it all in large Tupperware-will save you a great deal of time and make meal prep a lot easier.

One of the best investments we've ever made, and one we encourage our clients to make, is a slow cooker/crock pot. It makes cooking chicken and flank steak in bulk a breeze. We usually put a large amount of either in the cooker on low for 6 hours over night and then transfer it to large Tupperware in the morning when we wake up. Grilling meat and poultry every night is a royal pain in the ass, so this is a nice solution.

Similarly, we cook up bulk amounts of quinoa, rice and eggs a couple of times per week and also store this in the aforementioned large Tupperware. We then just portion it out as needed. The rice and quinoa can be cooked in 15 minutes or less. Hard boiled eggs are a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's just part of the deal...beats having to make an omelet or scramble every day.

5. It Doesn't Have to Be Boring

When most people think of fat loss diets, they think bland or boring. Well, it doesn't have to be that way. If you arm yourself with an array of spices and condiments, you can really jazz up "clean" food. Here are some of our suggestions:

• If you live in Cincinnati, make sure you check out Colonel De's at Findlay Market (they also have an online store). We frequent this place a few times a month and load up on spices and rubs. Some of our favorites are the pork and poultry for (obvious) poultry (we don't dig on swine), ruby red steak rub for any beef product, and garlic goodness for just about anything. 
• Any Mrs. Dash product (salt free)
• Bolthouse Farms salad dressing (this is the best tasting low calorie, low sugar dressing we have ever tried). This is great for salads, but you can also use it on meat or poultry, or mix it in with rice or quinoa.
• Kelly's BBQ sauce...great tasting and low in sugar
• Mustard (we use brown spicy mustard for tuna quite a bit)

6. Suck It Up or Stay The Same

This is not a tip, trick or tool, but more of a reminder about mindset. When people read about the amount of preparation, planning, precision and overall effort required for fat loss success above, they may say to themselves, "There has to be an easier way!" There isn't. If there was one, trust me, we would be going down that route, our clients would be going down that route, and 60+ percent  of the population wouldn't be overweight or obese.

Some people we share our nutrition advice and philosophy with roll their eyes and insist you don't have to go to the lengths we do or advise to get a better body (these are the same people, mind you, who usually ask to pick our brain about the topic because they are unhappy about the way they look but I digress). Everyone wants an easy way out or a quick fix magic bullet, but, the reality is, like it or not, eating to get the body you want is basically a part time job. 

Everyone wants it to be "one thing" which cracks the fat loss conundrum for them. I have news for you: it's not one thing. It isn't eating gluten free. It isn't eating all organic. It's not avoiding carbs after 7:00 at night. It's not a 100 calorie snack pack. It's not avoiding dairy or bread. It's certainly not just "trying to make better food choices" or "only eating half my meal at a restaurant." That "one thing" isn't a supplement or the magical acai berry drink you saw on Dr. Oz. It sure as hell isn't exercise. 

No, instead, fat loss success is the sum and synergy of a bunch of different parts. Like I said, eating for fat loss and weight loss and maintaining that loss is a part time job and a commitment to a lifestyle. If you accept this and suck it up, you'll get the body you want. If you don't, and insist there is a simpler solution, you'll stay the same. Period. It's your choice.

That wraps things up. We hope you found this post helpful, and we hope you take some of these tips, tricks and tools and put them into action. 

If you'd like to know more about our meal planning service, and have all of the guesswork taken out of the equation, please visit the link below and fill out the form at the bottom of the page:

http://www.livefitcincinnati.com/fitness-services/meal-plans/

Until next time, Live Fit!