When it comes to losing fat to perform your best at age 40 and above, diet is a huge part of the equation. There is no getting around it.
Maybe in the past, you trained for hours each day playing a sport. Or maybe you used to just have a lot more time to work out. And you had a faster metabolism. So you could get away with less-than-perfect eating, and you’d be fine.
But now, your time is more limited. Even if you’re able to train most days of the week for 45 or 60 minutes, the truth is the calorie burn from this amount of activity will never make up for poor diet choices.
So we’re going to break down exactly how to figure out how many calories you need to eat each day to reach your goals. And we are also going to break down how to hit your targets consistently, with minimal planning and preparation, and how to fit it into your busy family schedule and social life.
How many calories you need to eat each day to reach your goals
A very rough, but often fairly accurate, starting point for calorie intake to promote slow and steady fat loss for moderately active individuals is 10-12 calories per pound of bodyweight per day.
So – if you weight 150, you’re going to be around 1500-1700 per day.
(Go with the higher number if you are more active / have a lower bodyfat level, go with the lower if you are less active / have a little more bodyfat.)
What to eat
So what do these calories actually consist of? What does a day of eating actually look like?
This is going to look a little bit different for everyone. And this is the value of a custom meal planning program like the one we have recently opened up spots for.
But one thing I can tell you is this: it’s probably more flexible that you think.
Let’s take a recent nutrition coaching client we worked with as an example. She was eating 2 eggos for breakfast every day, with syrup. So what we did is modify that meal a bit, but made it a bit more healthier and balanced.
On her meal prep day, we had her hard boiled a bunch of eggs. And then we had 1-2 eggs, along with 1 whole wheat eggo, without the syrup, instead.
Now we are getting protein in that meal, and keeping her full longer… and it’s still fast and convenient, which was the appealing part in the beginning.
We went through and did this for the rest of a few sample days / meal plans for her as well, balancing everything out, and making sure she was on track to hit her calorie targets, but working with her current eating style and preferences etc.
Now she is consistently losing 1-2 pounds per week, and is well on her way to her ultimate goals.
These are the kind of small changes that add up and get you RESULTS!
Not complicated… but so many times, just having someone who is an expert help you figure out how to do this, based around your current preferences and lifetyle, is exactly what it takes to get you where you want to go.
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So there you have a simple way to figure out how many calories you need daily to reach your fat loss goals.
And, you can see how making small tweaks with what you’re already doing can help to hit your targets consistently, with minimal planning and preparation, and how to fit it into your busy family schedule and social life.
If you want our help in making this happen, we have opened up spots in our Nutrition Coaching program for for the New Year. Details and grab your spot at the link below:
=> FVT Nutrition Coaching 2020
And here’s to your continued success!
-Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach
ForestVance.com