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With so many different fat loss diets, fads and methods out there, it is easy to get confused and discouraged. From the mediterranean diet, to a low carb diet, keto diet, raw food diet, methods like intermittent fasting, which is the best fat loss diet and method? Wait a minute...hold up! Let’s rephrase that! Which is the best fat loss diet for BUSY PARENTS. You see. A 25 year old that simply has to worry about him or herself cannot tell you how to fit in a workout, or help you with an ideal “parent diet”. We, parents, are different. We barely have time for anything but our kids and work. We need ample flexibility and options to fit our parenthood journey and our quest for a fit lifestyle. Because... A diet is a LIFESTYLE. Your life as a parent is very different than a person with no kids. This is the first shift in mindset you have to adapt: your “diet” is a LIFESTYLE. With that being said, most of the diets mentioned above and most weight loss methods, put too much restriction on you. This leads you to fail biologically and psychologically. You should not feel “restricted” in a SIMPLE fat loss diet to shed a few pounds. If you don’t want a restrictive life DO NOT ADOPT A RESTRICTIVE FORM OF DIETING. Traci Mann, professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, noted in her studies and research that although people will initially lose weight on diets, most regain their weight back within 2 to 5 years. She found that restrictive dieting (calorie deprivation) leads to changes in your hormones and cognitive functions that make it hard to keep the weight off. (APA) SO WHAT IS THE BEST FAT LOSS DIET FOR BUSY PARENTS? ⇒calorie counting⇐ We are not going to say “restricting your calories” or “calorie deprivation” because we do not want you to have that mindset. Simply, track and count all the calories you eat in a day. This will also not be considered restrictive because the goal is too eat as much as you can while still losing weight. How? Keep reading! Questions you are probably thinking... What about low carbs, low fat, or protein? Guess what carbs, fat and protein are? CALORIES! To give you a quick breakdown: A calorie is a unit of energy. Calories are made up of carbs, proteins, and fats. Carbs and Protein have 4 calories per gram. Fat has 9 calories per gram. So when you see “low fat diets” it is not because the actual fat in foods with higher fat content makes you fat, it is because higher fat content foods contain MORE CALORIES which can lead you to consuming excess calories and thus excess weight gain. But carbs make you fat. Don't they? CARBS DO NOT MAKE YOU FAT. STOP IT. Carbs are just easy to OVEREAT. They taste good and go down easy (think rice and pasta). They are also everywhere, and in almost every food. So if you cut out carbs you are cutting out on alot of different foods, which ------> reduces the amount of calories you eat -----> which can result in a calorie deficit ---->which leads to WEIGHT LOSS. KEY POINT: It does not matter if you eat all your calories in carbs, fat or protein if you are simply just trying to lose weight. Now when it comes to gaining muscle, or health reasons, yes. But when you are simply trying to lose weight focus on CALORIES and being in a calorie deficit while eating MOSTLY nutritionally densed foods. A calorie deficit means you eat less calories than what your body needs. This will allow you to eat whatever you want (within healthy reason). Well, how many calories should i eat? That all depends. Every person is different. Factors that determine what your calorie intake should be for fat loss vary from: Age Activity level Health Conditions Height Metabolism Weight Here is a very basic and simple formula to start with. Multiply your bodyweight x 14 Take that number and subtract 500 from it. That number will probably be the amount of calories you want to start eating to lose about 2lbs of FAT A WEEK if you are not very active or older. Very active or younger? Try multiplying it by 15 and follow the same formula. For example, for a 186lbs person: 186 x 15 = 2,790 calories daily That means if this person eats 2,790 calories daily they will maintain their weight. To lose weight they would deduct 500 calories. 2,790 - 500 = 2,290 calories 2,290 calories would be the amount of calories they will eat daily to lose 2lbs a week. Note: 2lbs of FAT a week is what you want to aim for. Along with a good resistance training program, and high quality foods, you will ensure you maintain (or if new, gain) any muscle mass which will lead to developing a lean muscular physique. The number you might get might seem like a big number but...YOU WANT TO START HIGH. That number might even involve eating more food on a daily basis than you eat now. That is ok. You will get to a point where your body will STOP losing weight and you will have to reduce calories...it gets harder, so start with as much food as possible and adjust as necessary! Enjoy! Maybe not THAT MUCH but ok... Dieting can get hard as you continue, or if you are an athlete trying to drop pounds, but in the beginning, for the average person, it should not feel like you are being deprived. If you feel like that, your diet is starting off too strong. So why is this the best fat loss diet for busy parents? BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU FLEXIBILITY. BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU TO EAT YOUR FAVORITE FOODS. BECAUSE IT DOES NOT MAKE YOU FEEL RESTRICTED. BECAUSE IT ALLOWS YOU TO EAT DIFFERENT FOODS EVERYDAY BECAUSE IT WILL LEAD TO ADHERING TO A LIFESTYLE DIET Most importantly because all the diets out there focus ON THIS VERY PRINCIPLE: A REDUCTION OF CALORIES The other diets just try and spin it by telling you where to reduce calories from… We are telling you, YOU DECIDE. You know your preferences. Your lifestyle. This will allow you to have a stress free approach to dieting within your parenthood journey. After a long day with the kids maybe you WANT some pizza after they go down. Maybe ice cream. Track the calories and enjoy! One thing we do want to note: this does not mean stuff your face with junk as long as it is under your calorie goal. 80% of your food should be wholesome, nutrient dense foods (carbs included) to promote good health. The other 20% play around with it and have fun! KEY TIPS Enjoy your food. Healthy food does not mean boring. The great thing about tracking calories is that the possibilities are endless. Get creative! Eat breakfast. It can be something small and quick but eat something. This will prevent you from getting overly hungry later on and binging. Start losing weight eating the most you can while still losing weight. Most people can eat more than they think and lose weight. Add volume to your food. Big volume foods are foods that can fill you up giving you the satiety benefit, but have low calories. Salads are a perfect example. Add protein to all your meals. Not only is protein the catalyst for building muscle (when you train them of course) but it offers a satiety benefit. Do not be afraid of artificial sweetners. Most people who tell you to stay away from diet sodas are usually not in shape. This is not to be rude, it is the truth. That is because most fit people know that something like diet soda can help you keep in line with your diet by providing something sweet, with zero calories. The harmful effects of diet sodas and artificial sweetners have not been conclusively proven. Most FDA related studies have ruled out an association between cancer and artificial sweetners. The keyword here is BALANCE. No one is saying down 12 cans of diet soda a day, but when you feel the kick for something sweet. Go for it. Now I can spout all kinds of words at you? But why would someone believe me? BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN THERE. This was my transformation following the exact same principles I laid out above: This was over the span of 3 years. Slow and gradual. It was the best shape of my life for a physique competition. But I also felt the worst I ever did being so low in bodyfat. I realized as a parent, I needed something more sustainable. I could follow the same principles but not go the extreme like I did above. Something that would allow me to still stay on my fitness goals and enjoy life with my children and family. Because hell...let’s be real, FOOD IS ENJOYING LIFE! Eating mostly good, clean, healthy foods while still having flexibility is what I found in counting calories..in flexible dieting. Along with a solid "diet", finding the time to exercise is crucial to achieving your fitness goals...but not always easy. Here are 6 ways to stay fit as a parent when it gets difficult to get that workout in!

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