Your 5 step guide for fat and weight loss

Medical Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individual nutritional and exercise needs vary. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet, exercise routine, or supplementation, particularly if you have an underlying medical condition, take medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Maintaining a healthy body weight for our age and sex and, perhaps even more importantly, a healthy body fat percentage, is an important part of supporting long-term health and overall well-being.

Excess body weight and body fat, particularly when fat accumulates around the abdominal organs (visceral fat), are associated with an increased risk of numerous chronic health conditions. These include high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal problems, digestive disorders, kidney disease, respiratory complications, hormonal imbalances, and certain cancers. Research has also linked excess body fat to an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

One important factor is the relationship between excess body fat and chronic, low-grade inflammation. Beyond its role as energy storage, adipose tissue is metabolically active and can release inflammatory substances that contribute to metabolic dysfunction and increase the risk of chronic disease.

The good news is that, although genetics, age, sex, and other factors influence it, we have more control over our body composition than we may realize. Through targeted lifestyle changes including nutrition, physical activity, strength training, sleep, and stress management, we can improve our body composition and support better long-term health.

Today, additional treatment options, including GLP-1 medications, can also help some people manage their weight and improve metabolic health. I have discussed these medications in my previous articles Optimizing Nutrition to Support GPL-1 Medications and Exercise and GLP-1 Medications: Supporting Muscle, Bone, and Overall Health

In this article, however, I will focus on targeted lifestyle strategies for improving body composition, particularly for those who choose not to use, our cannot use, GLP-1 medications.

Fundamentals of body fat loss

When it comes to reducing body fat while maintaining a healthy body composition, it usually boils down to three simple rules:

1. a negative caloric balance to promote the use of fat stores
2. the right stimulus to preserve muscle mass
3. optimizing the internal body environment, and especially our hormones, to support the process.

Key levers for improving body composition

There are four main lifestyle levers we can use to improve our body composition

1. Nutrition
2. Daily movement (NEAT — Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
3. Structured exercise (EAT — Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
4. Lifestyle factors (Sleep quality, recovery, stress management, etc.)

In addition, some people may benefit from evidence-based supplements like caffeine, creatine and omega-3 fatty acids, as complement to the four main levers.

1 – Nutrition

By far, the most relevant one and the easiest to manipulate.

Research suggests that a moderate calorie deficit is generally a more sustainable approach to fat loss while preserving muscle mass. For many people, a deficit of around 500 calories per day, combining dietary changes and increased energy expenditure through exercise, can be a reasonable starting point.

Larger calorie deficits may produce faster weight loss initially, but they can also increase the risk of muscle loss, nutritional inadequacies, and difficulty sustaining the plan. Muscle mass plays an important role in maintaining strength, mobility, and physical function. Muscle tissue also contributes to resting energy expenditure and helps regulate glucose metabolism. Preserving muscle is therefore an important part of achieving a healthier body composition and maintaining results over time.

How to estimate your calorie needs

A good starting point is to estimate how many calories you need each day to maintain your current weight. You can use an online calculator, such as the one provided by the Mayo Clinic, to obtain an initial estimate.

Once you have that number, you can plan a moderate calorie deficit. For example, if you need 1850 kcal to maintain your current weight and your target deficit is 500 calories per day, you might aim to reduce your food intake by 300 calories and expend an additional 200 calories through structured exercise. That means that you would consume 1550 kcal daily, and burn 200 kcal brisk walking.

Prioritize protein to preserve muscle

One nutrient deserves particular attention during fat loss: protein.

Adequate protein intake helps preserve muscle mass, especially when combined with resistance training. This becomes particularly important when you are eating fewer calories, as the body may otherwise break down more lean tissue for energy.

A commonly recommended target for people pursuing fat loss while maintaining muscle is approximately 1.6–1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of goal body weight per day, although individual needs vary.

For example, if your goal body weight is 60 kg (132 lb), this translates to approximately 96–108 grams of protein daily.

Higher intakes may be appropriate for some individuals, depending on their training, calorie deficit, and other factors. However, more protein is not necessarily better for everyone, and people with kidney disease or other relevant medical conditions should seek individualized medical advice before substantially increasing their intake.

For a more detailed breakdown of macronutrients and how to balance protein, carbohydrates, and fats, see my previous post.

2. Daily Movement (NEAT)

NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. It refers to the energy we expend through everyday movement that is not structured exercise.

Think of all the things you do throughout the day outside your workouts: walking the dog, folding laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, gardening, or simply moving around the house. Occupational activity also contributes to NEAT, which is why construction workers, cleaning staff, and restaurant servers may expend considerably more energy during a typical workday than people who spend most of their working hours sitting at a desk.

NEAT can make a substantial difference in total daily energy expenditure. Depending on body size, occupation, and activity habits, the difference between individuals can amount to hundreds of calories per day and, in some cases, considerably more.

The important point is that physical activity is not limited to what happens at the gym. The movement you accumulate throughout the day can play a meaningful role in managing body fat and supporting metabolic health.

How many steps should you aim for?

Step count is a practical way to monitor daily movement, although it does not capture every aspect of NEAT.

Health benefits begin to emerge at relatively modest step counts (around 4,500), particularly for people who are currently sedentary. Research suggests that benefits generally increase as daily steps rise, with the point at which benefits begin to level off varying according to age, health status, and the outcome being measured.

For many adults, 7,000–10,000 steps per day is a useful target to work toward. If fat loss is your goal and your fitness, schedule, and physical condition allow it, you might gradually increase that target to 10,000–15,000 steps. However, there is no single ideal number for everyone. Starting from your current baseline and building up consistently is more important than hitting an arbitrary target.

Simple ways to increase daily movement

You do not need to set aside a separate block of time for every activity. Small changes throughout the day can add up.

Here are some practical ways to increase NEAT:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator when practical.
• Walk the dog or take an additional walk during the day.
• Play actively with your children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews.
• Do household chores, such as laundry, vacuuming, and cleaning.
• Pace while talking on the phone.
• Stand and move around while preparing meals.
• Mow the lawn, garden, or pull weeds.
• Walk around the store when shopping in person.
• Park a little farther from the entrance when it is safe and convenient.
• Walk to nearby destinations instead of driving when feasible.

Break up prolonged sitting

If you have a sedentary job, make a conscious effort to interrupt long periods of sitting. A simple strategy is to take a 5–10-minute movement break every 60–90 minutes, adjusting the frequency to suit your schedule and physical needs.

Use these breaks to walk around the office, house or parking lot, climb a flight of stairs, or perform a few bodyweight movements, such as squats, calf raises, or wall push-ups. Even putting on your favorite song and dancing for a few minutes can help you get moving.

3 – Exercise (EAT)

These are your workouts.

Research suggests that combining strength training and cardiovascular exercise, ideally on the same day (a strategy known as concurrent training), is an effective approach to improving body composition. This combination helps support fat loss while preserving muscle mass, while also improving cardiovascular fitness and overall health.

Low to moderate intensity cardio can contribute to energy expenditure and weight loss. However, when calorie intake is reduced, relying on cardio alone may not provide sufficient stimulus to preserve muscle mass. This is where strength training becomes essential.

Strength training is the key to influence what is lost, and what is preserved. That is, fat is lost, and muscle is preserved. The exercises recommended to address mucle preservation and fat loss are multi-joint movements like squats, deadlifts, rows or shoulder presses, ideally in a circuit style with short breaks to increase the caloric demands.

What could a weekly workout schedule look like?

Here is an example of how you could structure your week to combine strength training, cardio, mobility, and recovery.

Days 1, 3, and 5 (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday): Concurrent training

• Warm-up: 10 minutes of light cardio and dynamic mobility exercises.
• Strength training: Approximately 30 minutes of full-body resistance training.
• Cardio: 10–20 minutes of either high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or moderate-intensity steady-state cardio, depending on your fitness level and goals.
• Cool-down: 5 minutes of gentle movement and stretching.

Days 2 and 6 (e.g., Tuesday and Saturday), with an optional session on Day 4: Light to moderate activity

• 20–45 minutes of walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, or another moderate aerobic activity you enjoy.
• Mobility exercises or gentle yoga to support flexibility and movement.

Days 7 and optionally 4: Allow your body time to recover.

• Gentle walking, light stretching, or restorative yoga are fine if they feel comfortable.

In summary:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednes.	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Strength + cardio finisher	Steady cardio + mobility	Strength + cardio finisher	Rest or steady cardio + mobility	Strength + cardio finisher	Steady cardio + mobility	Rest

4 – Lifestyle

We have already discussed NEAT, an important component of our daily lifestyle and energy expenditure. But there are other lifestyle factors that deserve our attention, particularly when our goal is to lose body fat while preserving muscle. Two of the most important are stress management and sleep.

High levels of stress can disrupt sleep and chronically elevate stress hormones like cortisol. This can increase appetite and cravings, particularly for sugary foods and refined carbohydrates, which can temporarily boost serotonin and provide a sense of comfort.

Sleep deprivation can also elevate cortisol and disrupt other hormones involved in weight regulation, including ghrelin, leptin, and growth hormone (GH). Ghrelin stimulates hunger, while leptin signals satiety. When we don’t get enough sleep, ghrelin tends to increase and leptin decreases, making us hungrier and less satisfied after eating. GH, meanwhile, plays an important role in muscle preservation, growth, and recovery.

Managing stress and optimizing sleep can be challenging. Here are some practical tips:

• Take regular micro-breaks: Don’t let tension build throughout the day. Use movement breaks to practice breathing exercises, meditate, call a friend, or journal.
• Get morning sunlight: Ideally, take a short walk or exercise outdoors. Morning light helps regulate your circadian rhythm, supports healthy cortisol patterns, and promotes serotonin production, which also contributes to melatonin production later in the day.
• Create a bedtime routine: Try journaling, gentle stretching, meditation, prayer, reading, herbal tea, or calming music.
• Keep a consistent sleep schedule: Go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time, ideally including weekends. Most adults need 7–9 hours of sleep. If you wake up at 7 a.m., aim to be asleep by 11–11:30 p.m.
• Watch your evening habits: Ideally, avoid screens during the two hours before bed, caffeine after 2 p.m., and heavy evening meals. Foods such as kiwi, cherries, and turkey contain compounds associated with sleep regulation, although their effects vary.

Finally, don’t skip rest days. Your body needs time to recover and adapt to exercise. I recommend at least one day per week without vigorous exercise, or more if needed. Gentle walking, stretching, or yoga are fine.

Always listen to your body. Skipping a workout because you need recovery is smart training, not laziness. And no, you won’t regret missing a workout that didn’t happen!

5 – Supplements

The supplement market is enormous, largely because it offers what we all want: a quick and easy solution. Taking a pill is certainly easier than making consistent lifestyle changes to achieve our goals.

However, supplements cannot replace a healthy lifestyle, and the scientific evidence supporting many of them is limited. They should be considered exactly what their name suggests: supplements to, not substitutes for, good nutrition and lifestyle habits.

Only a handful have shown reasonably consistent benefits for fat loss, exercise performance, or muscle preservation, and even those benefits are generally modest:

1. Caffeine: Known to improve exercise performance and endurance. It can be useful before a morning workout, although individual tolerance varies. The recommended dose is 3-6 mg per kg of body weight, taken 30-60 minutes pre-workout.
2. Creatine: Has good evidence for improving strength and exercise performance and supporting muscle mass. However, it can increase body weight due to water retention in the muscles, which may make you feel temporarily heavier or fuller. It can also cause gastrointestinal discomfort in some people. Although creatine is generally considered safe for healthy adults at recommended doses, people with kidney disease should seek medical advice before using it. Personally, I don’t consider it necessary for fat loss. Our bodies naturally produce creatine, and we also obtain it through foods such as meat and fish. Research into additional benefits, including cognitive function, is promising but not yet conclusive.
3. Omega-3 fatty acids: Worth considering for their cardiovascular and anti-inflammatory benefits. Some studies also suggest potential benefits for fat oxidation, although evidence for meaningful fat loss remains limited. Omega-3s are found in fatty fish and, in plant-based forms, in flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts. Those who rarely eat fish or rely exclusively on plant sources may benefit from considering supplementation with fish oil or algae oil. Thye recommened dose is 2-4 g/day of combined EPA and DHA.
4. Fiber: Helps promote satiety, regulate digestion, and support gut health. Ideally, we should obtain it through food, but supplementation can help when dietary intake is insufficient. More is not necessarily better: excessive fiber can cause bloating, digestive discomfort, and interfere with the absorption of certain nutrients. A general recommendation is 14 g per 1,000 kcal. For a 2,000 kcal diet, that translates to approximately 28 g daily. Going somewhat higher is fine, but there is generally no need to exceed 50 g. And don’t forget to drink enough water to keep things moving!

Then we have the so-called fat burners. These products typically contain combinations of caffeine and other stimulants. They can cause overstimulation, disrupt sleep, and trigger a range of unpleasant side effects. They also tend to be expensive. For these reasons, I don’t recommend them. If you’re looking for a stimulant-related boost in exercise performance, caffeine alone is a simpler and more cost-effective option.

Finally, we have GLP-1 medications. These are prescription drugs, not over-the-counter supplements, and should only be used under medical supervision and for their approved indications. Microdosing has not been adequately studied, so its safety and effectiveness cannot be assumed. I would not recommend experimenting with these medications outside established medical guidance.

Putting it all together

I would like to finish my article with a practical example.

Meet Laura:

• She’s a 45-year-old women, 5’3” (160 cm) and 154lb (70kg), 27.3 BMI, 35% body fat.
• Her BMI (>25) and body fat (>31%) are outside the healthy ranges.
• She works as a teacher, and is mum of a 10 year old kid.
• She walks her dog daily – and her kid has her moving too.
• She stands up a lot due to her job and walks at least 8,000 steps a day, between work, kid and dog.
• She attends Pilates classes twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and goes for longer walks or hikes over the weekend with her family.
• She tries to follow a low-carb, high protein diet based on veggies and lean animal proteins like chicken or seafood. She has a sweet tooth and several days per week she indulges with ice cream, cake, donuts or other sweets.
• Stress levels are low to moderate and usually she sleeps well for an average of 7.5 hours. She also enjoys long periods off work aligned with school breaks.

Laura’s goals:

• For health reasons, she would like to reduce her BMI and body fat to healthy ranges: BMI = 22, and body fat = 30%.
• For this, she needs to lose 13kg or 28lb (target 57kg or 126 lb. weight) and 5% of body fat.
• Based on her target weight, Laura calorie needs are about 1900 kcal.

Laura’s Nutrition plan:

• 1.8x grams protein for target kg body weight = 1.8x 57 = 103 g daily.

• 1,600 kcal daily.

Example menus:

• Consider two days of batch cooking per week (i.e. Sundays and Wednesdays).

• Breakfast (25g protein): sweet smoothie made with 1 cup of frozen fruit, soy or low-fat milk (8g protein), and flax seeds. Option to add 1 scoop of protein powder (15-20 g protein).

• Lunch (40g protein): grain bowl with ½ bowl of non-starchy veggies (broccoli, zucchini, green beans), 1/4 bowl high protein whole grains like quinoa, bulgur, buckwheat, chickpea pasta or noodles, and ¼ lean protein like chicken, shrimp, tofu, lentils or beans. Season with a sprinkle of seeds or nuts and lime or lemon juice. Dessert: 1 piece of fresh fruit like an orange or pear, on 1/2 cup of small fruit like cherries or berries.

• Snack (10g protein): an apple with a tbsp of peanut butter and walnuts, chia pudding, fruit and soy or Greek yogurt, a handful of nuts and dried fruit, unsweetened decaf latte.

• Dinner (30g protein): veggie or green salad, a small starchy veggie like a sweet potato, baked potato or a cup of carrots, and a portion of lean protein. As dessert, a piece of 70% chocolate cocoa bar.

Laura’s Exercise plan:

• These workouts should be added progressively.

• First two weeks: add a 30 min brisk walk, elliptical or cycling after Pilates class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• After two weeks: Add one 30 minute-full body, heavier strength training days on Mondays. Focus on upper body and large muscle groups that are not usually targeted in Pilates classes (i.e. quads). No need to include core or glute work these days, as that’s addressed with Pilates classes. Optional 20 minute moderate or interval cardio afterwards (alternate both based on energy levels).

• After four weeks: Add another 30 minute-full body, heavier strength training days on Fridays, followed by 20 minute moderate or interval cardio.

• Sunday: long hike or walk (60-120 minutes).

Wednesdays and Saturdays are rest days, gently walking or yoga is fine.

In conclusion – and how a health coach can help.

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is possible with the right multi-dimensional strategy. In this article, we learned how diet, exercise (EAT), movement (NEAT), lifestyle and supplements can help.

But knowing might not be enough. People usually struggle to bridge the gap between what they know they should be doing and actually doing it. Here is where a health coach specialized in nutrition and weight loss like me can help bridge the gap. A health coach will empower you with the tools and support you need to achieve your goals, in your own time and terms.

Of course, it is perfectly feasible to walk the journey alone, if that’s your preference. But you don’t need to. Regardless the approach you choose, you have the power and agency to achieve a healthy body composition.

Take care,

Isabel