The first few times I intentionally lost fat, I never tracked anything.

Here's why this was a huge mistake 👇

I didn't always track macros and calories.

When I wanted to lose fat, I just avoided anything that wasn't lean protein, salad or vegetables.

I'm 6'3, 210-220ish, and active. Easy 10k steps a day, 4 hard workouts per week (at the time).

I must have been eating 1500 calories many days.

My deficit was probably 1500 calories, maybe more.

Weight dropped crazy fast.

Hunger was bad, but I just toughed it out.

I lost a boatload of strength in the gym, straight away.

I definitely lost muscle.

Had no energy, had brain fog.

I had cravings and every so often I gave into them.

I binged more than I'm proud to admit.

I would follow up these binges with periods of over-restriction to try and correct them...

This only led to binge/restrict cycles.

Still... I manage to make progress and got as lean as I wanted to.

Then as soon as I came out of the deficit, it was like the floodgates opened...

I said yes to everything. Ate everything I wanted to.

Put all the weight back on in a few months.

When I tracked macros and calories, it was different.

I had calorie targets to hit, and it was a lot more food than I would usually eat on a cut.

The progress was slower, but it was sustainable.

I was eating things that were "off limits" before so it never felt like I was depriving myself.

Then, when I reached my desired leanness, it was easy to slowly bring the calories back up.

No binges, performance in the gym was maintained as much as possible, didn't lose muscle and had a much happier time in general!

So even if you don't "need" to track macros to lose fat, I'd still recommend it.

Especially if you're the type who is prone to exteme dieting.

Tracking your macros helps you avoid extreme dieting and makes the process more enjoyable.

MacroFactor is my favourite app (use code ROBNBF for 2 weeks free).

I transform tired, busy & overweight dads into lean and energised champions for their families using my 20 Minute Muscle system and smart nutrition strategies.

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