Before you begin

A few quick notes will make these guides easier to use.

• Use a desktop or laptop when possible: These guides often link out to calculators and supporting references. A larger screen makes it much easier to move between tabs and compare information.
• Use the linked tools instead of doing manual math: Interactive calculators are linked wherever they can save time. The equations are sometimes shown for reference, but you usually do not need to calculate them yourself.
• Treat the guide as a framework, not a rulebook: Use the guidance as a strong starting point, then adjust based on your body, recovery, and training response instead of following it rigidly.

1. Ultimate Weight Loss Guide

AI Fitness Advice (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude)

AI gets its training data by scraping vast corners of the internet, including forums like Reddit where bro-science, myths, and misinformation spread easily. Because of this, AI-generated workout routines and diet plans often sound incredibly convincing, even when they are deeply flawed or just generic templates. Interestingly, AI tends to perform best in fields where the work is highly verifiable. In software engineering or mathematics, you can test an output instantly and cheaply. Code either compiles and passes its tests, or it fails. A math proof is either right or wrong. The feedback loop is immediate. Fitness and nutrition do not work that way. There is no quick, objective validation system. If an AI gives you a subpar training program, you might not notice the issues for weeks or months. Even then, pinpointing the cause is incredibly difficult. Real-world progress depends on a complex web of individual variables, including your genetics, adherence, recovery, sleep, stress, exercise technique, and daily nutrition. Right now, AI is most effective in fitness when it is paired with an experienced human who can critically evaluate and tweak the output. Unlike writing code, fitness does not have an automated compiler to instantly flag a bad hypertrophy block or a useless dieting strategy.

Why trust these guides? Where is the proof that they work? Who can I contact?

To put things in perspective, the MacroCodex app has over 16,000 users. You can see what they think by reading the reviews on the Play Store. We do not have upsells, subscriptions, ads, or donation requirements. Everything here is completely free.

These guides are built on years of hands-on coaching and consistent, real-world results. By following this approach and using the free MacroCodex app, you will see weight loss or weight gain within 2 to 5 weeks. It is rare to find free resources that promise results this quickly without trying to upsell you, show ads, or force a subscription.

You do not have to trust these guides blindly. If you spot any mistakes or run into issues, email us at [email protected] and we will look into it.

Here is some feedback from the community:

• A thread on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/tirzepatidecompound/comments/1omfgxd/everyone_should_read_this_guide_on_losing_fat/
• An independent user report: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskFitnessIndia/comments/1tgjvvo/how_to_backup_or_move_macrodex_data_locally_or_on/

You can find several other Reddit posts and comments referencing these guides and sections. We also back up our claims with linked evidence whenever possible, and we encourage you to research these concepts independently.

Once you start seeing results, the best way to support us is by sharing your experience. Since the app and guides are completely free, we have zero advertising budget, which makes it hard to reach a larger audience. Mentioning MacroCodex on Reddit, in YouTube comment sections, or other relevant places goes a long way. We only want honest feedback, so please only share it if the app actually helped you reach your goals.

Leaving a quick review and rating on the Play Store also helps immensely. If you run into any issues, just send an email to [email protected].

Why read this Guide?

These guides might look intimidatingly long and detailed, but in our coaching practice, we get clients up and running with these exact fundamentals in their very first week. Usually, within 2-5 weeks, they are already seeing the scale move in the right direction. It really is as straightforward as downloading MacroCodex and taking action.

We have packed these pages with the kind of hands-on intuition, troubleshooting techniques, and myth-busting that normally takes a coach five to ten years of trial and error to figure out.

Most beginners spend their first year or two spinning their wheels because they have no idea how to eat. They obsess over perfecting their training routine, even though they could just grab a free, proven program from LiftVault, FitnessWiki, or Boostcamp and get great results. Training is actually the easy part. If you are doing about ten challenging sets per muscle group each week (around zero to three repetitions in reserve) and gradually adding weight or reps, you will grow.

We focus purely on the high-leverage basics. You can find endless "science-based" optimizations online, but almost all of them offer microscopic returns. This guide prioritizes the vital 20% of effort that yields 80% of your real-world results.

When you first start lifting, you can get away with a terrible diet because "newbie gains" carry you through. Eventually, though, you will hit a wall. Even if you manage to build some decent muscle by accidentally eating enough protein and calories, that new muscle often ends up buried under a layer of stubborn body fat. The result is a physique that looks disappointing in the mirror, despite all your hard work in the gym.

Reading this can save you years of frustration. By the end, you will understand nutrition the exact same way elite performers do, including IFBB pros, athletes, models, and Hollywood actors.

Let's establish a ground rule.

You are not allowed to say "my diet is fine" unless you can fill in these blanks on the spot:

"My maintenance is X calories. My goal is Y, so I am eating at a Z calorie deficit or surplus. This means my daily target is A calories, made up of B grams of protein, C grams of carbs, and D grams of fat."

Without these numbers, "eating clean" usually just means eating home-cooked, whole foods without any actual awareness of your energy intake. If you want predictable, repeatable progress, guessing is not enough. You need the actual data. This guide walks you through exactly how to find and track those targets.

If you ask any top-tier athlete, fitness model, or actor about their nutrition, they can instantly tell you their maintenance calories and daily targets.

Whether you want to build a lean, athletic frame or the mass of a competitive bodybuilder, your results depend entirely on these core principles. Knowing them is what separates people who feel lost from those who make steady, visible progress week after week. It ensures your hard work in the gym actually pays off. Ultimately, it comes down to managing three variables: the fuel you put in your body (calories and macros), your total mass (your scale weight), and your body composition (your body fat percentage).

What the Scale Doesn't Tell You

Track Your Weight Trend, Not Your Daily Weight

Stepping on the scale every morning can be incredibly frustrating, mostly because our weight naturally bounces around. It's completely normal for your weight to shift over the course of a single day or week simply because of water retention, recent meals, and glycogen levels. Instead of stressing over those daily ups and downs, it's much more helpful to look at the overall trend over several weeks.

Why bodyfat% matters?

Staring at the scale and obsessing over a single number is an easy trap to fall into, but that weight doesn't tell the whole story. Your body is far more than just a single lump of mass. Instead, it is split into two main parts: fat mass and lean mass. Fat mass is pretty self-explanatory, while lean mass is everything else, including your muscles, bones, organs, and water weight.

Tracking both your total weight and your body fat percentage reveals the actual ratio between these two components. This gives you a much clearer understanding of your true baseline and lets you accurately measure the quality of your progress over time.

Take a look at the image below. Both men stand at 180 cm (5'11") and weigh 80 kg (176 lbs). Despite sharing identical stats, one looks soft and out of shape, while the other looks lean and athletic. The deciding factor here is their body fat percentage.

Man 1 carries a higher body fat percentage of 30%. This means 30% of his total weight comes from fat, leaving the remaining 70% as lean mass.

Man 2 sits at a much lower body fat percentage of 10%. Only 10% of his weight is fat, while a massive 90% is lean mass.

These numbers make their physical differences immediately obvious. For Man 1 to build a leaner, more athletic build, he needs to focus on dropping fat while packing on lean mass.

True body transformation isn't just about moving the scale up or down. It's about shifting your overall body composition to find the right balance between fat and lean tissue.

Look at it this way. If someone called you and only shared their height and weight, you would have almost no idea what they actually looked like in person. But if they added their body fat percentage to the mix, you'd immediately have a highly accurate mental picture of their build.

The Problem with Most Body Fat Measurements

Since your body fat percentage is such a critical metric, you need an accurate way to measure it. The truth is, most methods are wildly inconsistent.

Smart Scales and Smartwatches

Just a quick heads-up: don't rely too heavily on consumer-grade smartwatches and scales. They're incredibly convenient, sure, but their body fat estimates are notoriously off. Basing your fitness decisions on these numbers can easily steer you in the wrong direction. There's a reason clinical equipment costs thousands of dollars. You simply can't squeeze that level of technology into a gadget that costs less than a grand.

Finding a proper scan is actually pretty straightforward. If you search for "DEXA scan near me", you'll likely find a local clinic or gym offering them for a reasonable fee. I'd recommend calling ahead to confirm the pricing first, since different facilities can charge wildly different rates for the exact same scan. Make sure to specifically ask for a "Body Composition DEXA scan." If you plan on tracking your progress over time, try negotiating a package deal for a few scans throughout the year. Many providers are happy to offer a discount if you prepay or commit to a bundle.

InBody

You've probably seen InBody machines at your local gym, as they've become incredibly common worldwide. The models you'll run into most often are the InBody 260 and 270. While these are perfectly fine for keeping an eye on overall trends (like whether your muscle or fat mass is generally going up or down), they aren't highly accurate. In fact, they aren't even close to the precision you get from a DEXA scan.

As you go up the product line, the accuracy gets better:

InBody 970/970S > InBody 770 > InBody 260/270

Yet, even the top-of-the-line InBody 970/970S falls short of a DEXA scan when it comes to pinpointing body composition. The high-end models do a much better job of minimizing errors and delivering deeper metrics, but as the table shows, they still can't match DEXA's gold standard accuracy. Since these professional machines cost thousands of dollars and still have limits, a cheap smart scale doesn't stand a chance. Save your money instead of wasting it on those home gadgets.

Accuracy of methods

For body fat % measurement, in terms of accuracy:

Visual guide

Visual estimates, even by professionals, are significantly less accurate than DEXA scans, no matter what some forum discussions might claim. That said, for contest or photoshoot preparation, visual assessments for conditioning are a practical method. In such cases, it's beneficial to seek guidance from a coach's trained eye for a more reliable evaluation.

Why are visual body fat comparisons so often misleading?

A few major factors explain why looking at photos rarely tells the whole story.

1. The same body fat percentage can look completely different, even at the exact same height

Body fat percentage only tells you the ratio of fat to your overall body weight. It does not reveal how much muscle you carry unless you factor in your scale weight to calculate your actual lean and fat mass.

Take two men who are both 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) tall and sit at 10% body fat:

• One weighs 70 kg (154 lb)
• The other weighs 90 kg (198 lb)

Even with identical body fat percentages, their physiques will not look similar at all.

The 90 kg individual has significantly more lean mass, along with more absolute fat mass.

• The 90 kg person has 9 kg of fat and 81 kg of lean mass.
• The 70 kg person has 7 kg of fat and 63 kg of lean mass.

This means the heavier man has 2 kg more fat, but a massive 18 kg more lean mass. That extra muscle creates a larger, rounder, and much fuller shape. Because of this, the heavier man will usually look leaner and more defined, despite both individuals sitting at exactly 10% body fat.

With 18 kg of extra muscle, his biceps, quads, and lats have a much larger circumference. This gives him a naturally wider and more developed silhouette.

2. The "peaks and valleys" effect of body topography

Most people can guess body fat fairly well if the subject has decent muscle mass. However, those guesses get highly inaccurate when looking at someone with average or below-average muscle.

It sounds counterintuitive, but visual leanness depends heavily on your body's physical contours, not just how thick your fat layer is. The 90 kg lifter has prominent muscle peaks. When a bicep flexes and peaks, it stretches the skin and subcutaneous fat thin over the top. At the same time, the valleys between muscles (such as the gap separating the bicep and tricep) run deeper because the muscles on either side bulge outward. This casting of deep shadows and sharp transitions creates a highly defined look.

The 70 kg man has smaller muscle bellies. While he carries 2 kg less total fat, that fat is spread over a smaller frame. The skin does not stretch as tightly over his muscles, which leaves him with softer transitions and less defined separation.

This dynamic only holds true if both people are roughly the same height. It explains why a simple body fat percentage can never fully describe how someone actually looks.

Fitness influencers frequently exploit this topographic effect to look much larger on screen than they are in person.

You might wonder how someone of your exact height and weight looks so much bigger. The secret is usually a lower body fat percentage. A leaner build creates deeper shadows and sharper muscle separation, making muscles pop on camera.

If you saw that same influencer standing next to an average person, you would instantly see their true size. Often, they are not actually massive; they are just incredibly lean, and the lens exaggerates their shape.

This also explains why heavy strongmen or powerlifters can look surprisingly lean, sometimes even showing visible abs, at higher body fat percentages. Their massive amount of lean muscle mass carries the weight differently.

This does not mean tracking body fat is useless. If you know someone's height, weight, and body fat percentage, you can get a very solid mental picture of their build.

3. Fat distribution is highly individual

When we try to guess body fat, we usually focus on obvious areas like the shoulders, arms, chest, waist, and abs. We look at the core and the limbs because those are the areas on display.

But fat does not accumulate evenly. One person might store fat primarily in their thighs, hips, glutes, or lower back, while another stores it mostly around their stomach.

A DEXA scan measures fat distribution across your entire body to find your true overall percentage. Visual guesses, on the other hand, rely on just a few visible areas. Since everyone stores fat differently, two people with identical body fat levels can look entirely different.

Coaches frequently rely on calipers or DEXA scans to track progress, but when bodybuilders step on stage, they are judged strictly on visual conditioning. Precise body fat percentages simply do not enter the equation. Many trainers love to say the eyes are the ultimate judge, but human vision still cannot match the precision of an MRI or a DEXA scan.

Long before these high-tech tools became common, lifters used a much simpler rule of thumb: bulk until your abs fade, then cut until they show up again. You do not need cutting-edge technology to get results.

If you cannot get a DEXA scan, the free MacroCodex app has a built-in US Navy body fat calculator. The classic formula it uses is more than enough to establish a solid baseline.

To translate male body fat targets to female equivalents, you can generally just add 9 to 10 percentage points.

Here is how that looks in practice:

• If the recommendation for a man is to cut to 10-12%, the target for a woman is about 19-21%.
• If a man is advised to bulk up to 17%, the equivalent target for a woman is roughly 26-27%.

This quick adjustment makes it easy to convert standard fitness guidelines between genders.

What's the Goal?

Your objective will dictate your entire approach, so it’s crucial to know exactly what you’re aiming for.

• Cutting is all about lowering your body fat while performing minimum required lifting to maintain existing muscle mass
• Body Recomposition is the process of building muscle and losing fat at the same time.
• A Lean Bulk focuses on maximizing muscle gain while accepting a minimal, controlled increase in body fat.
• An Underweight Bulk is a more aggressive approach for those who need to gain weight to reach a healthy range.

Manage expecations

A common trap for beginners is trying to chase multiple goals at the same time. Pros do not do this. They focus on one specific goal per phase.

When you are in a cutting phase to lose weight, building muscle shouldn't be your main expectation. While you can technically build muscle in a calorie deficit, the process is incredibly slow and tedious. It is like swimming against a strong current: you might make forward progress, but it takes an exhausting amount of effort.

In fact, once your daily calorie deficit goes past 400 calories, your rate of muscle growth drops off a cliff. Why waste energy stressing over muscle gains during a cut?

Real muscle growth is maximized when you are eating in a slight calorie surplus. If you want to dive deeper into the science behind this, check out this guide on why a surplus is prescribed when muscle can grow at maintenance.

A smarter strategy while cutting is to do an hour to an hour and a half of Zone 2 cardio every day. To keep your joints healthy and avoid overuse injuries, mix things up by rotating through brisk walking, incline treadmill walks, cycling, or swimming. To keep the muscle you already have, you only need to lift weights once or twice a week.

Once you successfully lean down, transition into a lean bulk. At this point, bump your lifting sessions up to three or four times a week and scale your cardio back to about 30 minutes. The calorie surplus from your lean bulk will act like fuel, allowing you to build muscle much faster.

Having those extra calories simply makes the entire muscle-building process much easier.

While burning fat is relatively straightforward when you put in the hours of low-intensity Zone 2 cardio, trying to pack on size while dieting is a tough battle.

Do not fight against basic calorie math or you will quickly burn yourself out. Use a surplus to build mass and a deficit to lose fat. It is that simple.

Why not just eat at maintenance and skip bulking or cutting altogether?

If you want a more detailed breakdown of this debate, take a look at this article explaining why a surplus is prescribed when muscle can grow at maintenance, and why we lean bulk or cut.

When you gain weight, it is always going to be a mix of muscle and fat. The goal of a lean bulk is to tilt those scales, maximizing muscle growth while keeping fat gain to an absolute minimum.

Eventually, you will need to run a cut to strip away whatever unwanted fat accumulated during your bulk. But do not worry, if you execute your lean bulk properly, the rate of fat gain is incredibly slow.

Fueling the Machine: Calories and Macros

Your body's transformation is fueled by what you eat. Calories are simply energy, eat more than you burn, and you’ll gain weight; eat less, and you’ll lose it. But the type of calories you eat determines the quality of that change. These are your macros:

• Protein is the brick and mortar for building muscle. Without enough of it, your body simply can't repair and grow, no matter how hard you train.
• Fats are non-negotiable. Healthy fats are essential for regulating the hormones that drive muscle growth and recovery, not to mention keeping your joints healthy. Skimping on them will sabotage your progress.
• Carbohydrates are your body's go-to energy source, especially for powering you through high-intensity workouts.

Workout does not build muscle.

Workout triggers a process which builds muscle using supplies from diet.

A person working out consistently triggers this BUILD process, but if the diet is not on point, this process halts prematurely and doesn't build anything.

The supplies are fats, carbs, and proteins, which all add up to total calories.

These are needed in the right proportion for growth; too low fat = hormones not working optimally, not enough joint lubrication, too low carbs = not enough performance, glycogen stores to fuel the workout, too low proteins = not enough building blocks for muscle, too low calories (coupled with low bodyfat% which is body's energy reserve) = not enough energy to sustain muscle protein synthesis.

The "Dieting Tips" Fallacy

"Just eat smaller portions" is advice we hear all the time. But without tracking your calories, you are basically guessing which parts of your meals actually need to shrink.

For instance, your diet might benefit most from cutting back on fats, but you decide to slash carbs or protein instead. You could end up hurting your gym performance, slowing down your recovery, or stalling muscle growth, all while making barely any progress.

Tracking your food solves this issue by showing you exactly where your calories come from. It takes the guesswork out of the process, allowing you to make targeted adjustments instead of cutting out the wrong things.

Many people assume that counting calories is incredibly restrictive. In reality, it usually gives you more freedom. Once you know your daily target, you can easily fit in the foods you love while still moving toward your goal.

The same goes for the classic "just cut carbs" advice. Every gram of stored carbohydrates (glycogen) holds onto several grams of water; the clue is right there in the word "hydrate." When you drop your carbs, your body quickly sheds that stored water. It is why beginners see the scale plunge in the first few days and assume they have lost a ton of fat, when it is really just water weight.

Without accurate tracking, it is easy to mistake water loss for fat loss, or to make dietary changes that do not actually address the root of the problem.

Measure, adjust, measure, and repeat.

Automation

While this guide walks you through how to calculate and track your metrics manually, doing it by hand isn't for everyone. If you prefer to automate the heavy lifting, you can use MacroCodex. It is a completely free app designed specifically around the exact methods we cover here, and it takes care of almost all the tedious math and daily tracking for you.

It is still worth reading through this guide to understand the logic behind the numbers. However, the app is a great shortcut if you are short on time, prefer a hands-on learning approach, or simply want a faster, more consistent daily routine.

The green dashed line represents your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which is your maintenance level. To drop weight, you will want to eat below this line to create a deficit. To pack on size, eat above it for a surplus. If your goal is body recomposition, aiming right around that line is your best bet.

More than 16,000 people are already using the tool. Get free MacroCodex app here

Setting it up is simple. Just log your daily calories and weekly weight, then choose your specific goal, whether that is weight loss, cutting, body recomposition, or a lean bulk. As your metabolism shifts and your actual TDEE changes, the app automatically adjusts your daily calorie and macronutrient targets so you do not have to recalculate everything yourself.

If you think losing weight means lifting heavy, spending endless hours at the gym, or downing fat burners, you're missing a big piece of the puzzle. So many people try to lose fat and fail—not from laziness, but because they don't understand how it actually works. They hire expensive coaches, waste money on supplements, and jump on trendy diets, yet the results never stick.

This guide changes that. Follow these fundamentals, and you'll know exactly how to lose fat and keep it off for good, whether you have a gym membership or not.

The Real Formula for Losing Body Fat

The most effective way to lose fat isn't about one single trick; it's about combining a few key strategies. The foundation is a moderate calorie deficit, which is essential for any sustainable progress. From there, it's all about moving more. Simply increasing your daily steps—aiming for a consistent 8,000 to 12,000—can have a massive impact on your total energy use. For someone weighing between 150-210 lbs (68-95 kg), that simple habit can burn an extra 600-850 calories a day (BodySpec, 2025).

Next, add in some low-impact cardio like swimming or cycling. These activities are especially great if you're carrying extra weight, as they are much easier on your joints than running. Just an hour of moderate-intensity (Zone 2) cardio can burn another 400-500 calories (Mount Elizabeth Hospitals, 2025).

One good approach is to rotate between swimming, bicycling and fast/incline walking to avoid overuse injuries. If you don't have access to those don't worry, Humans can walk a lot!

Finally, don't forget strength training. Building and maintaining muscle is crucial because it raises your resting metabolic rate, meaning your body burns more calories even when you're sitting on the couch. Gaining 22 lbs (10 kg) of muscle can increase your daily calorie burn by an estimated 100-150 calories (Pratley et al. 1994, Lemmer et al. 2001, Lopez et al. 2022, Aristizabal et al. 2014). Over a year, that small, consistent boost could lead to losing an extra 11-16.5 lbs of fat just from your body's improved metabolic engine.

Simply, eating optimal protein and lifting weight will boost your maintenance calories as Muscle Protein Synthesis goes up. More on this here

This combined approach of smart eating, daily movement, cardio, and strength training is the most reliable path to significant, lasting fat loss while protecting your joints and metabolism (The Cochrane review Shaw, et al., 2006; Westcott 2012).

Why We Gain Weight in the First Place

The reason most people gain weight is surprisingly simple: we eat calorie-dense foods and live largely inactive lives. Change those two things, and the fat will come off.

One major change from the past is that modern life requires far less movement. Cars, the internet, and technology let us carry out many daily activities without leaving our chairs. At the same time, we now have easy access to highly engineered, hyper-palatable, calorie-dense foods that encourage us to eat more than we need.

MacroCodex data from thousands of people shows many people today are Sedentary (very low movement and activities) and undermuscled which lowers your Maintenance Calories.

The solution is fairly straightforward: eat more whole, minimally processed foods and move more. That said, it's still possible to gain fat eating whole, minimally processed foods if you consistently consume more calories than you burn. Whole foods simply make it easier for many people to control their appetite and calorie intake.

You gain fat when you consistently eat more calories than your body burns, an amount known as your Maintenance calories or TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Think of your TDEE as a daily energy budget. If you keep putting more fuel (food) in than your body needs, it stores the excess as fat for a rainy day.

When you flip the script and eat less than your TDEE, your body has to find that missing energy somewhere. It turns to its fat stores, burning them for fuel to keep everything running. Once you hit your goal weight, the aim is to eat at "maintenance", which is simply matching your calorie intake to your new TDEE to keep your weight stable.

The Muscle Myth

There’s a common myth that lifting weights on its own is a magic bullet for burning fat. The truth is a little more complicated. While lifting is fantastic for preserving muscle while you lose weight, cardio is far more efficient for burning calories day-to-day.

You'll often hear, "More muscle burns more calories, so just build muscle to lose fat!" That's only partly true. An average 30-minute lifting session only burns about 150-210 calories (Hunter GR et al., J Strength Cond Res (2003)). And while adding 22lbs (10 kg) of muscle does boost your metabolism by roughly 130-150 calories per day, building that much muscle is incredibly slow—especially when you're eating in a calorie deficit to lose fat (Gallagher D et al., J Appl Physiol (1997)). For beginners, it's a slow process; for advanced lifters, it's nearly impossible (Morton RW et al., J Appl Physiol (2021); Hector AJ et al., Obesity Reviews (2018)).

Even if you could gain that muscle, it might take one to two years. Why wait that long for a tiny metabolic boost when you can burn 400-500 calories with an hour of cardio today?

This doesn't mean you should skip the weights. Resistance training is vital for holding onto the lean muscle you already have while you're in a deficit. If you're a beginner, you might even build some new muscle along the way, which will slowly increase your metabolism over time. So keep lifting, but understand its true role: to preserve muscle, not to be your primary fat-burning engine.

Let's say you were sedentary and your maintenance calories were 2400kcal, now you eat optimal amount of proteins and lift weight, without making any other change, your Maintenance Calories will go up. Why? Lifting weights and eating optimal amount of proteins means your body spends energy in Muscle Protein Synthesis, this process is not very efficient as a result your Maintenance calories go up. For a more detailed argument, see this: Is surplus needed for muscle growth?

The “lifting for weight loss” myth originated when gym trainers started taking Trenbolone Acetate. When they used tren, they were able to build muscle even at maintenance or in a calorie deficit while also leaning out rapidly. This effect can happen naturally too, but the rate is much much slower.

Tren’s fat-loss effect is extreme. It raises core body temperature and increases how aggressively the body utilizes stored fat for energy. Because of this, many trainers started believing that lifting weights alone is highly effective for making overweight people lean.

This is why some gym trainers refuse to understand that lifting weights by itself is not what primarily drives fat loss in overweight people. Diet and maintaining a calorie deficit are still the main factors behind significant fat loss.

What do we learn? Calorie deficit > Boost Zone2 Cardio > Lift Weights for fat loss. Combine all 3 but the item which appears first in the list has more impact! This is primary reason why you'll find many people who lift weights but are still fat because they do not focus on dieting.

2. Getting Started: Calculations and Goals

Calculate Maintenance Calories (TDEE)

For a deeper dive, see this accurate Maintenance Calorie (TDEE) Tracking Guide.

Why are we calculating this?

We calculate BMR to know how low we can go, we'll not go below BMR no matter what.

Note: MacroCodex free app automatically calculates deficit, bodyfat, and BMR and Maintenance Calories (TDEE) and automatically adjusts your targets and macros as you progress in your weight loss journey, so you never hit a weight loss plateau.

How Much Calorie Deficit Should You Use?

Deficit just means how much less you eat compared to your TDEE.

So for example, if your TDEE is 3000 calories and you eat 300 calories less, your deficit is: (300 ÷ 3000) × 100% = 10% That means you're on a 10% deficit.

When you eat less than your TDEE, your body makes up the difference by burning fat. So if you eat 300 calories less, your body will burn 300 calories from stored fat.

A bigger deficit = faster fat loss, but don’t overdo it. If your deficit is too big, you’ll feel tired, hungry and may become anxious. Never eat below your BMR!

Note: MacroCodex already caps the weight loss calorie target to not fall below BMR, override is available for Pros who know what they are doing.

Choose Deficit Based on Body Fat %

If you use MacroCodex App, it will pick the right deficit you automatically which you can tweak later.

But why do we choose a calorie deficit based on body fat percentage? Because body fat is essentially an energy reserve. The higher your body fat, the larger your energy reserve, meaning you can generally sustain larger calorie deficits without feeling as drained or bogged down.

Info given below is for reference only, you can safely skip to next step as the above tool does it for you

Higher body fat = more buffer to lose fat quickly without harming lean mass. Lower body fat = smaller deficit to protect lean mass and performance.

What Science Says

• Larger deficits (25-30%) work well for obese individuals Hall KD et al., 2011, The Lancet
• Leaner people lose more lean mass on aggressive cuts Peos JJ et al., 2021, Sports Med
• Moderate deficits preserve more lean mass and energy Johannsen DL et al., 2012, Obesity

Volume Eating

You’ll follow the macros listed below, but if you don’t feel satiated or full, consider adding vegetables to your meals. The recommended daily intake for vegetables and fruits is 400g. You can opt for non-starchy vegetables, as chewing them will create a feeling of fullness and trick your body into thinking you’ve eaten more. Additionally, the fiber in vegetables will support healthy bowel movements and help your body adjust to the higher protein and calorie deficit in your diet. Most non starchy vegetables tend to have very low calorie for the total volume.

Do not drink liquid shakes or meal replacements, always try to go for solid and whole foods. Liquid calories are easy to overate as they require no chewing effort, fooling your body into overconsumption of calories.

3. Macronutrient Targets

In MacroCodex app (completely free), it will automatically pick the right deficit for you which you can manually tweak. Want to see the details behind the calculation? They're listed below for reference. Otherwise, feel free to skip to the next step, as MacroCodex app has already taken care of it for you.

Protein

Protein requirement in overweight or obese people is calculated based on Lean Body Mass. This is useful for accurately determining how much protein you actually need. Body weight based recommendations can overestimate needs for people with higher body fat percentages.

General Population (Normal Fat Loss)

• 1.8-2.2 g/kg of lean body mass per day
• Supports fat loss while preserving lean mass and satiety
• Sufficient for most people not doing heavy resistance training
• This is a practical LBM-based range, not a single study-derived cutoff.
• Informed by: Morton et al., 2018 (Br J Sports Med); Longland et al., 2016 (Am J Clin Nutr); Wycherley et al., 2012 (Obesity Rev); Phillips et al., 2016 (Appl Physiol Nutr Metab) - together, these support higher protein intakes during fat loss for preserving lean mass, improving satiety, and improving body composition, especially when total body weight based formulas might overestimate needs in higher body fat individuals.

Example:

• LBM = 60 kg
• Protein target = 2.2 × 60 = 132g/day
• Calories from protein = 132 × 4 = 528 kcal

Fat

• Set fat intake to 0.7-1.0 g/kg of body weight per day
• This is a practical working range for general weight loss that supports essential fatty acid intake, hormonal health, and satiety without crowding out protein and carbohydrates.
• Supported by: Astrup et al., 2015 (Obesity Rev); Lunn & Theobald, 2006 (Nutr Res Rev) - minimum fat intake supports essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamin absorption during weight loss. General dieters often benefit from a slightly higher intake for satiety and mood, which is why 0.7-1.0 g/kg body weight works well in practice.

Example:

• Body weight = 90 kg
• Fat target = 0.8 × 90 = 72g fat/day
• Calories from fat = 72 × 9 = 648 kcal

Carbohydrates

• Fill the rest of your calories with carbs
• Helps fuel workouts and recovery

Example:

• Total calories = 2240
• Protein = 528 kcal
• Fat = 560 kcal
• Remaining = 2240 – (528 + 560) = 1152 kcal
• Carbs = 1152 ÷ 4 = 288g/day

4. Meal Plan

Once you’ve got your calories and macros from MacroCodex app (completely free),you can proceed with creating your meal plan.

See this guide on How to create a meal plan

5. Tracking and Adjusting Progress

If you use MacroCodex app, it will automatically make all these adjustements for you.

If you are dieting manually then you may need to make these adjustments:

Track & Adjust

• Weigh yourself weekly
• Recalculate your Maintenance Calories (TDEE) every 4-6 kg lost
• Adjust macros based on new weight and TDEE (every 4-6kg lost)

6. Example: Putting It All Together

For reference only (safely skip to next step)

Meet Alex

• Age: 28
• Height: 175 cm
• Weight: 110 kg
• Estimated Body Fat %: 27%
• Lean Body Mass = 110 × (1 – 0.27) = 80.3 kg
• TDEE: ~3200 kcal/day

Calorie Deficit

• 20% deficit = 3200 × 0.20 = 640
• Calorie goal = 3200 – 640 = 2560 kcal/day

Protein

• Protein = 2.2 × 80.3 = ~177g/day
• Calories from protein = 177 × 4 = 708 kcal

Fat

• 25% of 2560 = 640 kcal
• Fat = 640 ÷ 9 = ~71g/day

Carbs

• Remaining = 2560 – (708 + 640) = 1212 kcal
• Carbs = 1212 ÷ 4 = 303g/day

Final Macronutrient Targets for Alex

Fat Loss Timeline

For reference only:

For Kilograms:

• Deficit = 640 kcal/day
• Weekly deficit = 640 × 7 = 4480 kcal/week
• 1 kg fat = 7700 kcal
• Estimated loss = 4480 ÷ 7700 ≈ 0.58 kg/week

Total loss goal: From 110 kg to 80 kg = 30 kg Estimated time = 30 ÷ 0.58 ≈ 52 weeks (~12 months)

---

For Pounds:

• Deficit = 640 kcal/day
• Weekly deficit = 640 × 7 = 4480 kcal/week
• 1 lb fat = 3500 kcal
• Estimated loss = 4480 ÷ 3500 ≈ 1.28 lbs/week

Total loss goal: From 242 lbs to 176 lbs = 66 lbs Estimated time = 66 ÷ 1.28 ≈ 52 weeks (~12 months)

---

Note:

• Initial weight loss may be faster (mostly water and glycogen)
• Fat loss slows as weight drops and TDEE reduces
• Recalculate your macros every 4-5 kg (9-11 lbs) lost

New to tracking macros? Start here: Calorie Macro Tracking Guide

If you do not want to track, alternatively you can make a Meal Plan

7. Training Guidelines

Before you start any program

Hypertrophy just means muscle growth. You'll find plenty of programs but first you must learn what really matters in a program. Read Hypertrophy Blueprint, it contains all the knowledge you need to grow muscles. After reading this, you'll be able to make changes to any program.

You can find many free programs on websites like LiftVault, BoostCamp or FitnessWiki

Are you a beginner?

When you're new to fitness, the best thing you can do is follow a program built by an experienced coach. It's tempting to try and design your own routine, but you're unlikely to come up with something more effective. A solid plan is much more than just a list of exercises; it’s a careful balance of volume, intensity, and smart progression that takes expertise to get right.

If you’re working out from home or have limited equipment, this free beginner program list is an excellent place to start. It’s flexible and offers options based on the gear you have, including a full bodyweight program if you have no equipment at all.

So, what kind of schedule works best for beginners? A full-body routine three times a week or an upper/lower split four times a week are your best bets. As a novice, you get better results by training each muscle group at least twice a week, which helps maximize your body's muscle-building response. This is supported by the study "Effects of resistance training frequency on measures of muscle hypertrophy, a systematic review and meta analysis" by Schoenfeld et al., published in Sports Medicine, 2019. This approach also lets you practice the main lifts more often to build a solid foundation. If you can train four days a week, an upper/lower split is a fantastic choice because it hits every muscle twice while giving you plenty of time to recover and grow.

Ready to hit a fully-equipped gym? Here are a few great starting points:

Beginner Optimal Hypetrophy Program

If you're a late beginner or intermediate, proceed to Intermediate Programs

How often should you lift weights?

• Recomp: 3–4x/week If you're new, detrained, a beginner, or returning after time off, you can usually recover well from 3–4 sessions per week while still building muscle and losing fat. You are handling easy weights here, so recovery isn't much of an issue.

• Lean bulk: 3–4x/week You are in a calorie surplus and lean enough to prioritize muscle growth. Muscle gain is generally maximized in a surplus, so training performance and recovery are better.

• Cut / weight loss: 1–2x/week In a calorie deficit, recovery and muscle growth potential drop. Once the deficit becomes large (around 400+ kcal/day), muscle gain slows significantly, so the goal shifts more toward maintaining muscle rather than maximizing growth.

• Maintenance: 1–2x/week Maintaining muscle requires far less training volume than building it. A small amount of hard training is often enough to keep most of your muscle and strength.

• PED users: 5–6x/week PEDs can dramatically increase recovery, work capacity, and protein synthesis, allowing much higher training frequency and volume. PED users can build muscles much faster than naturals even in deficit.

Why do Zone2 cardio?

A calorie deficit is:

Deficit = TDEE (Maintenance Calories) - Intake

Most people focus only on lowering calorie intake, but increasing energy expenditure is another way to create the same deficit.

Example:

• Maintenance calories (TDEE): 2,000 kcal
• Food intake: 1,500 kcal
• Deficit: 500 kcal

For many people, eating only 1,500 kcal is difficult and may leave them hungry, tired, and less active.

Instead, they could increase their activity through easy Zone 2 cardio such as brisk walking or incline walking:

• Maintenance calories (TDEE): 2,500 kcal
• Food intake: 2,000 kcal
• Deficit: 500 kcal

The deficit is exactly the same, but the person gets to eat 500 more calories per day.

This is important because sedentary people already have relatively low energy expenditure. If they rely entirely on food restriction, they often become hungry, lethargic, and unconsciously move less throughout the day. As body weight decreases, energy expenditure also naturally falls. Together, these effects can reduce TDEE and slow fat loss.

Easy Zone 2 cardio helps counter this by increasing daily energy expenditure while being relatively easy to recover from. This allows many people to maintain a meaningful calorie deficit while eating more food, feeling better, and staying more active throughout the diet.

The goal is not simply to eat as little as possible. The goal is to create a sustainable calorie deficit while keeping energy expenditure as high as reasonably possible. To find your zone2, checkout this Zone2 Guide

How often should you do cardio?

Zone 2 is low-intensity cardio, so it can be sustained for much longer than high-intensity cardio like sprints, allowing for a higher cumulative calorie burn over time.

• Recomp: ~50-60 minutes/day of Zone 2 cardio Helps increase TDEE and makes it easier to stay in a slight deficit while still recovering well enough to build or maintain muscle. Deficit = TDEE − calorie intake.

• Lean bulk: 30–40 minutes/day of Zone 2 cardio Your main goal is muscle gain, not maximizing calorie burn. Moderate cardio helps with cardiovascular health, work capacity, recovery, and appetite without interfering too much with gaining weight.

• Cut / weight loss: 1–2 hours/day of Zone 2 cardio More Zone 2 cardio increases calorie expenditure, helping create larger deficits for faster fat loss. Since lifting frequency is lower during this phase, more time and recovery capacity can be allocated toward cardio. Since you are performing relatively high amount of cardio, vary it between bicycling, fast walking, incline walking, swimming to avoid overuse injuries.

• Maintenance: 30–40 minutes/day Enough to maintain cardiovascular fitness, general health, and keep TDEE above a sedentary level without creating excessive fatigue or energy demands.

Since Zone 2 cardio is low intensity and relatively easy to recover from, it usually does not interfere much with recovery from lifting weights.

You can separate the sessions across the day, such as doing cardio in the morning and lifting in the evening, or the other way around.

• Use cardio as a tool to increase energy expenditure, not to replace a calorie controlled diet
• High intensity cardio can interfere with strength training recovery

Note: Cardio increases your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), thereby increasing your calorie deficit and accelerating fat loss.

It also helps break plateaus by maintaining high energy demands, forcing the body to tap into fat reserves to meet those needs.

Muscle Loss

If you're currently bordering on obesity, worrying about muscle loss is a waste of energy. Carrying that much extra weight is a far bigger threat to your life expectancy than losing a bit of lean mass. Dropping down to a healthy weight is a major win for your longevity, even if you lose some muscle in the process.

A lot of people stress out about losing muscle when they go on a cut, but most of that worry is misplaced. Unless you're using lab grade tools to track your actual tissue, why assume the muscle is gone just because you're getting smaller? In healthy adults, skeletal muscle accounts for roughly 40 to 50% of fat free mass (FFM). Men are generally on the higher side of that range. Women tend to be lower because a bigger chunk of their lean mass is made of organs and essential fat. Lean Body Mass (LBM) covers everything that isn't fat, including bones, skin, organs, and especially water. Glycogen and water storage can swing your FFM and LBM numbers wildly. If an average guy cuts out carbs for just two or three days, he can lose about 2 to 3 kg (4 to 6 lb) of water weight. If he steps on a body composition scanner, it will likely show a drop in fat free mass or a lower FFMI. In reality, he hasn't lost any muscle tissue at all. Actual loss of muscle tissue is actually quite rare. You can't gauge it by feeling small or looking flat. Dehydrating yourself might make your muscles look more defined, but it doesn't mean you've gained anything. Likewise, losing glycogen might make you shrink a bit, but that isn't the same as actually losing tissue. Significant muscle loss usually happens in very specific scenarios: muscle wasting diseases, extreme crash diets, or being completely bedridden. If you're eating enough protein and staying active, your risk is low. Since skeletal muscle is about 70% water, what most people mistake for muscle loss is usually just a change in how full the muscles look. Our protocol suggests lifting heavy once or twice a week. That provides more than enough intensity to keep your gains. Research suggests that you only need about one third of your original training volume to maintain muscle. If you do lose a tiny bit of ground, you will gain it back fast during your next bulk, or even during a recomposition if you're a beginner. Keep in mind that even a DEXA scan doesn't measure muscle tissue directly. It measures lean body mass. If your DEXA numbers go down, it doesn't automatically mean your muscles are actually smaller.

8. Advanced Strategies

Refeeds During a Cut

Refeeds are 1-2 days per week (or every 2 weeks) at maintenance calories, higher in carbs. Some coaches use them to support performance, mood, and possibly help preserve muscle or metabolic rate.

When to Consider:

• Cutting for 8+ weeks
• Low body fat (men ~12%, women ~20%)
• Fatigue, poor recovery, or diet burnout

Evidence Summary:

• Campbell et al., 2020: Moderate quality RCT in lean lifters, 2 day refeeds helped preserve fat free mass and RMR.
• Dirlewanger et al., 2000: Overfeeding increased leptin, potentially offsetting adaptation (short term).
• Other evidence: Mostly mechanistic or based on hormonal response and glycogen replenishment.

Evidence quality: Moderate to low. May help psychologically and in late stage cuts, but not essential for results.

Diet Breaks During a Cut

Diet breaks are 1-2 week periods at maintenance calories, often used during long cuts to ease fatigue, improve mood, and support training.

When to Consider:

• Cutting for 8+ weeks
• Experiencing fatigue, plateaus, or low adherence
• Body fat getting quite low (men ~12%, women ~20%)

Evidence Summary:

• MATADOR Study (Byrne et al., 2018): Moderate quality RCT in obese men showed better fat loss with intermittent 2 week breaks.
• Peos et al., 2021-22: Moderate quality trials in lean resistance trained athletes found no major physiological benefit, but improved psychological outcomes like diet satisfaction.

Evidence quality: Moderate. Useful for mental relief; not essential for muscle or fat loss in lean lifters.

16. When Should You Stop Fat Loss?

When to Stop Fat Loss and Exit a Calorie Deficit

Fat loss isn't meant to go on forever. You should stop and exit the calorie deficit when one or more of the following apply:

You've Reached a Healthy Body Fat Level

• Men: ~12-15% body fat
• Women: ~20-25% body fat

These ranges are lean, healthy, and sustainable for most people.

Caution: Chasing ultra low body fat or staying in a deficit too long can backfire, causing strength loss, mental fatigue, and disordered eating. Stop when you're lean enough, not just when the scale says so.

You're Seeing Signs of Diminishing Returns

• Weekly fat loss has stalled for 3+ weeks despite consistent effort
• Experiencing low energy, poor recovery, irritability, or disrupted sleep
• Strength in training is declining or plateauing

You've Been in a Deficit for Too Long

• Most people should avoid staying in a deficit for more than 12-16 weeks at a stretch
• Prolonged deficits raise the risk of muscle loss and rebound fat gain

What to Do Next

• Transition to maintenance calories for 4-8 weeks to recover hormonally and metabolically
• Then decide:
  • Stay at maintenance
  • Cut again later
  • Enter a lean gain (muscle building) phase

If you're satisfied with your physique, maintenance is enough.
But if you want to keep improving it, consider a lean bulk.

Use this tool to decide Fitness Strategy Planner