You can train insane to shed fat, but if your nutrition isn’t dialed in, your fat loss will stall, your energy will tank, and your results will suck.
The goal isn’t just to cut calories but to fuel your workouts, preserve lean muscle, and promote fat loss while keeping energy levels high. But before all of that, a personal trainer to the stars and Fitness Nutrition Specialist Brad Kolowich Jr. of Kolo Fit says to establish your baseline calories before starting any fat loss routine.
“Before cutting calories, you need to know how much you eat to maintain your current weight,” explains Kolowich.
Let’s examine this in detail, and Brad Kolowich will teach you how to manipulate your protein, carbs, and fats to achieve the shredded look.
Understanding The Calorie Deficit
You’ve probably heard the phrase “calories in vs. calories out” a thousand times. That’s because it’s the undeniable foundation of fat loss. You can have the best training program, and your diet could be on point, but you’re not losing fat if you’re not experiencing a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit means burning more calories than you consume. When this happens, your body uses stored fat for energy, leading to fat loss over time.
Here’s how it works:
- Caloric Surplus: Eating more than your body burns → Weight gain
- Caloric Maintenance: Eating the exact amount your body burns → No weight change
- Caloric Deficit: Eating less than your body burns → Fat loss
It’s simple but not always easy, and here’s how he gets his clients to do it.
Track everything you eat for 7 days and use a food tracking app (MyFitnessPal, Cronometer) to determine your average daily calorie intake. Then, weigh yourself at the start and end of the week.
If your weight stays the same, that’s your maintenance level.
- If your weight increases, you’re in a surplus—adjust accordingly.
- If your weight drops, you’re already in a deficit and may need to increase calories slightly before cutting.
Kolowich suggests establishing a baseline macronutrient average intake through the above protocol and recommends getting a baseline body fat percentage, which will help with future nutritional adjustments.
Macronutrients and Their Importance in Fat Loss
Protein
Protein is the foundation of your physique and vital for your health. It plays a critical role in muscle repair, recovery, and growth, ensuring you maintain the strength and definition you’ve worked hard for as you shed fat. Here’s why getting enough protein is crucial for both muscle and health:
Muscle Growth & Retention: Protein provides the essential amino acids your body needs to build and repair muscle tissue.
Increased Metabolism: Protein has the highest thermodynamic effect (TEF) of food, meaning your body burns more calories digesting protein than it does digesting fats or carbohydrates.
Supports Immune Function: Amino acids build many enzymes, hormones, and immune cells. A protein-rich diet supports a strong immune system, balanced hormone levels, and faster recovery from workouts.
Keeps You Fuller for Longer: If you’ve ever tried to diet and felt constantly hungry, you probably weren’t eating enough protein. It’s the most satiating macronutrient, which helps reduce cravings and control appetite when cutting calories.
Daily Target: According to Kolowich, “I like 1g per pound of body weight per day as a good starting baseline, although I’ll bump it up to 1.25g, 1.5g, 1.75g, and up to 2g in cases of intense training. I focus on sustaining and gaining lean mass while carbohydrates remain on the low end.”
Best Protein Sources:
- Lean meats (chicken, turkey, beef, bison, elk, pork)
- Fish (salmon, tuna)
- Eggs & egg whites
- Greek yogurt & cottage cheese
- Plant-based: tofu, tempeh, lentils, chickpeas
Carbs
Carbs get a bad rap, but the truth is, they’re your body’s primary fuel source, especially during intense training. The key isn’t to eliminate carbs but to use them to fuel your workouts, aid recovery, and optimize fat loss without sacrificing performance. Here’s the Kolowich method of using carbs to fuel your fat loss.
“The key shredding is to maintain a steady and consistent target of protein and fats while slowly reducing carbohydrate consumption throughout your targeted fat loss period. So, carbohydrates are the only macronutrient manipulated throughout your fat loss phase.
Once a current maintenance level of carbohydrates is established, reduce your carbohydrate consumption by 0.25g pound of body weight per day for no sooner than one week but no longer than four weeks, based upon when you plan your next body composition follow-up test.
You’re on the right track if you’ve lost at least 0.5 to 2 pounds of body fat weekly. Anything less, we’ll need to reduce your carbohydrate consumption by another 0.25g per pound of body weight per day for another 1-4 weeks, following the same above protocol.
Continue the above method until you’ve either reached your ultimate body fat percentage goal or reached a halt in your progress,” says Kolowich
Training Days: 0.75–1.0g of carbs per pound of body weight, reducing by .25g when required
On Non-training Days: 0.5g of carbs per pound of body weight, reducing by .25g when required
Best Carb Sources: Fruits (Kolowich suggests consuming them first thing in the morning as well as post-workout. Fruits are the last carb sources to reduce due to regular consumption benefits).
Grains and Vegetables
Starchy Vegetables: sweet potatoes, beets, squash
Whole Grains: rice, quinoa, oats (if tolerated and you have room for them after eating fruits and veggies.)
Healthy Fats
Fats regulate hormones, keep you full, and support joint health. Cutting them too low kills testosterone levels and slows fat loss. If you’ve been told to cut fat to lose fat totally, that’s BS. Fats are essential for metabolism, hormone production, and health.
Why Healthy Fats Are Critical For Fat Loss & Muscle
- Support Hormonal Balance & Metabolism: Fats regulate testosterone, estrogen, and cortisol, which play a role in fat loss and muscle retention.
- Reduce Inflammation & Aid Recovery: Omega-3 fatty acids reduce muscle soreness and inflammation, helping you recover faster and train harder.
- Enhance Satiety & Control Cravings: Fats slow digestion, keeping you full longer and preventing cravings that can derail your progress.
Daily Target
Baseline: 0.5g per pound of body weight per day.
Do NOT go lower than 0.25g per pound of body weight daily, says Kolowich.
Best Fat Sources
- Avocados
- Nuts & seeds (almonds, walnuts, chia, flax)
- Butter, ghee, tallow, olive oil (no heat), coconut oil, avocado oil
- Fatty fish (e.g., salmon, mackerel)
- Fatty meats (e.g. Ribeye steaks)
Remember to drink half your body weight in ounces of water because dehydration kills your fat-loss efforts. These nutrition methods will help you burn fat, keep muscle, and get lean. Now it’s time to get to work.
