Everyone knows that they must eat healthy to lose weight, but very few people understand how exactly what you eat affects weight loss. Without this knowledge, a diet is simply a black-box; lack of success is far more likely to be greeted with helplessness and self-pity, rather than optimism and renewed enthusiasm. In this article, I have provided guidance to help you understand how exactly what you eat affects your weight, hopefully helping you design a diet that help you meets your goals. This is an area that I'm extremely passionate about, and one I have learned an incredible amount about over the last few years. The general confusion people have around this topic, and the widespread struggle people have faced in reaching their weight loss prompted me to write this piece. I hope that this can be useful information to you, and help dispel the myths and half-truths that are abundant in the nutrition world.

1. Weight Loss – Deciphering the Black Box
By Keshav Rajam
The Black Box
Losing weight and developing an aesthetic physique is in the forefront of many people’s minds, yet an
incredibly small fraction of the population has a working understanding of the basic principles of
nutrition. People tend to latch onto diets that they stumble upon in fitness publications, which promise
earth-shattering weight loss in the blink of an eye. But when results aren’t achieved as advertised,
people often lose motivation, give up, and blame their genetics. There is hardly a worse feeling than
following a strict diet to the best of your abilities, only to see the scale not budge even slightly. What is
required then, is an understanding of the physiological processes behind weight loss, to understand
exactly how what you eat affects your weight loss or lack thereof. Without this knowledge, a diet is
simply a black box. Lack of success is far more likely to be greeted with self-pity (I can’t lose weight no
matter what, I might as well give up), rather than optimism and renewed enthusiasm (my current plan
isn’t working, but I know exactly what I need to change to make it work). This difference in mindset,
fueled by a knowledge of the principles of nutrition, is often the difference between success and failure.
In this article, I will cover these principles, helping you design a diet that will make dieting flexible,
successful, and most importantly, enjoyable.
The Universal Law of Dieting
All successful diets are governed by one universal law: To lose weight, one must create a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit in simple terms means consuming less calories than one burns. According to the law of
thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. This means that that the “calorie
deficit”, or the difference between the calories you consume and the calories you burn, needs to be
accounted for in some way; in this case, it is from the burning of fat and muscle tissue. Without a deficit,
your body doesn’t have the need to tap into its stored energy reserves, and weight loss won’t occur. It is
a beautiful, yet highly simplistic process than people often lose sight of when dieting. People often fall
into the trap that if they eat healthy (focusing on foods such as grilled chicken, oats, brown rice, broccoli
etc.), and work out, they will “get in shape” and lose weight. “Getting in shape” usually refers to losing
fat and developing a lean physique, which requires a calorie deficit. Eating healthy food does not
guarantee a calorie deficit; if you are eating as many calories as you burn, you will not lose weight no
matter how healthy the food is. The total calories you eat is far more important than the type of food
you eat when weight loss is concerned. An understanding of this basic concept is absolutely critical to
ensure successful weight loss.
The challenge, however, lies in creating a calorie deficit over time while minimizing the side-effects
associated with dieting, particularly hunger, cravings, and loss of mood. Everyone knows they must eat
less to lose weight, but very few people are able to do so without feeling deprived; no eating plan will be
adhered to in the long-run under such taxing conditions. There are several ways to address this
challenge that I will outline in this piece. All these methods can be combined to design an eating plan
that will enable you to achieve your dream body while also maintaining your sanity. Sound good?
Satiability and its Role in Weight Loss

2. The first, and perhaps most commonly used weight loss strategy, is to focus on food with a high degree
of satiability, meaning that a relatively fewer number of calories from that food keep you full for longer.
Foods with a high degree of satiability are characterized by high protein, fat, and fiber content. 500
calories from grilled chicken, vegetables, and almonds is likely to keep you full for much longer than 500
calories from pasta, soda, or chocolates. Filling your diet with these types of food is thus much less likely
to leave you hungry and thinking about food constantly. This is the idea behind all low-carb diets, such
as the popular Atkins or Ketosis diets; by cutting down on foods that are not very satiating (particularly
white carbohydrates), and instead focusing on foods that keep you full longer (grilled meats, vegetables,
fruits, healthy fats, high fiber foods), you are able to successfully eat fewer calories without feeling as
hungry.
Eating traditionally “healthy” food is just a means to achieving a calorie deficit; eating healthy in itself
won’t cause fat loss. This leads me to another extremely important point – Junk food doesn’t make you
fat. Excess calories make you fat. One can lose weight eating only fast food (as was demonstrated by a
man in Iowa, who lost 34 pounds eating just McDonald’s), and one can gain weight eating only healthy
food like salads and grilled chicken. The determining factor at the end of the day is not the type of food
you ate, but rather the calorie balance that was created. Create a calorie deficit and you will lose weight,
no matter the source of the food.
Flexible vs Strict Diets
Dieticians often recommend extremely strict and boring diets comprised of exclusively “healthy” food
since most people lack the dedication, time, and knowledge to accurately track the calories they
consume; they usually just eat until they feel “full”. For these people, focusing on food with high satiety
(“healthy” foods) will mean they are likely to feel full by eating fewer calories, thereby creating a calorie
deficit and subsequent weight loss. This causes people to think that it’s the healthy food they are eating,
and not the calorie deficit, that is responsible for fat loss. However, if one accurately tracks calories, they
can fit in ice cream, fries, hamburgers, or any other “junk” food and still lose weight, given they are still
eating less calories than they burn. The more you “cheat” the more hungry you will feel while trying to
achieve your calorie goals, due to the low satiety of junk food. I recommend the 80-20 rule between
calories from healthy and junk food; this level of flexibility allows a person to create a successful diet
while still having the opportunity to indulge in moderation. This approach goes a long way in ensuring
the diet stays on track, helping prevent the almighty binge which can often undo weeks of dieting.
Remember, you are in this for the long run, so use the basic principle of a calorie deficit to create a diet
that can stand the test of time.
Meal Size, Meal Timing, and “Mini-Meals”
A critical concept that has caused a lot of commotion in the fitness industry is that of meal size and meal
timing. The latest trend endorsed today is to eat 5-7 small meals spaced evenly throughout the day
(“mini-meals”), with the intention of “speeding up your metabolism”. Proponents of this diet enthuse
that eating several small meals will “stoke” the body’s metabolism, in a similar way that adding small
amounts of wood to a fire will ensure that it burns more vigorously. Supporters of this philosophy also
claim that large meals, especially at night, cause excess fat gain as your body “doesn’t need all that
energy before bed”. There are two major shortcomings of this mini-meals concept. Firstly, one’s
metabolism, which is simply the amount of energy one requires on a daily basis, is determined primarily
by a combination of genetics, physique, and physical activity. Eating small meals every few hours isn’t

3. going to increase the amount of energy you burn, given all other variables stay constant. The claim that
large meals cause fat gain is also incorrect. It is the calorie balance in the long run (over days, weeks, and
months) that determines your weight loss or weight gain, not the precise time in the day that you eat.
The basic concept of a calorie deficit reigns supreme, no matter what diet you are on. Eat carbohydrates
before bed if you want to, as long as you are hitting your daily calorie goals; these carbs won’t magically
turn to fat! To summarize, meal size and meal timing have no effect on body composition. It is the total
calories consumed over the course of the day that determines weight loss. Eating every 2 hours is highly
inconvenient and completely unnecessary. Don’t be that person who goes to work with 5 pre-packaged
mini meals in his laptop bag.
In fact, eating less frequently can actually be advantageous for weight loss. Several people tend to feel
more satisfied eating 2 big meals a day rather than 5-7 smaller ones. This concept of eating fewer, bigger
meals while dieting is a key component of an eating plan called Intermittent Fasting, a concept several
professional athletes, models, and bodybuilders have utilized to great success. It is also a strategy I use
when attempting to lose weight, and is one I highly recommend, particularly if you are constantly
hungry using a traditional “mini-meals” approach. A typical eating plan using intermittent fasting would
involve eating your first meal around noon, and your second meal around 8PM. This 8 hour period is
called the “feeding window”, while the other 16 hours (8PM-Noon) is called the “fasting window”.
During the fasting window, it is important to avoid consuming calories. Black coffee, tea, and water can
be consumed, and are often great ways to reduce your hunger. From my experience, the only time you
are hungry on this plan is for an hour or 2 in the morning; for the rest of the day, you feel satisfied and
don’t even feel like you are “dieting”.
At this point you’re probably wondering why the plan I outlined above doesn’t include breakfast, forever
branded to us as the “most important meal of the day”. Skipping breakfast might be concerning to
some, but it is not something you need to worry about. You won’t lose muscle or slow your metabolism
by holding off eating for a few hours more; the body takes far longer to go catabolic. Get through that
brief period of hunger in the morning, and you will have 2 big meals waiting for you at lunch and dinner.
It is truly a fantastic and highly effective approach in my opinion. Remember, eat whatever you want,
whenever you want, as long as you maintain a calorie deficit.
One Step Further: Macronutrient Breakdown
While the calorie balance is the determining factor behind weight gain or weight loss, there in an added
layer of complexity that should be considered when designing a diet: macronutrient breakdown (the
proportion of protein, carbs, and fats that makes up the total calories one consumes). Creating a calorie
deficit will create weight loss, but the composition of this weight loss (whether it is from fat or muscle
tissue) will depend largely on the macronutrient breakdown and exercise program a person is following.
For most, it is preferable to lose fat rather than hard-earned muscle.
If one’s goal is to reduce the loss of muscle mass during a period of restricted calories, two principles
need to be followed in addition to simply creating a calorie deficit:
 A high-protein diet
 A strength training program

4. Eating a high protein diet ensures that when the body does require protein for rebuilding purposes, it
takes this protein primarily from the diet rather than from breaking down hard earned muscle tissue
(muscles are broken down to amino acids, a form of protein usable by the body. Consuming a high
protein diet thus provides a “buffer” of sorts). Strength training, on the other hand, gives your body a
stimulus to retain the muscle you have, which increases the likelihood of fat being burned for fuel
instead.
So, much protein is “high” protein? For those looking to maintain or add muscle mass, the following
macronutrient breakdown is recommended:
 Proteins: 1 gram / pound of bodyweight (or 2.2 grams per KG of bodyweight)
 Fats: 0.3-0.4 grams / pound of bodyweight (or about 0.7 – 0.9 grams per KG of bodyweight)
 Carbs: Fill the rest of your calorie goals with carbs
 Fiber: 40+ grams a day to improve satiety and digestive health
Remember, just as calorie is a calorie regardless of its source, a gram of protein is a gram of protein
regardless of what food it is from. Your body doesn’t know the difference between protein from grilled
chicken or from fried chicken; it is the identical chemical compound once it is digested. Hitting your
calorie, protein, carbohydrate, and fat goals are FAR more important than stressing about where these
calories and macronutrients come from. It is better to stick to healthier foods in general because they
contain micronutrients such vitamins and minerals, but from a body composition standpoint, it makes no
difference whatsoever. This concept of flexible dieting is called IIFYM “If It Fits Your Macros” (Macros
referring to daily macronutrient targets). There are plenty of online resources to explain this concept in
further detail should you be interested.
To illustrate this concept, imagine you weigh 200 pounds and your plan is to eat 2000 calories per day
with the intention of losing fat and preserving muscle. You would eat 200 grams of protein, which equals
800 calories (1 gram of protein = 4 calories). Add around 70 grams of fat, which is 630 calories (1 gram of
fat = 9 calories). That’s leaves 370 calories, or 92.5 grams of carbohydrates (1 gram of carbs = 4 calories).
You might be surprised that fats are so high, but it is vital to consume a relatively high fat diet for several
reasons. Fat is very satiating and keeps you full for a long time. Additionally, fat moderates your
endocrine system, so eating a low fat diet for prolonged periods can result in your hormones,
particularly your testosterone level, going out of whack. Finally, eating fat trains your body to burn fat
for fuel, transforming it into a fat burning machine. It has been drilled into our heads since we were born
that “fat makes you fat”, but in fact, the truth couldn’t be more different. Fat is a vital part of your diet
for these reasons and must be consumed in adequate quantities.
Counting macronutrients, in addition in calories, can prove to be quite time-consuming and mentally
taxing. For those looking for a more straightforward approach, I recommend this strategy: count total
calories consumed as accurately as possible, approximate protein consumed, and fill in the rest of the
calories with a balance of carbohydrates and fats. In the long run, as long as you are not severely
neglecting fat consumption, you should be in the ballpark of your carbohydrate and fat targets; this
method will achieve great results as long as your protein intake is sufficient and your calories consumed
is accurate. I highly recommend meticulously tracking calories consumed, as it is quite easy to
underestimate this number, particularly if you are just starting out.
Glycemic Index: Does it Matter?

5. You might be thinking at this point, “What about the Glycemic Index of Food? Isn’t that hugely
important”? I recommend not stressing about the glycemic index or the glycemic load of food that.
Several fitness publications have talked about this concept in detail, but the truth is that it is largely
immaterial if you aren’t diabetic, and here’s why: the glycemic index of food is rendered largely
irrelevant if carbohydrates are consumed along with proteins and fats, which is the case 99% of the
time. Proteins and fats slows down the digestion of these carbohydrates, converting a high GI carb
(simple or white carb) into a lower GI one (complex carb). For instance, white rice consumed with grilled
chicken and almonds behaves like a complex carb, such as brown rice or oats. The reason low GI foods
are recommended (and white carbs are considered the enemy) is because they contain more fiber in
them, making them more satiating. The whole theory of high GI foods “spiking blood sugar and causing
fat deposition” is highly sensationalized; don’t worry about GI, just focus on the larger picture. If you
haven’t heard about GI, that’s great, you’re lucky – ignore it and don’t stress.
Creating a Successful Eating Plan
Since my recommendations revolve around creating a calorie deficit, it is worth discussing some
strategies in setting calorie goals and counting calories and macronutrients consumed. The first step is
to calculate the number of calories you burn during the course of the day. This can be done use a TDEE
(Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator, which determines your daily caloric expenditure based on
your physique, gender, and activity level. Several TDEE calculators can be found online, and serve as a
good benchmark for the number of calories you burn on a daily basis. Once that number is established,
you need to set a daily calorie goal to eat. One pound of fat contains 3500 calories, so if you want to lose
one pound per week, you need to create a weekly calorie deficit of 3500, which equals a deficit of 500
per day. Double this deficit number if you want to lose 2 pounds per week. Use the guidelines
presented above to design a diet high in protein, fiber, and fats (relatively), and low in carbohydrates
(particularly grains, starches, and sugars), while still maintaining a calorie deficit. Combined with a solid
strength training program, this diet can help you build a lean and aesthetic physique. Even if you aren’t
particularly concerned with building or maintaining muscle, I hope that the guidelines suggested above
will help you shed body fat while keeping hunger and cravings at bay.
Counting calories is annoying, and frustrating at first, but I highly recommend doing it if you are serious
about losing weight and have had limited success by not doing so. Simply eating “healthy” and hoping
you lose weight could work, but it is not guaranteed to. Calorie contents, by size and weight, of various
foods (even restaurant chains) are easily available online and on several mobile applications. Below, I
have provided an example of counting calories and macronutrients from a sample day. It is a variant of
Intermittent Fasting, where I consume small pre and post-workout meals to help fuel my workouts and
aid in recovery:
 Meal 1 (Lunch) – Chipotle Burrito Bowl with Double Steak (722 calories, 80 P, 60 C, 18 F)
 Meal 2 (Pre-Workout) – ½ Cup Oats and Protein Shake (267 calories, 30 P, 30 C, 3 F)
 Meal 3 (Post-Workout) – Protein Shake (121 calories, 25 P, 3 C, 1 F)
 Meal 4 (Dinner): Half Rotisserie Chicken without skin (460 calories, 60 P, 10 C, 20 F)
 Meal 5 (Dessert): One cup ice-cream (298 calories, 5 P, 38 C, 14 F)
Total = 1868 calories, 200 grams protein, 141 grams carbohydrates, 56 grams fat.

6. The plan above allows me to easily hit my calorie and macronutrient goals (I weight 175 and aim for
2000 calories per day while trying to lose weight), while allowing me to consume a delicious diet that
even has room for ice cream. After a week or 2 of counting calories for everything you eat, it will
become second nature. Track your weight everyday at the same time and take weekly rolling averages,
since weight fluctuates quite a lot due to changes in water retention. Initially on a diet, weight loss is
rapid due to loss in water weight from eating fewer carbs (a trend often associated with most calorie
restriction plans). If you think you are eating at a calorie deficit and are not losing weight, it means only
one thing: you are eating the same amount of calories that you are burning, and are in fact not creating
a calorie deficit. Either the TDEE calculator overestimated your caloric expenditure (something that is
quite common), or you are underestimating the calories you eat (also very common when you begin
counting). In this case, reduce the calories you eat, or increase the calories you burn (through additional
exercise) until your weight loss is at the desired rate. Aiming for a loss of 1-2 pounds per week is usually
a good rule of thumb. Slow and steady wins the race.
Weight Loss Plateaus, Carbohydrate Refeeds, and Leptin
A topic that has caused much frustration and anguish to millions of people, right from professional
bodybuilders to average Joes, is the dreaded weight loss plateau. Just when progress seems to be going
smoothly, and the fat is melting off like snow on a crisp spring day, weight loss stops out of nowhere,
seemingly for no particular reason. Days pass by, even weeks, but the scale doesn’t budge. In the short
term, there is nothing to worry about, as fat loss can often be masked by water retention. However, if
weight has remained constant for 3 or more weeks, it likely means that you have hit a weight loss
plateau. No need to fret though; there are ways to break through this glass floor and even ways to
prevent it from occurring in the first place. A true weight loss plateau can only mean one thing: you are
eating as many calories as you burn. The calorie deficit, which had been causing weight loss up to now,
has been gradually wiped away.
Calorie deficits disappear primarily due to two factors: you are subconsciously eating more calories, or
the body is burning fewer calories, or both. The former is easier to fix, as it just involves a closer
examination of one’s consumed calories, and adjustment as necessary. The latter reason, however, is an
area worth discussing further. As one diets, a phenomenon called “metabolic down-regulation” takes
place. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, as one loses weight, there is less of you to move around,
meaning your body needs less calories to perform daily functions. The second reason is slightly more
complex; after extended periods of constant dieting, the body senses that it is starving, and aims to hold
onto whatever fat it still has by slowing the metabolism, primarily as a self-defense mechanism. The
leaner one gets, the more our bodies fight back; it cares more about survival than flashing a set of abs to
impress the girl or guy standing next to you.
The key, then, is to diet without letting your body know that you’re dieting; you need to confuse your
body. The solution? Carbohydrate refeeds. Eating a high amount of carbohydrates periodically helps
reset leptin, a vital hormone necessary for fat burning and metabolic upkeep. Low levels of leptin, which
are associated with periods of sustained dieting, slow down your metabolism and bring fat loss to a
screeching halt. Periodic high-carbohydrate days can help break through weight loss plateaus by
boosting leptin levels, and hence your body’s metabolism and fat burning capability.

7. I would suggest placing these high carbohydrate days (called carbohydrate refeed days) once a week
(twice a week if you are already very lean, and once in two weeks if you have a lot of weight to lose). On
these days, structure your diet as follows:
 Total calories: Eat at maintenance calories (0 deficit), based on the TDEE calculator
 Protein: 1 gram/pound of bodyweight (no change).
 Fat: Keep fat as low as possible. < 50 grams is ideal. Fat has a negligible impact on leptin levels,
so it is better to replace fats with carbohydrates on these days alone.
 Carbohydrates: Fill the rest of your diet with carbohydrates, until you reach your maintenance
level of calories.
Pancakes, pasta, bread are all on the table, so carb refeeds provide a fantastic mental relief as well. You
can feast on carbs guilt free knowing that it is actually helping your weight loss in the long run. Eating a
high level of carbohydrates also replenishes your muscle glycogen storage, ensuring the intensity of your
workouts don’t suffer. Pretty awesome right?
Maintaining optimal hormonal levels during dieting is absolutely vital to prevent your body from fighting
back, and carbohydrate refeeds are a potent trick that should be in every dieter’s arsenal to battle past
plateaus. Remember, a structured carbohydrate refeed is not a cheat day. Refeeds are planned
primarily to reset the body’s hormonal balance (primarily Leptin), while cheat days are more for a
mental relief. Cheat days are fine occasionally, just keep them in moderation.
Stubborn Fat Reduction
I’d like to end by touching upon an area that has been thoroughly misunderstood among novice dieters:
stubborn fat and fat spot-reduction (losing fat from a specific part of the body). Most people carry fat in
their torsos, particularly on their abdomen, lower back, and chest. People often seek ways to lose fat in
that area specifically; how many times have you heard someone ask “How can I lose my beer belly?”, or
“How can I lose this annoying chest fat?” They then go about doing hundreds of sit-ups, push-ups, and
other exercises to feel the “burn” in that problem area, thinking that the sensation is fat melting away;
this couldn’t be further from the truth. The “burn” people speak of is simply lactic acid build up, a by-
product of metabolic activity during periods of strenuous exercise. The truth is, you can’t remove fat
specifically from a certain area of your body. As you diet and lose weight, you will tend to lose fat in a
largely sequential manner, in an order determined by your genetics. It is a “first on, last off” process,
meaning that the first place you gain fat will likely be the last place that it comes off. Most people have
these problem areas in different parts of the body, manifesting itself as chubby cheeks, thunder thighs,
or flabby chests. To lose fat in these spots, you will need to just keep dieting and know that eventually it
will come off, even if it will be the last place for the fat to melt away. This is why fat in these areas are
called “stubborn fat”; they require a great deal of time and dedication to be burned. It is much easier to
get ripped arms than it is to get a six pack, mostly because the fat in the abdomen region typically takes
a lot longer to disappear. Accept your genetics, and understand that you can’t spot-reduce fat from a
specific part of your body. Stay patient, and eventually the fat from even the most stubborn of areas will
come off. Remember: first on, last off.
Stay Strong, Stay Focused

8. Hopefully this article has provided you with some useful information regarding a nutritional framework
that you can use to achieve your weight loss goals. There are an incredible number of myths and half-
truths in the nutrition industry, most of which are designed to sell supplements. I’ve tried to provide you
guidance on the basics, which will help you design a diet and fitness plan that suits your lifestyle, and
more importantly, a plan that you enjoy and can stick to in the long run. I think the beauty of the
framework I have outlined is the level of flexibility that it offers. I intentionally provided very little
guidance in terms of what specific foods to eat, how much of them to eat, or when to eat them. It is up
to you to design a diet that you enjoy. All too often, I have come across diets that require you to eat a
specific set of foods at set times during the day, which can get boring very quickly. With the approach I
have outlined, you can eat a different set of foods every single day and still lose weight providing you
are maintaining a deficit. Further, should weight loss not be at the desired rate, you will know exactly
why, and can adjust accordingly; dieting is a black box no more.
Weight loss is a slow and gradual process, and requires time and dedication for you to succeed. That is
simply the truth of the matter. However, armed with the knowledge I have share with you, you can
make the necessary changes in your lifestyle to ensure you succeed and get the dream body you always
desired.
Diets are overly restricted dictatorial regimes than often fail for precisely that reason; they are far too
inflexible. What I have outlined isn’t what one would traditionally call a “diet”; think of it more as a
flexible eating plan. Good luck, and happy eating.
Let’s summarize the key points outlined:
 Calorie deficit is what causes weight loss, irrespective of the type of food consumed.
 Eating predominantly satiating foods helps one stick to a calorie restricting diet without feeling
as hungry.
 Fat doesn’t make you fat – excess calories make you fat. Calories are king. You can eat junk food
and still lose weight effectively.
 Meal size and meal timing does not matter. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want, as long
as you are creating a calorie deficit.
 Glycemic Index is irrelevant to weight loss.
 Find your TDEE using an online calculator, subtract 500-1000 from it, and track your calories
carefully to hit this number. Tracking calories is vital to ensure that you meet your goals.
 3500 calories equals one pound of fat. Eating 500 calories less than you burn on a daily basis will
cause you to lose one pound per week (500 * 7 = 3500).
 You can’t spot reduce body fat from certain areas of your body. Stubborn fat will come off last,
so stick to your diet and exercise plan and be patient.
Eating at a calorie deficit and you will lose weight. I bet my bottom dollar on it.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me at kesh.rajam@gmail.com.