What Most People Get Wrong About Fat Loss (and What Actually Works)

Weight loss is a topic that resonates with almost everyone at some point in their lives. Whether it’s losing a few pounds or achieving a significant transformation, the journey often feels overwhelming.

The truth is, many people get dieting wrong by focusing on the wrong things. They get caught up in the latest diet trends—low fat, low carb, vegan, carnivore, keto, and more. But here’s the reality: the type of diet you follow doesn’t matter as much as you think.

What truly matters is one simple principle: caloric deficit.

The Golden Rule: Caloric Deficit

At its core, weight loss is about energy balance. If you consume fewer calories than your body burns, you lose weight. If you consume more calories than your body burns, you gain weight. It’s that straightforward. There are no exceptions to this rule. That’s why you can get fat eating healthy food and why you can lose weight eating chocolate.

I myself have experienced lots of cycles of gaining and losing weight, and have now figured out how to make the whole process of losing fat and maintaining a healthy body weight a lot easier.

In these pictures, I went from around 20% body fat on the left to about 8% on the right.

Now I’ll share how I did this pretty effortlessly and what I learned along the way.

Why Most People Fail

Because they focus on the wrong variables. They:

• Obsess over the type of diet, not the total calories

• Mistake weight loss for fat loss (losing glycogen/water isn’t fat).

• Follow trendy plans that are unsustainable long-term

• Completely ignore the importance of protein (This is a big one).

Why Diet Trends Don’t Matter

Let’s debunk a common myth: no specific diet is inherently better for weight loss. Whether it’s low carb, low fat, or any other diet, they all work—or don’t work—based on whether they help you achieve a caloric deficit.

For example, so often I’ve heard people say, “I’ve been on a low-carb diet for a few weeks, and I’ve lost weight!”

But here’s the truth: it’s not the low-carb aspect that caused the weight loss; it’s the caloric deficit.

Also, when you cut carbs, your body loses water and glycogen, which can result in a quick drop in weight. This however is not fat loss—it’s just water weight. Additionally, many high-calorie junk foods are carb-heavy (think cookies, cakes, and candy). Cutting these out naturally reduces your calorie intake, leading to weight loss.

But again, it’s not about the carbs; it’s about the calories.

Let’s break down what actually matters:

✅ Caloric deficit
✅ Protein intake
✅ Satiety and adherence
✅ Muscle mass maintenance

Macronutrients and Personal Preferences

While the type of diet doesn’t matter, your macronutrient intake can influence how easy or difficult it is to maintain a caloric deficit. Some people naturally crave carbs, while others prefer fats. Tailoring your diet to your preferences can make it easier to stick to your calorie goals.

That said, there’s one macronutrient that stands out when it comes to weight loss: protein.

The Power of Protein

Almost nobody knows about the hidden superpowers of protein.

Protein is not just useful for building muscle.
It is a game-changer for anyone looking to lose weight. Here’s why:

1. Satiety: Protein is the most satiating macronutrient. It keeps you fuller for longer compared to carbs or fats. For example, 200 calories of chicken breast will leave you much more satisfied than 200 calories of pasta.

2. Hormonal effect: Protein stimulates the production of leptin, a hormone that signals fullness. This helps reduce hunger and makes it easier to eat less.

3. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): Protein has the highest thermic effect of all macronutrients. This means your body burns more calories digesting protein than it does digesting carbs or fats. For every 100 calories of protein you eat, your body uses 20-30 calories just to process it.

4. Muscle Preservation: Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, especially when you’re in a caloric deficit. Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it burns calories even at rest. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, and the more calories you can consume without gaining weight.

Those four reasons combined make it almost impossible to overeat on protein. Use this to your advantage.

Muscle Mass = Easier Fat Loss

One thing most people miss: as you build or maintain muscle, you automatically increase your metabolic rate.

Muscle requires energy to exist. The more muscle you have, the more you can eat while still staying lean.

That’s why people who lift regularly can often eat 300–500 calories more than someone sedentary — and still drop fat.

This works the other way too. Notice how losing weight has gotten harder with increased age? That’s because as you age, you naturally lose muscle (sarcopenia), which is why fat loss gets harder.

The solution?

Train consistently and prioritize protein. Don’t let muscle mass slip.

Not All Macronutrients Are Equal (Calorically)

It’s easy to forget how calorie-dense fat is compared to other macros:

• Carbs: 4 kcal/g

• Protein: 4 kcal/g

• Fat: 9 kcal/g

Fat isn’t bad. But because it’s so energy-dense, it’s easy to overshoot your calories with a few spoonfuls of peanut butter or a handful of nuts.

This shows that eating healthy ≠ eating to lose weight.

So if your primary goal is to lose weight, it might be a good idea to limit your intake of nuts, peanut butter or olive oil, even though these are healthy.

Instead of cutting carbs or fat entirely though, aim for balance, while prioritizing protein and calorie control.

The Role of Exercise

While this post focuses on nutrition, it’s worth mentioning that exercise plays a supporting role in weight loss.

However, the majority of your results will come from managing your calorie intake. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. That’s why understanding and applying the principle of caloric deficit is so crucial.

The Tobi Diet: A Simple and Effective Approach

If you’re looking for a straightforward way to approach weight loss, here’s my very simple plan that works:

1. Calorie goal: Figure out your maintenance calories. You can find calculators online. They won’t be 100% accurate, however you have something to go off of. Aim for a small caloric deficit (Slower weight loss is better).

2. Protein Intake: Aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (or equivalent in kilograms). Alternatively, you can use 1 gram of protein per centimeter of height. The more protein you eat, the easier dieting will become, due to the reasons mentioned above.

3. Calorie Target: Fill the rest of your calorie needs with a balance of carbs and fats, staying within your desired calorie target. It theoretically does not matter what you eat, as long as you covered your protein.

4. Food Swaps: Opt for low-calorie-dense foods to make the process easier. For example, swap pasta or rice for potatoes, mayo to light mayo or chips for popcorn. The idea behind these swaps is to find an alternative that tastes 80% as good but has way fewer calories.

You need to find foods that you still enjoy eating, because it only works if you can adhere to it. It is way better to just eat 70-80% perfectly but do that consistently, than trying to be 100% perfect but quit after two weeks.

This approach ensures you’re getting enough protein to support muscle maintenance and satiety while keeping your calorie intake in check.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, weight loss isn’t magic.

It’s math.

Diets don’t fail because of carbs or fats or lack of willpower. They fail because they don’t create — or sustain — a caloric deficit. Once you get this, everything else falls into place.

Track what you eat. Prioritize protein. Move more if you enjoy it. And don’t let perfection become the enemy of consistency.

If you’re overwhelmed by diet advice, strip it all back to these two questions:

1. Am I in a calorie deficit?

2. Am I eating enough protein?

Answer those with a “yes,” and you’re already 80% of the way there.

PS: If you need more motivation to get started, know this: The first 20% of weight you’re going to lose will give you 80% of the health benefits. You don’t have to be perfect. Any little progress helps a lot.

Thanks for reading. See you next week :)