John Schaefer HealthLearn

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How to eat and think for fat loss

27 years of coaching, boiled down. Simple principles you can use today, with room for the food and drinks you love.

By John Schaefer
01How to Think About Fat Loss: The Law of AveragesFat loss happens over the course of a month, not a single day. Once that clicks, you can plan for weekends, vacations and pizza night and still come out leaner.02Your Two Numbers: Goal Weight x 12 and Goal Weight x 0.7Two numbers matter: a daily calorie limit and a daily protein minimum. Hit their averages over time and you can eat and drink whatever you like.03The Big Five: The Only Habits That Really Move Fat LossWater, steps, protein, calories and strength training. Build them one brick at a time and everything else gets easier.04Walking: The Sneakiest Fat Loss ToolIt burns real calories, speeds up recovery, clears your head and you're already doing it. Here's how to turn walking into steady, low-effort fat loss.05How to Drink Alcohol and Still Lose FatAlcohol isn't the villain. The behavior around the drinking usually is. Here's how to keep your wine, your margaritas and your progress.06Nail Lunch, Dinner Is Yours (Plus Fast Food That Fits)Put your focus on one meal a day and you get to relax at the other. Here's how to build lunch, what to order at the drive-thru, and why dinner is where you get to play.07One Bad Meal Doesn't Make You Fat: The Skill of ReturningThe meal is rarely the problem. The story you tell yourself after it is. Here's the one skill that separates people who keep the weight off from people who start over every Monday.08Live It Now: Why Changing Your Body Was Never Really the Point"When I lose the weight, I'll be confident." What if it works the other way around? The psychology of becoming, without the magical thinking.09Dinner and Drinks: How I Go Out and Still Lose FatYou don't have to skip the steakhouse or the happy hour to get lean. You need to think ahead. Here's exactly how I plan a night out.10You're Not Bad at Fat Loss: Why 1,000 Restarts Beat 1 StopI yo-yo'd for years before I figured this out. The people who get lean and stay lean aren't the ones who never fall off. They're the ones who come back fastest.11The 3 Fat Loss Mistakes I See Every WeekAfter 27 years of coaching, the same three culprits show up almost every time someone tells me they're doing everything right and nothing is moving.12You Don't Need More Willpower. You Need Five Habits.Willpower breaks and motivation fades. What lasts is a handful of habits built one at a time, until they run on their own. Here are the five I build with every client.13Confidence Is Something You Collect: Why Proof Beats Pep TalksYou can't talk yourself into believing you'll stick with it this time. You have to watch yourself do it. Here's how belief in yourself actually gets built, and how to build it on purpose.14You Can Feel It and Still Go: How to Stop Letting Your Mood Run Your PlanWaiting to feel motivated, confident or calm before you act means waiting forever. Here's the skill that lets you feel all of it and still do what matters.15Meet the Person You're Becoming: The Science of Your Future SelfYour brain treats future you like a stranger, which is why the late-night snack keeps winning. Here's what the research says about closing that gap, and why picturing the goal on its own can backfire.16I Read 5 Years of My Coaching Texts. Here's What the People Who Lost the Weight Did Differently.331,804 texts with 622 people. The ones who lost the weight weren't the most motivated. They were the fastest to come back.17If Nothing Has Worked, Do This for 7 DaysThree small moves, one week, one box to check every night. Here's exactly what I'd do if I felt like nothing works for me, and why starting small is the whole point.