The Only Way to Lose Body Fat

here is only one way to lose body fat short of surgery and anything else that I wouldn't recommend, and that is:

You must be at an energy deficit. Meaning, you must take in fewer calories than what your body needs.

This will force the body to look for energy internally, which is from your body fat.

It's actually that simple. It doesn't matter which diet you adopt or whether you are going for intermittent or prolonged fasting. As long as you consistently eat fewer calories than what your body needs, you will, over time, lose body fat. On the other hand, if you consistently eat more than what your body needs, you will over time gain body fat.

However, you must first deplete the glucose in your blood and glycogen stores before your body will start burning your body fat. That means it may take a few days of eating less before you actually begin burning fat. But if you're doing prolonged fasting, it could take just a day.

If your glycogen stores are not nearly full, eating over your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) just one day will simply add to the glycogen stores. It wouldn't cause you to gain body fat - yet. But consistently eating over your TDEE will cause your glycogen stores to become full and certainly cause you to gain body fat.

Most recommendations say that you should eat 500 kcals below your TDEE to effectively lose weight. In any case, unless you are fasting, do not go below 500 kcals per day because it will cause you to starve. There's a difference between starving and fasting.

Consider the easy fasting routine if you want an easy way to lose body fat.

Protein taken in the right amount would be used for building muscle and doesn't count as calorie intake. Only if you take too much, then the excess will be converted to glucose and count as calorie intake.

So if your intention is to lose body fat, set your goal and follow the above.