• “I want to finally get in shape by this summer.”
• “I want to slim down my upper arms.”
• “I want defined abs.”
• “I want to be able to wear the clothes I like without worrying.”

As summer approaches, many people probably start to have these kinds of concerns and goals.

So this time, from the perspective of a professional trainer who has transformed the bodies of many clients, we will introduce “how to lose body fat by summer.”

To lose weight, reduce body fat

• “I want to lose weight by this summer.”
• “I want to get rid of belly fat.”
• “I want to slim my upper arms.”

To achieve these kinds of goals, the most important thing is not simply reducing body weight, but reducing body fat.

To lose body fat, it is essential that the calories you burn exceed the calories you consume.
In other words, if the total calories you consume in a day are not less than the calories you burn in that day, body fat will not decrease.

To lose 1 kg of body fat, it is necessary to burn approximately 7,200 kcal.

Even if you burn 500 kcal every day, 7200 ÷ 500 = about 14 days are required.

However, many people may find it difficult to maintain a continuous −500 kcal lifestyle for 14 days due to business dinners, going out to lunch with friends, or eating out with family on weekends.

That is why the way you think about and continue your diet and training becomes important.

First, let’s introduce diet.

The importance of a sustainable diet

In order to lose body fat, diet is a very important factor.

“Avoid extremely unbalanced meals and aim for a well-balanced diet.”

You often hear this, but many people may wonder, “What exactly is a well-balanced diet?” and when you actually try to do it, it can be surprisingly difficult.

That is why the most important point is “how you can continue it in a way that suits you.”

For example, if someone who loves sweets like chocolate and eats them every day suddenly stops completely from the next day, or someone who drinks alcohol every day suddenly quits completely, in most cases this will not last and will become a source of stress.

So when starting a diet, try beginning by clearing the following four steps in order.

① Accurately understand your usual diet

The first thing to do when starting a diet is to understand your usual eating habits.
Organize them objectively: what you often eat, what time you tend to eat, how often you eat out, and how many days you manage to eat three meals versus not.

② Decide what you can reduce

• If you eat chocolate every day as a snack, reduce the frequency to about 3–4 times a week.
• If you like sweet drinks such as café lattes, slightly reduce the amount you drink.
• If you like alcohol, try slightly reducing either the frequency or the amount per occasion.

Even small changes like these can change your body.

③ Set calories and proceed

At this point, your diet will become more structured and your baseline calorie intake will be clearer.
Set a tentative calorie target while being mindful of a balanced intake of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. It doesn’t have to be perfect—just proceed while roughly staying within that calorie range.

④ Increase the number of consecutive days you can sustain it within a week

Once things are somewhat in place and you understand your calorie intake, focus on how many consecutive days you can maintain it.

What is important here is not how many days in a week you were mindful, but how many days in a row you were able to stay consistent.

For example, someone who can manage two days but eats freely or loses control on the third day, versus someone who can stay consistent for 3–4 consecutive days—the latter will see differences in habit formation and the speed of results.

Therefore, rather than aiming for a perfect diet, it is important to continue efforts within a range that you can sustain.

Making training a habit

When working on a diet to reduce body fat, people often say things like:

• “I just want to lose weight for now,”
• “I used to focus only on diet and cardio,”
• “I want to lose it as quickly as possible.”

It’s understandable to want to lose weight or body fat as quickly as possible, and it’s great that you’re putting effort into diet and cardio.
However, there are several risks.￥

The first risk is a high possibility of rebound weight gain.
Diets that produce rapid changes in a short period or rely only on diet and cardio tend to result in quick weight loss but have a high chance of rebound.

The second risk is that if rebound occurs, it becomes even more difficult to lose body fat again.

The main causes of these risks are “loss of muscle mass” and “low reproducibility.”

That is why making training a habit becomes important.

From here, we will introduce what to actually do.

▫️For those training at home

① Squats: a number of repetitions you can continue daily × 3 sets

② Push-ups: a number of repetitions you can perform without breaking form × 3 sets

Compared to push-ups, many people can do higher repetitions of squats, so adjust the number to something you can continue daily or every other day.

If you cannot do push-ups on your toes, perform them with your knees on the ground, and repeat within a range where you can control the depth and return up.

▫️For those going to a 24-hour gym

① Lower body training: 1–2 exercises × 2–3 sets

② Upper body training: 2–3 exercises × 2–3 sets

Adjust the combination and number of exercises according to how often you go to the gym, and set the number of sets based on what you can sustain.

If you go once a week, start with 1–2 lower body exercises and 2–3 upper body exercises, each for 2 sets.
If you go twice a week, it is also recommended to separate lower body days and upper body days.

Summary

This time, we discussed diet and training for reducing body fat, but losing body fat takes a certain amount of time. Understanding this, it is important not to suddenly push yourself too hard, but to approach it in a way that you can continue over the long term.

That is why, especially for those who think, “I want to lose weight by this summer,” it is necessary to start right now—and if you start now, you can still make it in time.

Start with what you can do, and welcome summer with your ideal body.