What do you think when you hear someone say calorie deficit? The most common thing among most people starting out in their fitness journey is a confusion around what exactly a calorie deficit is. After reading this all your questions and prayers will be answered...I promise. I am going to break this down as simple as possible, so carry on reading if this is something you need a greater insight to.
What made you start wanting to focus on working out in the first place? Maybe it was losing weight or gaining weight. Today we will focus on the key to losing weight via a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit is just a fancy word for food consumption. So, to understand exactly what it is, first we need to understand what maintenance calories are.
You wake up in the morning, go and brush your teeth, walk downstairs and turn the computer on ready for working at home. Now, to even get yourself up in the morning we NEED maintenance calories in general daily life. This is maintaining our bodies in the state they are in, meaning no gains/losses in fat or muscle tissue. Everyone's maintenance calories are relative to themselves, my maintenance calories can range from 1800-2000kcals depending on how active I have been in the day. This means in just one day I burn up to that amount just from being up and breathing. You can work out your maintenance kcals via a calculator on google, it can take time to find the right balance though. I only found mine out when I bought my apple watch, (I'm not saying go and buy an apple watch don't worry!).
Now you have some background, onto the reason you're here...THE calorie deficit. A calorie deficit basically means eating less calories than what you're burning a day!
So say for instance you burn 1700 calories a day (maintenance calories) and you consume 1900 calories a day. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you're not going to lose weight. That would be known as a calorie surplus and you will in fact put weight/muscle on depending on your goal.
How to start your journey on a calorie deficit.
First, you NEED to calculate your maintenance calories so you have a baseline of the amount of calories you burn a day.
Next, to ensure you are in a calorie deficit take away 100-200kcals away from your maintenance and this will be your food intake. (It can take some time to find the right balance).
Finally, TRACK TRACK TRACK… and if I need to say it again track your meals! You need to be dedicated and have an idea of how many calories you are in fact eating. And I hate to be that guy but yes sauces and butters count, they can be sneaky and add up to a considerable amount. MyFitnessPal will be your new best mate.
Three simple steps, that is all it takes and you will start seeing results.
Now lets talk about a common misconception around calorie deficits. The number one thing I see regularly, is people thinking they need to eat 800 calories a day to lose weight. Although short term this may work, it is not sustainable for long term. (And we are not about short term fixes around here, we grind and put the work in!). Now, when you look at all of the known diets such as keto, whole30, weight watchers/slimming world, when simplified they are all just incorporating a calorie deficit as you are consuming less calories than what you burn.
So instead of wasting your money on someone else telling you what you now know, you can go out and do this for yourself!
How do you feel after all that huge information dump? I hope I have made this simple and helped you understand what exactly a calorie deficit is. Now you are ready to go out on your own and be confident in starting your calorie deficit. Obviously, if you need some more help don't be afraid to get in touch with me either via my website or social media and I am happy to help!
Thanks for reading!
Annie
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