If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ve likely heard the term calorie deficit. Yet, you may wonder what exactly it is or why it’s necessary for weight loss. Today, in this video, I’ll explain everything you need to know about a calorie deficit, including what it is, how it affects weight loss, and how to establish and maintain it in a healthy, sustainable way. Let’s begin!
What Is Calorie Deficit?
Calories are the units of energy you get from foods and drinks, and if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you’ll reach a calorie deficit. For example, if you burn 2000 calories a day but consume only 1500, you will have a deficit of 500 calories. If you want to lose weight or lose fat, a calorie deficit is key. Our body uses the calories it gets from food to boost metabolism, digestion, and physical activity. If the number of calories you eat is equal to the number of calories you burn, your weight will remain stable. Once the energy needs of your body are met, all the extra calories are stored in form of fat. So, if you eat more calories than you burn, it will lead to weight gain. If, on the other hand, you eat less food than you need in energy, you lose weight.
How To Establish It?
Calculating Your Calorie Deficit
For most people, a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is good enough to lose weight. To determine this calorie deficit, you need to know what your maintenance calories are. Maintenance calories are the number of calories your body needs to maintain its energy expenditure. You can use online calorie calculators to estimate your maintenance calories based on your weight, age, gender, basal metabolic rate, height, and level of physical activity. Although calorie calculators provide a good idea of your maintenance calorie needs, you can get a more accurate number by tracking your calorie intake and weight for 10 days. Use a calorie tracking app to track your calories and weigh yourself daily while maintaining the same level of daily activity. Your weight can fluctuate from day to day, but if your weight has otherwise remained stable over the 10 days, the average number of calories you’ve consumed per day is a better representation of your maintenance calories. Then divide the total number of calories you’ve consumed in 10 days by 10 to determine your average daily calorie intake. Now subtract 500 calories from that number to determine your new daily weight loss intake goal. For example, if you find that your maintenance calories are 2,000 per day, your new daily calorie goal would be 1,500. You can also talk with your doctor or nutritionist for more accurate calorie intake estimates. They can tailor the estimate based on your and their lifestyle. Once you know how many calories you need each day or week, you can work on creating a calorie deficit.
Creating A Calorie Deficit
Based on your diet and exercise, you can achieve a deficit in two ways, either eating less or exercising more. Or you can combine both. However, it may be easier and more sustainable to create a calorie deficit through diet rather than just exercising, as you may not have the time, energy, or motivation to exercise daily. Plus, exercise doesn’t burn as many calories as many people think. In other words, it may be easier to eat 500 calories less each day than to burn that number of calories through exercise. Nevertheless, it is recommended to participate in muscle-strengthening, endurance training and/or aerobic exercises, as they have a positive effect on overall health.
One component in creating a calorie deficit is changing what you eat and drink each day. You should focus on foods that are rich in nutrients but low in calories. One golden rule in creating a calorie deficit is to say NO to industrial sugar and trans fats. Replace them with a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, proteins, and healthy oil. Say no to soft drinks, energy drinks, chocolates, and doughnuts. Moreover, calories in drinks count. So, limit or stop guzzling down soft drinks and energy drinks. Also, increase the amount of water you drink, which will help you stay hydrated and replace any sugar-sweetened beverages you consume.
How To Maintain It?
Focus on Continuity
The truth is, one meal won’t make you gain weight, and one meal won’t suddenly make you fit. So, focusing on continuity is important to maintain a calorie deficit. Bringing a change all at once is impossible. Work consistently to change one habit at a time before moving on to the next. It can actually help you reach your goals faster. Know that quitting is not an option and work on your goal with a positive mindset.
Intuitive Eating over Constant Calorie Counting
Intuitive eating is an eating philosophy that makes you an expert on your body and its hunger signals. It is the opposite of a traditional diet. There are no guidelines on what to avoid and what or when to eat. Instead, it gives you the authority to make your decisions. Intuitive eating requires you to listen to your hunger signals and eat what you want without guilt. People who eat intuitively enjoy eating while honoring signs of hunger and recognizing the feeling of satiety. When you eat intuitively, you also let go of the idea that you need to lose weight or gain weight. The idea is to help you focus on foods that work best for your overall physical and mental health. So intuitive eating is very helpful in maintaining the calorie deficit. You should prefer it to a constant calorie count. Constant calorie counting is an important reason why people do not lose weight despite a calorie deficit. That’s because they’re almost addicted to counting calories, measuring foods, and standing on the scales every day. The stress caused by the number on the scale prevents the food from nourishing the body and mind. You should eat the food you enjoy to ensure you don’t feel deprived. Deprivation leads to binge eating and it becomes a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.
Healthy Food Is Key
Eating healthy food is the key to maintaining a calorie deficit. Eating a wide variety of healthy foods helps to keep you in good health and protects you against disease. A healthy eating plan includes a variety of healthy foods. Add an array of colors to your plate like dark, leafy greens, oranges, and tomatoes, fresh herbs. Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk. You should also include a variety of protein foods such as seafood, lean meats, eggs, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Eat more fiber-rich foods to keep yourself fuller for a longer time. Your food should be low in added sugars, salt, saturated fats, and cholesterol. While maintaining a healthy diet, make sure you stay within your daily calorie needs.
Be Consistent but Not Too Strict and log your success
Consistency is important to maintain a calorie deficit, but don’t get too harsh on yourself. Being too strict with your diet or exercising extra can be bad for your health. Try to be flexible in your routine. Adopt intuitive eating and enjoy the food you love within your calorie requirements. Reward yourself whenever you achieve any of your goals. This will in turn help you stay consistent.
Logging your success can help you while maintaining a calorie deficit. Writing down your progress helps you plan better in the future and achieve results faster than before. Moreover, it encourages you to keep going. Tell us in the comments section below if you already have established a log and how it looks like.
Things To Consider with calorie deficit
Energy Balance
There are a few things that you must consider while adopting to calorie deficit lifestyle. It is helpful to understand the energy balance concept. The energy balance is simply the ratio between your energy supply and your energy output. To determine how your energy balance affects your weight, you need to determine whether you have a positive or negative balance. A positive energy balance is created when you consume more calories than your body consumes. When you create a negative energy balance, weight loss occurs. That is, you burn more calories than you consume. To lose one pound a week, experts generally recommend an energy deficit of around 3500 calories per week. And your weekly goal should be around this to maintain a negative energy balance.
A Strong Calorie Deficit Harms
It is important to keep a check on your calories, but you avoid cutting too many calories. Saving about 500-700 calories a day is a good goal. Severe calorie restriction can decrease your metabolism and cause you to lose muscle mass because your body needs a source of energy. This makes it more difficult to maintain weight loss in the long term. It can also adversely affect hormone function, lack of concentration, and poor skin.
Conclusion
Remember: A calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is effective for healthy and sustainable weight loss. You should aim to achieve it with a balanced diet and healthy daily physical routine. Reward yourself and log your success.