When it comes to losing weight, deciding which diet and exercise plan to follow can be a daunting task. Diets can have different approaches, but the basic principle is almost always the same: burn more calories than you burn.
Eating less calories than you consume in exercise or in your daily life is called calorie deficiency. The concept is simple, but there are several factors that can affect whether you lose weight, and everyone’s calorie deficiency is different.
What is a calorie deficiency?
Basically, calories are a unit of energy. Therefore, if a milkshake contains 250 calories, it means that your body gains 250 units of energy by consuming it. To avoid gaining weight by drinking a milkshake, your body needs to burn as many or more calories as the milkshake contains, creating a deficit.
But sometimes math isn’t that simple. How your body burns or metabolizes calories depends on a number of factors.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR): This is the amount of energy required for all basic systems such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion and cell proliferation to continue to function properly. Calculated using height, weight, gender, and age, BMR accounts for 50% to 80% of daily calorie consumption. Including this, there are several online tools to help you calculate your BMR.
Muscle to fat ratio: A person with higher muscle mass, as determined by a person’s body mass index (BMI), burns calories faster.
Activity level: The more intense your activity, the more calories you burn
Hormonal function: Endocrine problems such as menopause, diabetes, and even stress can affect hormonal weight gain. Similarly, during pregnancy and lactation, women may need to burn additional calories to keep their baby growing at a healthy rate.
Overall Medical Health: Certain illnesses and medications, such as steroids, can cause weight gain, regardless of diet or exercise level.
Because the genetic makeup and medical history to consider vary from person to person, all calorie deficiencies (usually 1,200 or 1,500 calories per day) that many fitness apps can choose from will not work. For everyone.
Tips for tracking calories
To determine your desired calorie deficiency, you must first track your daily diet and activity level. From phone apps and smartwatches to wearable fitness trackers, there are many ways you can do this.
Or write everything down in a food journal, using labels and nutritional information from internet searches. You also need to record your daily activity, length of time, and intensity of each to determine the number of calories burned.
Track calories throughout the week and then average your daily calorie expenditure. Knowing how many calories you typically burn in a week allows you to make changes to your daily shortage.
Make these changes
To lose a pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you consume in a week.
In other words, to lose £ 1 a week, you need a shortage of 500 calories a day. For £ 2, you’ll need a shortage of 1,000 calories per day. This calorie reduction can be achieved by increasing activity levels or eating less calories, but a combination of both is ideal.
And remember, your body doesn’t treat all food calories equally. The source of calories affects how your body metabolizes that energy. Choosing these foods will keep you full longer while maintaining a calorie deficiency.
- Whole grains
- vegetable
- fruit
- fish
- nuts
- Low-fat dairy products
Work with your doctor or dietitian to create a deficit that reduces excess calories and weight without leaving you feeling hungry or deficient.
