To start with you have to understand your energy balance,
which is a simple equation of calories in versus calories out.
Calories in are made up of everything you eat and drink
during the day, while calories out are made up of the following:
Now we understand the basics of calories in versus calories
out we can talk about the variations.
1. If you were to consume more calories than you burned in
a day you would GAIN weight – this is known as a calorie
surplus
2. If you consume the same amount of calories as you burn
you would MAINTAIN your weight – known as being at
maintenance
3. If you burn more calories than you eat you would LOSE
weight – this is known as a calorie deficit.
Any diet that you have ever used and lost weight on is based
on being in a calorie deficit, most of the different diets out
there are simply a marketing spin on this formula. Let’s say
| Percentage of calories burned | Example of someone that burns 2600kcal a day | |
| Calories burned from digesting food | 8-15% | 208-390 |
| Any planned exercise session | 15-30% | 390-780 |
| Unplanned exercise such as step counts, how active your job is etc. | 15-50% | 390-1300 |
| How many calories your body burns at rest | 60-70% | 1560-1820 |
Weight loss on paper is simple, but there are so many
factors which make it difficult in this day and age but I
will save that for another article.
Step 1 – Workout your how many calories you burn –
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)
How? Google TDEE calculator and work out how many
calories you burn each day- www.tdeecalculator.net
Step 2 – Workout your calorie deficit
For you to lose approximately 1lb of fat each week you’d
need to consume 3500 fewer calories of the week or 500 less
per day.
Let’s use the above example of someone burning
2600kcals per day. 2600 – 500 = 2100kcal each day.
Step 3 – Start tracking your calories
How? Use a calorie counting app.
The one that I usually go to is usually MyFitnessPal.
Be aware of the calories they give you and change the
goals to match your calculation from above!
Step 4 – In the words of Nike ‘Just do it!’
You really don’t need to overcomplicate weight loss at
the beginning. Give your everything into getting this right
80% (24 days out of 30) of the time and you will start to see results!
Keep it simple and remember to drop me an email or
message on social media if you need any help!