How To Stay In Calorie Deficit

How Many Calories Do I Need To Eat To Be In A Calorie Deficit

What Should Your Calorie Deficit Be? A good rule of thumb for healthy weight loss is a deficit of about 500 calories per day. That should put you on course to lose about 1 pound per week. This is based on a starting point of at least 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for men.

Calculating Your Calorie Deficit

There are many ways to calculate a calorie deficit. All of them are estimates though, as there is no way to know for sure how many calories you need to eat to lose fat. A simple google search of how to calculate my calorie deficit will work.

While there is no right or wrong way to calculate your calorie deficit, I prefer a simple trial and error method. Simply take your goal body weight in pounds and multiply it by 12. This is a pretty accurate estimate of how much you should be eating per day.

Here is an example of how to calculate how much you should eat: If you have someone that wants to weigh 155 pounds: 155 x 12 = 1860 calories per day.

Rather, you want to eat the most amount of calories you can while still losing weight. This not only allows you to lose the fat, but also keep it off when its gone. Plus, its going to allow you to keep more muscle on your body for better looks, and will be a hell of a lot more enjoyable since youll be more likely to stay full on a calorie deficit.

That said, rather than focusing on the end goal of how many pounds you need to lose, focus on how you are actually going to keep the weight off when it is gone. After all, if you cant keep the weight off that you lose, then what is the point?

Aim for an average of .5-1.5 pounds a week or 2-4 pounds a month. The higher end is more likely the more weight you have to lose while the lower end is realistic the leaner you are.

Whats A Healthy Calorie Deficit

Everyones calorie needs are different. A healthy calorie intake for you will depend on factors like your age, sex, and activity levels. Your doctor can help you find a healthy-for-you calorie deficit thats based on your unique needs and goals. In general, many experts recommend keeping your calorie deficit as small as possible.

Minimizing this deficit helps minimize the changes your bod might make in response . These counter-productive responses can make long-term weight loss maintenance difficult, so finding the right balance for you is key.

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Did You Find This Useful

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How Much Of A Calorie Deficit Should You Aim For

Before we dive into this section, if you havent already, go ahead and grab yourself a copy of my free calorie calculator below.

This will help you find out exactly how many calories you should be eating for fat loss, and it will put you on my newsletter so I can send you free stuff and you can get ahold of me if you have any questions.

When it comes to deciding how aggressively you should be dieting, I really like to remind people that losing as much weight as possible as quickly as possible is a recipe for disaster.

Trying to lose fat as quickly as possible is exactly why most people fail.

This is why I was very intentional with what I named this article. Its not titled how to get into a calorie deficit, its titled how to STAY in a calorie deficit.

This is because anyone can get into a calorie deficit. Look at all the unsustainable weight loss advice out thereketo, fasting, paleo, whole 30

They are all absolute garbage in my opinion because they dont actually teach you how to still have foods you enjoy.

Regularly including foods that you love makes staying in a calorie deficit easier, and will make you much more consistent in the long run,

When it comes to how many calories you should be eating for sustainable fat loss, I really like using 2 different methods:

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Dont Eat When Youre Not Hungry

This one is so simple but so underused.

Weve been taught as a society to eat 3 square meals a day typically breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Youve probably done this since you were a kid, I know I certainly have, almost without fail.

But just because this is what youve always done, doesnt mean you need to keep doing it.

If you arent hungry, it makes sense to simply not eat, and if that means skipping a meal, then its no big deal, youre not going to starve to death, trust me.

So what meal should you skip?

Well, youve probably heard a lot of people saying that you should skip breakfast. If skipping breakfast works for you they, are great.

I personally prefer to skip dinner though.

Why?

Well, if you skip breakfast, you may end up twice as hungry at lunch as you normally are, which could cause you to eat double the amount of calories or more

Of course, this leaves you in a worse position because you would have eaten a net higher amount of calories by lunch.

In the example below, you can see that doing this could mean you end up eating 100 extra calories by lunchtime. If you did that every day, thats an extra 700 per week or 2,800 calories per month!

This is why skipping dinner is better in my book.

If you skip dinner, which most people eat between 6 and 8pm, you dont have a ton of time to experience hunger as its likely that youll be in bed and asleep a few hours later.

How To Know If Youre In A Calorie Deficit The Cold Hard Truth

Heres the thing. You must be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.

Also, when I say weight, I of course mean fat because lets be honest, no one I have ever known says they want to lose weight and lose muscle, bone density or water weight. They want to lose unwanted body fat.

There is no way around it. No amount of weight loss gimmicks like wrapping your belly, drinking tea that makes you have to sprint to the toilet or special diets or exercise programs you werent aware of.

This means that if you arent losing weight, youre probably not in a calorie deficit.

A common fallacy a lot of people have is that I just need to eat healthily and cut all of the junk food in my life and then Ill start losing weight.

While yes that is an awesome start and I congratulate you on your efforts to lose weight and better your health, eating healthy certainly helps but its not the piece of the puzzle that youre missing.

You also need to be aware of the concept of energy balance, because as far as weight loss is concerned, you must be taking in fewer calories than you are burning consistently to lose weight.

And this is regardless of whether you choose to track calories or not.

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Are You Confident On How To Stay Full On A Calorie Deficit Now

I hope this article gave you some solid, immediately actionable tips you can take with you to start implementing on your diet today.

Hunger sucks, which makes dieting suck.

Yet it doesnt have to. Use these tools above to help you out on your journey.

If you want some extra help, I would love to help.

You can leave a comment below or shoot me an email at with the subject title how to stay full on a calorie deficit. I would love to help you out.

Beyond that if you are looking for some extra help and guidance along your specific journey, you can head HERE to fill out my coaching application form to see if we may be a good fit to work together.

Either way I am always here to help.

Look to hear from you soon.

How To Burn More Calories Than Youre Eating

Burning more calories than you eat in a day is referred to as a Calorie Deficit and is the basis of many weight loss equations. The idea is daily calories in minus daily calories out = caloric deficit. The first thing you need to understand is that one pound of fat is made of about 3,500 of extra calories. Therefore in order to lose one pound of fat, you need to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories. For example if you wanted to lose one pound a week ~3,500/7= 500. That means negative 500 calories a day overall.

There are only 3 ways you can create a deficit of calories each day:

1. Eat fewer calories than you burn each day. Keep in mind that your body burns calories all day long as part of your basal metabolic rate , because it takes energy for your body to perform basic functions that are necessary for lifebreathing, digesting, circulating, thinking and more. It’s important for you to know what your BMR is so you can estimate how many calories you burn in an average day. In addition to that, you also burn some calories with normal daily activities like bathing, cleaning, walking, typing and exercising . SO by simply taking in less calories each day, that means less excess calories you have to burn off. Easy ways to do this include: eat less fast food or junk food, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, eat lean protein, reduce the amount of bad fats, and drink more water.

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Adjust Your Calorie Intake For Weight Loss

Once you know your maintenance calories, for example lets say 2500, we can calculate the calorie intake level needed for weight loss.

Remembering that 1 kilo of body fat is about 7,700 calories and we want to aim for 0.5-1 kilo of weight loss per week:

500 calorie deficit per day = 3,500 calorie deficit per week

700 calorie deficit per day = 4,900 calorie deficit per week

These calorie deficits come from a combination of eating less and burning more. If you have a strictly healthy diet and arent sure where to cut calories, you might have to exercise a little bit harder.

If you know you can reduce your portions and cut back on carbs or fats in your diet, you can focus on a greater calorie deficit from your food. Keeping track of the calories you eat by measuring and weighing your portions is crucial for these calculations.

Managing Your Appetite To Achieve A Calorie Deficit Without Counting Calories

Now eating that way tends to keep your appetite under control. And that means youre less likely to be searching around those cupboards later on trying to find a snack, thats going to add more calories to your day. It makes it easier to stay in a calorie deficit because youre keeping your appetite reasonable.

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Tips On How To Stay Full On A Calorie Deficit

Protein is arguably the most important factor when it comes to how to stay full on a calorie deficit .

Protein has a slew of benefits but lets start with the simple fact it is the most satiating macro nutrient.

If you do not know what macronutrients are, they are simply just protein, carbs, and fats.

So out of those three protein is the most satiating, meaning it is going to satisfy your body the most.

How can this help you on your diet?

Well if your body is satisfied from protein, it is not going to want more calories, thus leading you to not get as hungry.

Protein also takes time and energy to digest in your body.

Think about the time it takes to chew on a good piece of steak or chicken.

Then your body has to digest that which takes up energy and time as well.

This actually also helps with fat loss. If you want head HERE To listen to my podcast on why protein helps burn more fat.

80% of the time when I onboard a new online coaching client that individual is severely under eating in protein.

Boost your protein up, and you will immediately notice a huge difference.

Want to know how much protein to eat throughout the day? Remember, I always got your back. Take your body weight x = grams of protein for the day.

So if you weigh 150, 150 x .8 = 120.

2. Veggies 2-3x A Day

There is a reason why vegetables and salads are a staple of any successful weight loss journey.

Yet do you actually know why that reason is?

3. Dont Eat 800 Calories

It is not smart, dont do it.

Foods For How To Stay Full On A Calorie Deficit

Now that we have our 9 tips covered, lets dive into foods that can help keep you full on your diet.

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How Low Of A Calorie Deficit Should I Go

As a general rule, women should not eat less than 1,200 calories a day and men not less than 1,500 calories a day. Nutrition therapists will tell you that food group targets and nutrient recommendations will not be met below those levels.

Eating too few calories will make weight loss slower and more difficult by slowing your metabolism. Your body will sense that food is in short supply and will slow down your metabolic rate to try and protect it from starvation. It occurs even if you are overweight and deliberately trying to lose weight – the slower the metabolic rate, the slower the calorie burn.

Managing Your Appetite To Get Into A Calorie Deficit

Appetite management is a big part of weight loss.

So especially when youre not tracking and monitoring your calories. And youre just trying to adjust your appetite in order to eat fewer calories. You need to be mindful of things that are going to increase your appetite and things that are going to decrease your appetite.

And one of those things is high fiber foods. Specifically increasing vegetables and fruit can be very useful, partly because of that fiber reason, but also because fruits and vegetables are very low in calorie density.

If you fill up on vegetables, you have a lot less space for other things, things that are higher in calorie density.

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Creating A Calorie Deficit For Weight Loss

There are differing opinions as to calorie deficits and how they contribute to weight loss that is healthy and sustainable. Some nutrition-based organizations suggest you need a calorie deficit of 3500 calories per week to lose one pound of bodyweight. For instance, the National Institute of Health suggests cutting 500 calories daily to achieve this goal.

Research suggests that the notion of 3,500 calories in a pound of bodyweight dates back to the 1950s, when Max Wishnofsky, a New York healthcare provider, wrote this in a report. Since that time, many top health officials and agencies have continued to echo this statement.

If you’ve tried to lose weight by cutting calories, you may have experienced these effects. However, many opponents of this ideology say that losing weight is not as simple as creating a specific calorie deficit.

When reducing calories, your body has several mechanisms to prevent weight loss. Your metabolism slows down, hormone levels change, hunger sensations increase, and you may become less active even without realizing it.

This effect is normal and happens because, throughout human evolution, times of famine and hunger were common. Those who could preserve energy by slowing down weight loss were more likely to survive and pass down their genes.