By the end of this articles you should understand calories, how to achieve fat loss through a caloric deficit and the secret strategy for fat loss.
By people in the real world “calories” are defined as “tiny creatures who hide in your wardrobe, sewing your clothes tighter each day”
Science would disagree and state “calories” are actually “the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C (now usually defined as 4.1868 joules).”
When talking food, The definition of kilocalories (kcal), or large calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celcius.
A kilocalorie is equivalent to 1000 small calories. Kilocalories are sometimes called "food calories" or simply shortened to "calories" when referring to the energy in food.
We as coaches would like to clear the air once and for all and say… they taste amazing!
On a serious note, a “calorie” is as simple as a unit of measurement we use when measuring food and drink we consume.
For nutrition purposes each macronutrient has it’s own value of calories (kcal).
Protein = 4 kcal per one gram
Carbohydrates = 4 kcal per one gram
Fat = 9 kcal per one gram
In our last post we discussed calories (kcal) and what they are. The big question is, why do we care?
Well, when you consume fewer calories than you burn, this known as a calorie deficit - you lose weight.
The calories you burn or expend each day are known as calorie expenditure, we often refer to this as Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
TDEE is made up of:
1. BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate - the amount of energy you burn at rest
2. NEAT - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis - is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports like exercise.
3. TEF - Thermic Effect of Food - Is the energy required for digestion, absorption, and disposal of ingested nutrients.
4. EAT - Exercise Activity Thermogenesis - is the energy expanded for sports like exercise.
How do you calculate your TDEE, well in this day and age their are incredible online calculators to do, use your search engine to do so, input some details, like magic you have a TDEE.
So how do I set my calorie deficit, well simply put, how fast do you want to see change?
We can set a calorie deficit anywhere for -5% (slow progress) to -40% (rapid progress), you choose.
So now take your TDEE - CALORIE DEFICIT (-5 to -40%) and boom, this is your new daily food intake in calories (kcal).
Ok here are some possible strategies you can use for your diet: Intermittent Fasting, High Carb, Low Carb, High Fat, Low Fat, Keto, Paleo, Vegan, Dairy Free, IIFYM, Vegetarian and Pescatarian
However, whatever strategy you choose all comes with 3 simple rules:
RULE 1 - this is THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: YOU MUST BE IN A CALORIE DEFICIT TO LOSE WEIGHT
RULE 2 - Any strategy you use: YOU MUST BE IN A CALORIE DEFICIT TO LOSE WEIGHT
RULE 3 -Adherence is the key to success, so pick a strategy that you enjoy, can stick too and want to follow.
BUT REMEMBER… YOU MUST BE IN A CALORIE DEFICIT TO LOSE WEIGHT
