The fight against excess weight has become a problem for the entire modern society and a difficult to solve personal problem for every third inhabitant on planet Earth. Improper diet, work in offices, unwillingness to exercise lead to the appearance of excessive pounds, which do not bother at first. When the situation gets out of control and becomes critical, a person rushes from one diet to another, losing weight, and then sharply gaining weight and the circle closes.
Table of contents:
- Weight and height norms for men and women
- How to calculate a calorie deficit
- Calories burned during the day
- Calculation of the optimal caloric deficit
- Choosing the right option
- Calorie control options
- Programs to control your calorie intake
- Possible problems in losing weight
- Difficulties in menu planning
- A good start and fast results
Each sharp loss of weight is inevitably followed by an even sharper gain, health problems, depression and, as a consequence, a decrease in overall quality of life. In fact, for optimal weight loss it is not necessary to apply a lot of effort, to cook certain dishes, to limit yourself to certain products, one of the most optimal dieting systems is a calorie deficit. On its basis, you can get rid of dozens of lbs without too much effort and no longer meet them in the future.
Weight and height norms for men and women
Before calculating the calorie deficit for weight loss, you need to determine the ideal parameters of your body and understand what weight you should strive for.
There are three body types in nature, and representatives of each of them gain and lose weight differently:
- Asthenic. Representatives of this type have thin bones, long and slender arms, legs and neck. They are physically active, have an accelerated metabolism, slowly gain weight and are not prone to fullness. With such initial data, it is possible to lose weight in a few months without much difficulty.
- Normosthenic. The golden mean, people with such a structure are the most lucky, they have a perfectly proportioned figure, a fairly good metabolism and not much chance to get obesity, even allowing themselves some flaws in the diet.
- Hepersthenic. Representatives of this type have wide bones and not very tall, due to which the figure looks chunky and plump. Such people are most prone to obesity and must carefully monitor the diet. In representatives of this type the process of losing weight is not fast, but do not give up, a little persistence and work will bring results.
To understand whether a particular person has a problem with excess weight, you can use the table of its correspondence to the height. The average weight should be equal to height minus 110, i.e. for a person 5’7″ tall, the ideal weight would be 132.3 lbs. This figure varies with age, and by the age of 50 years to take away already 100, which means that for the same person 5’7″ suitable weight will be 154.3 lbs. If the deviation from the norm is insignificant, calculating a calorie deficit and following a dietary system for a couple of months will help bring the body and state of mind back to normal.
How to calculate a calorie deficit
When determining your optimal calorie deficit, you should take into account not only general average tables, but also individual body parameters. One of the best indicators for making calculations and determining optimal weight is the body mass index. This figure is calculated by simply dividing body weight by height squared. The resulting coefficient should be compared with the norms and determine whether a diet is needed. A calorie deficit in each individual case requires a different approach.
When the need to lose weight or choose the right diet to maintain an optimal weight has been determined, an individual calorie deficit can be calculated. A correct calculation is the key to success in achieving your goal in the optimal time and without harming your health.
To lose weight and not gain weight in the future, you need to follow a simple rule – the number of calories consumed per day should be equal to the difference between the calories burned and their deficit. This seems quite simple and easy to understand. It is, the Calorie Deficit Diet is simple, easy to understand, and easy to follow.
Calories burned during the day
To determine the formula figure, the number of calories burned in a day is first calculated. There is a special Harris-Benedict formula for this purpose. It represents the basic metabolic rate multiplied by the activity factor.
The base metabolic rate (BMR) calculation is calculated using the formulas below:
- For men: BMR = 66.5 + (13.75 * weight in kg) + (5.003 * height in cm) – (6.75 * age)
- For women: BMR = 655.1 + (9.563 * weight in kg) + (1.850 * height in cm) – (4.676 * age)
The resulting number will be the number of calories spent during the day, on the basis of which you need to calculate the calorie deficit for weight loss.
Calculation of the optimal caloric deficit
It is very common to see advice to consume 500, 700 or 1,000 calories less, but this is an incorrect recommendation. For one person, this deficit may not be enough, and he will be disappointed in the weight loss method without seeing results. Another will start to lose weight too abruptly, creating an unacceptable deficit for the initial parameters, and will get not a beautiful figure, but poor health and will leave unfulfilled the cherished desire to lose weight.
The calorie deficit should be calculated as a percentage of the total number of calories burned in a day.
To understand what calorie deficit for weight loss to take as a norm, it is necessary to decide how intense the desired weight loss will be. Optimally, a person will lose about 1.5 lbs per week. This will not be a big stress for the body, and it will willingly part with the extra lbs, not creating additional reserves at the slightest deviation from the diet.
Choosing the right option
The percentage of calorie deficit is divided into three types:
- Smooth weight loss – 10 to 15 percent of the calories burned in a day. By choosing this type of calorie deficit, the menu can be virtually unrestricted, eliminating excess sugar, fatty meat and calorie dairy products. Such a smooth weight loss will not cause stress to the body, it is easy to follow and do not break down. The only disadvantage is the slow weight loss, which may not please those who want quick results. Inexperienced people may have difficulty breaking the diet, because “accidentally” eating an extra 200 calories is much easier than 600 or 800, and therefore the result may not be obtained.
- A moderate weight loss is 15 to 25% of the calories burned during the day. The sooner you want to get rid of the extra lbs, the bigger the deficit should be. If you choose the moderate option, you will lose weight faster, but dietary restrictions are much more significant. You will have to completely reconsider your diet, determine which products in the menu are the most calorie-dense, and reduce their consumption to a minimum. You can allow yourself an extra dose of food by increasing physical activity, this will increase your BMR, and therefore the number of calories allowed. The pluses of this option in a fairly rapid weight loss and the fact that the allowable norm is more difficult to violate. The minus is increased self-monitoring and stricter restrictions.
- Accelerated weight loss – 25 to 50% of the calories burned during the day. This option is suitable for people who need to lose weight in a short time for medical reasons. People with a lot of weight will see a pleasant result and will be stimulated to further successful work on their bodies, but it is necessary to stop in time and switch to a more gentle regime. Determine what should be a calorie deficit already in the new weight, and calculate from it. The advantage of this method is the quick and sharp result, the disadvantage is the constant feeling of hunger, which cannot become a constant companion of a person’s life.
An important rule that should be strictly adhered to when figuring out for yourself how to create a calorie deficit for weight loss is that you should not eat little and exercise a lot. If it is decided not only to fight excess weight, but also to tighten muscles through active training, then it is necessary to take into account the number of calories consumed. They should be enough for intensive strength and cardio exercises offered by instructors of gyms and aerobics. It turns out that if after a successful start of the diet loads were added, it is necessary to recalculate the number of calories burned and their deficit accordingly.
Calorie control options
Self-control is very important in something as difficult as weight loss, but it is not easy for someone who has allowed themselves to become overweight. And in life there are many daily worries, among which it is easy to forget how many calories are in what product and how much more you can eat today. To facilitate the task and maintain self-discipline, it is recommended to keep a food diary.
What it will be, it depends on individual wishes, it can be an ordinary notebook or notepad, where you can write down what you eat during the day. It can be an ordinary Word document or Excel spreadsheet on a home or work computer, or it can be a special program on a smartphone.
The first two methods require additional time in the form of calculating the calories in each cooked meal. That is, during cooking you must first weigh on a kitchen scale, preferably electronic, the exact weight of all the products. Then add up all the indicators of each of them, determine the calorie value of the cooked dish and already from this value of the calorie value of its individual portion. This occupation is rather troublesome and difficult, in addition, there is a high probability of error in the calculations.
Programs to control your calorie intake
The easiest and simplest way to control are special programs – calorie diaries. You can install them on a normal computer, tablet or smartphone. In the first version they are downloaded via any browser, for mobile devices you can download from PlayMarket (for Android-based devices) or iTunes (for Apple devices). The point of these electronic diaries is that they already have all the information about the prepared meals, you just need to choose the right one, enter its weight – and the calories and calculation of proteins, fats and carbohydrates will be automatically added to the calendar. Some of them work only with dishes from their database, but most allow you to make and save your own individual recipes.
Possible problems in losing weight
When you have read a lot of information, figured out how to create a calorie deficit, created a diary or installed a program, it seems that everything is ready and you can start losing weight. But on the first day an inexperienced person encounters two categories of problems:
- Too much is eaten for breakfast and lunch, and in the evening hungry and the whole diet goes down the drain. The acceptable norm is exceeded, frustration and even more insecurity follow.
- The second option for more resistant people. This starts with the same high calorie intake for breakfast and lunch, and a lack of calories for dinner. This category of people will not exceed the norm, will endure a hungry evening, and at night they will feel bad from the symptoms of hypoglycemia. This is not far from the hospital.
Difficulties in menu planning
What to do? How to avoid unpleasant situations fraught with health problems? In defense of future healthy and slender people becomes a pre-planning of the menu for the whole day. If the nervous system allows you to think about food before going to bed and not run to the fridge, you can do it in the evening. Decide what dishes will be at all meals and snacks, write them in a diary, leave about 200 free calories for impromptu in the form of fruit, a piece of chocolate or cookies. And the next day, just follow the pre-planned menu and stick to a given weight of dishes. If in the evening there is no energy, time or desire, you can plan the menu in the morning, before breakfast, so as not to accidentally overdo it.
A good start and fast results
In the fight for beauty and slimness of the body has come up with many diets, but the simplest, most accessible and easily performed is considered a calorie deficit. Of all the information about this effective method of losing weight, you can select a few recommendations, with which the start will be successful, and the result is fast and long-lasting.
- Calorie counting is not really a diet, it is a system of proper nutrition. At first everything seems very complicated, but, getting used to a reduced diet, within a few weeks a person who has parted with a few lbs, no longer understand how he could eat so much food before.
- The system does not prohibit eating fats, carbohydrates, sweets, fruit or flour. The main thing is the amount and not exceeding the allowable calories. Even with the largest deficit, there is room for a few squares of chocolate for tea.
- It is not necessary to reduce the number of calories very sharply, to begin smoothly, so as not to provoke the body to the accumulation of reserves.
- This means that you should not get upset if during the first few days the weight will go away quickly, and then more slowly and more slowly. At first the water and excessive swelling go away, the real weight starts to disappear later and little by little.
Following these simple rules and recommendations, you can part with annoying excess weight in just a few months. During dieting, the rules of proper nutrition will become so ingrained in your head that adhering to the regime will be a simple task, even without the use of diaries and special programs. This means that a happy, healthy life without excess weight and related problems lies ahead.
This article does a great job of explaining what a calorie deficit is and why it is important for weight loss. It is well researched and easy to understand.
A calorie deficit refers to a situation where you burn more calories than you consume. This is a popular weight loss strategy and is based on the simple principle that weight loss occurs when you consume fewer calories than you burn. In essence, the body turns to its fat stores to make up for the energy deficit, leading to a gradual reduction in body weight.
The basic formula for weight loss is to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories, which translates to around 1 pound of weight loss. This can be achieved by reducing your calorie intake, increasing your physical activity, or a combination of both. For example, if you consume 500 fewer calories than you burn each day, you can create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories in one week, leading to a weight loss of one pound.
However, it is important to note that creating a large calorie deficit can be counterproductive, as it can lead to a reduction in muscle mass, a slower metabolism, and increased hunger and food cravings. It is also important to ensure that you are still consuming enough nutrients and fuel for your body to function properly and maintain your energy levels.
The best approach to creating a calorie deficit is to start with a small reduction in calories, such as 250-500 calories per day, and gradually increase your physical activity. This can be done through a combination of aerobic exercise, strength training, and other activities that increase your daily energy expenditure.
It is also important to understand that everyone’s metabolism and daily energy needs are different, and creating a calorie deficit may require some trial and error. Consulting with a registered dietitian or qualified health professional can help you determine your daily calorie needs and develop a personalized plan to create a sustainable calorie deficit.
In summary, a calorie deficit is an effective weight loss strategy that involves burning more calories than you consume. It should be approached with caution to avoid negative consequences, and a gradual and personalized approach is recommended for long-term success.
This article does a good job of exposing the scientific basis of calorie deficiency and why it is necessary for weight loss. It also gives practical advice on how to achieve a calorie deficit through diet and exercise.