Finding Your True Calorie Balance
If you truly want to lose weight, you need to uncomplicate the process.
In theory, it’s very simple. You don’t need to completely drop carbs, do thousands of sit-ups every day, or buy expensive weight loss pills. That’s the stuff people tell you to sell you overpriced products.
Weight loss really comes down to one thing—calorie balance!
Certified nutritionist and fitness coach Felix Harder puts it this way:
Your body weight is dependent only on the difference between the number of calories that you consume versus the number of calories that you burn, which is known as your caloric balance.In other words, if you want to lose weight all you need to do is burn more calories than you consume.
Calories Defined
A calorie is simply the energy needed to heat 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius.Calories then are raw energy. Food contains calories. When you eat food, your body consumes the energy hidden inside that food.
This energy is essential for your body to function. Without it, key organs like the lungs, heart, and brain would eventually fail. Even though the average human could survive on 1000-1400 calories per day, you wouldn’t be able to do much else than sit on a couch.
When you consume more calories than you burn, your body stores the extra energy either as glycogen in the muscle and liver or as fat.
When you burn more calories than you consume through diet and exercise, you lose weight.
Positive, Neutral, & Negative Calorie Balances
So now that you know what a calorie is, there are three caloric states your body can actually be in.
You can only be in ONE state at a time.
That’s 200-400 calories less every day until I reach my goal weight.
How much calories you need to cut will depend upon a variety of factors including age, weight, fitness levels, and your metabolism.
We’ll start by calculating your TDEE. Once we know your TDEE we can build a scientifically proven method to reach your goals.
I’m going to talk about two distinct fitness goals in the coming days: muscle growth and fat loss.
SOURCES
How To Create A Bodybuilding Cutting Diet Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nutritionandfitness.net/create-bodybuilding-cutting-diet-plan/
What is a Calorie? | SuperKids Nutrition. (2014, July 03). What is a Calorie? Retrieved from https://www.superkidsnutrition.com/nw_whatisacalorie/
Your Calorie Balance Explained – Negative, Positive, Neutral. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nutritionandfitness.net/your-calorie-balance-explained-negative-positive-neutral/
- Positive: You consume more calories than you burn and the body stores the extra calories as glycogen or fat
- Neutral: You consume the same amount of calories that you burn and you maintain your same body weight
- Negative: You burn more calories than you consume and lose weight
That’s 200-400 calories less every day until I reach my goal weight.
How much calories you need to cut will depend upon a variety of factors including age, weight, fitness levels, and your metabolism.
Next Steps
This is the basic set up to get you started. Your next step should be determining your overall fitness goals.We’ll start by calculating your TDEE. Once we know your TDEE we can build a scientifically proven method to reach your goals.
I’m going to talk about two distinct fitness goals in the coming days: muscle growth and fat loss.
SOURCES
How To Create A Bodybuilding Cutting Diet Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nutritionandfitness.net/create-bodybuilding-cutting-diet-plan/
What is a Calorie? | SuperKids Nutrition. (2014, July 03). What is a Calorie? Retrieved from https://www.superkidsnutrition.com/nw_whatisacalorie/
Your Calorie Balance Explained – Negative, Positive, Neutral. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nutritionandfitness.net/your-calorie-balance-explained-negative-positive-neutral/
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