Calories In V.S Calories Out - Proper Caloric Deficits

For the love of well sauced buffalo wings....

Even as a personal trainer, things are tough folks. Fat loss is not easy for the majority of people out there trying to lose body fat and maintain a lean healthy body. Let me be frank when I tell those out there willing to listen that there is no other way to drop the fat. You must make better nutritional choices than a Pogo and Poutine for lunch, and you have to get off your butt more often than to run up to the corner store to check your Super 7 numbers. (most of us are even lazier, and we use the web for that). This includes me, as I work hard every day to stay in shape, fuel my body with only the best nutritional choices as I also help others achieve their goals.

Sorry folks, there are no magic pills, no magic diets, and no ab blasters will help you and your body lose fat. It's hard to accept sometimes isn't it?

Fat loss is about the ratio of calories in vs. calories out. Plain and simple. But what most magazines and infomercials do not tell us is that in order to achieve our fitness goals the ratio is actually 70% nutritional and 30 % exercise. But that does not mean starve yourself and do as little exercise as possible. It means eat sensibly, have 5-6 smaller meals per day to balance the blood sugars, that will also keep the metabolism stoked, and exercise on a regular basis, which should include strength training to maintain and develop lean muscle mass. This too helps boost your metabolism.

So why am I here? Simple, because I need assistance in losing fat. "But you're a personal fitness trainer for God's Sake!"

Yes, but I was naughty, and I did not keep track of my daily calories like I tell my clients, and lo and behold, I discovered that I was not eating ENOUGH calories!!! YIKES... that is not a good thing folks. Here I was thinking I had it all under control, yet, I could not understand why my body fat percentage did not drop over the course of the past 4 weeks. WHat had happened was I was starting to plateau, so I changed up my exercises and even dropped some calories, but I did not keep a watchful eye on those calories and now I have discovered that I am actually sabatoging my efforts by not eating enough calories.

Folks. Remember to only drop your caloric intake by 500 calories per day via a proper nutritional plan and exercise. If you increase your caloric deficit by over 800 calories per day nature has a way of protecting the body against excessive weight loss. At first you will lose alot of water, a little fat. Then suddenly you stop losing. You've plateaued, because your body now refuses to give up the fat, regardless if you want it off for summer or not.

It is a scientific fact that when your calorie count suddenly drops, your body will compensate for the fact by reducing your metabolic rate. As a result, you'll need fewer calories to maintain your weight. This explains why some people lose weight up to a point and then cannot lose any additional weight, no matter how hard they try. Friends, this is one of the most dangerous myths in the weight loss world. You literally have to eat yourself thin, not starve yourself thin.

Know your BMR, know your activity level and know your caloric needs, and monitor them closely. You will achieve!

The key is really that the number of calories you eat directly affects your metabolism. If you don't eat enough calories, your body goes into "famine" mode. Fooled into believing you cannot find enough to eat, your endocrine glands PURPOSELY slow your metabolism to conserve energy. Slowing the metabolism means burning less fat. Is this really what you wanted to do??? It sure isn't what I wanted to have happen. Counting Calories is an important aspect of fat loss. Thank goodness for such resources as www.Calorie-Count.Com.

So here I am, on board to eat myself thin baby!!! Where's the Tofurkey.....(yuck!)

Thanks so much for your answer, coachdee!  It was wonderful to actually hear of exercise that was specific to my issues.  After I fell, I had back surgery where they removed the L5 disc, and currently enjoy a wonderful "scraping" sensation of bone on bone.  LOL.  The disc above that is bulging (ready to go, they say!), and the one above that is compressed.  Any bending, etc. is impossible, but I KNOW that strengthening the stomach muscles, as you were talking about, will only support my spine better and hopefully decrease pain level.  I've asked and the only response I get is, "All you are able to do is walk.  Live with it."  Bull****, I say!  So thank you so much..........a sliver of hope shines through!

Dee, you are everyone's hero as of right now. ;) I want to lose a little weight, and do it healthily. And as you seem to be very knowledgable, I want to see what you think.

I am 135 lbs, young at 18, and short at 5 feet 1 inch. I calculated my BMR at about 1445. I consider myself moderately active (sports 5 times a week), so that brings me to 2340. Currently, I'm eating 1500 calories a day in hopes to get down to about 125.

I've never really gotten info from someone who specializes in fitness plans and eating healthy. I used to be around 165, and I lost about 20 of that by not eating due to depression from many a thing. It ended up backfiring, of course, and I ending up gaining much of it back when I started eating normally. I'm over that stage, and I've worked myself down to 135 with exercise and good eating (or so I think). I'd like to continue doing this the right way. So anything you can offer me would be much appreciated!

You must be rethinking your original decision to post your topic by now, aren't you, Dee?  LOL!  But.....in defense of these incredible people, we are all walking arm and arm up a steep hill towards better health, a better life, better self-confidence, and growth.  Your being here is like a refreshment stand on the side of the road, handing out ice cold water to us on a burning hot day and and reminding us WHY we chose to make this decision.

So.......from myself and all of these equally as deserving people here.......thanks for being so patient and inspirational to us.  I hope we can offer you what you came here for as well.

P.S. - virtual party on Thursday for Obsidyan...everybody who's ANYBODY will be there....LOL!  Come and join the fun!

Hiya Giapet!!!!

You young thing you... ah... I remember 18....fun times. Enjoy them when you can. I did LOL....

It's tough girl.  I am sure you realize that you are squarely in the sights of the weight-loss marketers "stun gun". I hate that. It makes it incrediably difficult for you younger women to develop a positive sense of self when the male dominated world of pop culture tells you thin is in, and so what if you purge now and then... HOLY MOLEY... it's enough to make you want to gobble down that ooey gooey cheezy double pepperoni pizza don't it.

Less is not always best. It's about moderation. We often say this the morning after a drinking binge with the girls down at the boom boom room for Tracy's 21st. But it applies to our fuel, not vodka, but food. Enjoy food, love food, marry it... just know when enough is enough. In this case, you are eating less calories than your body requires to purr like a kitten.  That is not a deficit, that can often be a recipe for disaster, and you'll be dialing the old DIET 911 as you take off, rushing to the frozen food aisle for some Ben and Jerry's Depression and Misery in a small tub. Oh yes, it tastes delightful, but as Hamlet said "The Devil Hath The Power To Assume An Appeasing Shape..."

Eat girl, oh yes, because food is your fuel.  You are active, and you are young, and life most likely has you on the go.

A calorie deficit is as follows:

Calories REQUIRED - Calories Burned (preferably consisting of those burned by exercise and through reduced calorie consumption) = Caloric Deficit (optimally no more that 500-800 calories per day.

According to the data provided, 2340 calories are required to maintain your current weight. You need to come up with a 500-800 calorie deficit to lose 1-1.5lbs over a course of 7 full days. Meaning that through the effective combination of consuming a few less calories (say 300-400cal) and exercising to burn another 200-300cal you will be on your way to effective long lasting weight loss.

Be sure to get some weight/strength training in as well, that helps build and maintain lean muscle mass while still encouraging the reduction in body fat. Don't worry about the scale as much as taking measurements (including body fat %)

You will achieve your goals, but you must be patient, and don't strive for perfection....no, no, no, NO! Strive for consistency, that is the secret my young friend. Don't get all down if you do eat wings and drink beer on a friday night. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD FOLKS. Don't beat yourself up, just make better choices for each and every meal to come.  No need to eat bird seed and arugula for dinner... just make nutritious choices, & keep portion sizes to human size, and you will make it. 

If I have a craving for pizza, I go out get whole wheat pitas, tomato sauce light mozza, lots of veggies and grilled chicken. Serve it up with a nice mixed green salad with a balsamic vinegarette...and a nice glass of merlot.... there is nothing wrong with that. I lost body fat with that on my nutritional plan.

Did you hear that... RED WINE....... (I hear the school girl like screams from here)

Hope I've helped out, and thanks for the compliment....

LOL. Hun, I grew up in an Italian household-- a REAL Italian household... making homemade wine, sauce, etc. So besides lots of pasta and bread, red wine is nothing new to me. I consider myself lucky, though, because it made me lose most teenagers' urge to binge on alcohol. ;)

Thanks very much for your reply. I do appreciate it. It's hard to get back on a healthy track after years of a bad body image and society's sudden urge to be super thin, and words like yours are exactly what people need. :)

thanks for all the great info coachdee!!!!!I just thought I was destined to be a fat tub of lard.It now appears I was not eating enough either. I am a midnight shift worker having a hard time deciding what to eat when and when to start a log .I eat cereal & milk at 1:00am  next break 4:00am have an apple and an orange home at 7:20 am try to have toast or something light then off to bed at 8:30 am .If I am lucky I sleep untill 5:00pm but most days it's far less ,today I am wide awake at 1:30 pm Have coffee light bite to eat (melba toast ,Lw ft cream cheese & turky breast today) then a healthy meal with family at 6:00 pm Try not to snack Untill 1:00 break ( doesn't always work)Been doing this for a couple of weeks actually gained 5lbs and am in self hatred modeat the present moment in time.Will try your calculations.

Hi CoachDee!

Welcome and thank you for all your logical insights.  I was wondering about how many calories one burns when doing certain exercises.  After a bit of a search, I saw that walking 2,000 steps (a mile) burns about 100 calories but the elliptical machine gives me seemingly high estimates (almost double sometimes) of my calorie expenditure.   The stationary bike seems to do the same as do the calculators on this site.  If you had some general calorie burning calculating tips (maybe something relating to heart rate??), I know I would really appreciate the info!

Drop some knowledge on us!

Thank you,

RMM

well CoachDee you seem to know your stuff... and I think what from your saying I need to increase my "fuel intake."  I am 124lbs, 22, and 5'5"

  I work out 6 days a week-for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours... i have a "three day work out" first day lift legs for 1 hour and 15 mins and then cardio for 45 mins.... second day lift arms/back/shoulders for 1 hr and 15 then cardio for 45 mins... then third day i do cardio for 45 to 1 hour... then i start over with one day break a week....--that moderate or high activity?

I have been eating about 1250 to 1400 calories a day i change it up to keep my body guessing... lots of protien and veggies/fruits for carbs... and fat free/light everything basically....  but from what your saying i'm not doin this very healthy... i want a lean tone body not skin and bones.... should i increase to at least 1600 a day? from what your saying...... i think i should...... i need alittle convincing should i do it slowly? cause i dont' wanna again weight back...but id ont' wanna be unhealthy either!

Hey CoachDee! I'm 19 and 170 lbs and... hehe, no, just kidding. I read the post and I get it :) But thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

thanks for the calculations, i missed the little "minus" sign before the age factor.  good thing you rechecked it for me.  i'll stay at 1900 for now!  that's what c-c recommends, too.

Coachdee, I finally took the time and read this entire thread.  Awesome, excellent advice.  Thank you so much for your time and input!!


So I ran these formulas for myself.   I'm 5'5", 147lb,  female, 28years young.  I know my daily expenditures are about equal to that of a slug so I ran my numbers x1.2 and got 1760ish.  So that's my maintenance cal needs?   I've been trying to keep my calories going in around 1200 and 1500 and slowly the weight has been dropping. 

Prior to my weight loss quest, I'm nearly certain that my calorie intake was putting me in starvation mode.   I feel like now with 1200 calories or so a day I'm always eating.  Using this site to log my foods i'm getting my portions right around 20/30/50 fats, proteins, carbs.   The carbs are where I tend to go over if I have a bad day.

So lets say I get a wild hair up my #@$  and decide to do some light work.  Say regular biking and walking the dog... yeah I know, that's still not much.  Do I really need to boost my calorie intake or would 1200-1500 still be efficient?   I want to do something to tone, but my motivation to move is rock bottom.  Maybe the summer months will get me going...

Thank you so much for this post and for sharing!

Dang it ..... I had missed the minus sign as well.  Thank goodness you caught it or else the mistake I was going to make.   AHHHH I feel better now.

hi coach dee.  welcome to the site! you seem to have lots of info.  Would love to see before and after pics of you!  I have been on the site since Jan and have lost 23lbs and 11.5 inches.  Im at my goal weight but still toning.  I did all this by eating 1200-1300 cals a day and 30mins of cardio, 10mins of arms and 10mins of abs each day.  I never felt starved.

Coach Dee! :)

I am 17 years old, 5'9" and 166 lbs. I worked with a trainer last year and got down to where i want to be now, which is 145. I was eating 1400, weight training with her 3 days a week, and fast walking the other days for 3 miles. I have gained weight, but I am determined to lose the weight. I have been eating around 1250 calories recently and have lost 2 lbs this week. Do you think thats enough? Also, do you have any other suggestions that may help. As of right now, I have been weight lifting 3 days a week. I am also doing cardio everyday, and usually either run 3 miles, or fast walk an outside 3 mile route.

Thank you

Hey there Alex!  Hey good for you and for getting through the training.  I am glad you invested in yourself. It's worth every penny.

I guess the first question I usually ask a client is "why do you want to 'lose weight' in the first place."  You're 17 year old, and at 5'9 and 166lbs, & your not exactly what I would considered 'fat'. Many of my clients here in Canada are recreational/amature athletes or new mom's looking to lose the baby weight, or the lady down the street who wants to be healthy and strong. Most are not 'skinny' or 'thin', rather they are well built, strong, energized, with an unwaivering sense of self and a positive self image.  I work with my clients to get the self-esteem pumped up, because without it, losing fat, and becoming lean mean and healthy are very difficult. Because if you don't care about yourself, and if you do not think that you are important, then how can you expect anyone else to?

Like I said, in the end though, it is not my image of them that matters, it is their own self-image.

I'll jump down off this soapbox now... I just get worked up when a young woman may think she is fat, thus not good enough. Sorry if I seem preachy, I just want you to know, healthy and strong is more important that 12% body fat.

Anyhooooooo... because of your age, most adult bariatric formulas do not apply to you. Any work I have done with teens has mostly been off-ice conditioning for hockey, but what I can tell you is that when you turn the ripe old age of 18. Based on your stats...

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)); the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day is 1600 calories. Now of course as you age this actually decreases, so lucky you!!! EAT UP...

Now you tell me that you strength train and get in some cardio as well, so given the hussle and bussle of teenage life, I would muster the guess you are moderately active, so using what is known as the  Harris Benedict Equation  which is a formula that uses your BMR and then applies an activity factor to determine your total daily energy expenditure (calories) to MAINTAIN your current weight.  The only factor omitted by the Harris Benedict Equation is lean body mass. Remember, leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular, those lean and mean mommas out there (will under-estimate calorie needs) and the very fat, built for comfort, not speed mommas (will over-estimate calorie needs).

So because you are moderately active, today, at this very moment in time (oops there it goes) you need to consume 2500 calories per day to MAINTAIN your current body weight (166lbs) but of course you want to lose fat, and gain muscle, so you need to expend more than you consume to do that. That means if you were to eat 300 less calories or so per day, and burn another 300 through exercise... your CALORIC DEFICIT would be 600 calories.

So if you were to eat 2100 calories per day, all nutritious choices of course, and exercise regularly as you have indicated, you should see a healthy safe fat loss of 1-2lbs per week. 

now remember if your weight changes, and your activity level changes, you need to do the calculations again, to monitor the calories and the caloric deficit.  Also mix up the daily calorie intake, like one day eat 2200 and then the next day try to consume 2000 and the next day 2100 and then the next day 1900, and take a day off from the exercise. Lower caloric intake should be done on off days, and higher on the days you are pumping the iron, going to work, studying for the big exam, etc...

Food=calories=fuel=energy=strength=healthy.

So eat up child... and train with the determination of a dragonslayer!

Very nice post you got here... umm I'm a little confused about calorie deficit because I dont know how many calories I burn in a day because you can burn calories just by doing simple things and plus me going to the gym.. its easy to see how much I've burned when I'm on a treadmill or stepmaster but what about weight training.. It's kind of confusing.. I keep up with how many calories I consume in a day.. sometimes I eat over the calories I'm allowed and dont even know it.. but I still lose weight.. thats weird.. I can't calculate my deficit  because I can't tell how many calories I've burned off... and anything over 400 calories is hard to burn I think... 20 min. on the treadmill going up hill at 7.0 at the speed of 3.0 is nearly 200 calories burned.. with all that work you would think you would burn more.  Help me understand the calorie deficit pls.. Its just a little confusing.

Hey Qween...

No worries. Caloric Deficits need not be a thorn in your side.

The calculations that this site uses are pretty closely matched to the calculations I provided. What I do not agree with, but this is my personal opinion, is by adding in the goal date, gives everyone a false sense of how this is to work. Perfection takes time, and as my grandmother use to say about her delicious apple pies "it'll be ready when it's ready, so go play..." You did not gain this body fat  in two weeks, so it ain't melting off in two weeks. You're body does not care you have a wedding in a month, it is more focused on survivial and keeping you healthy.

The human body is an amazing piece of work, and it is very very smart. It is designed to be adaptable to our environment and our lifestyle, but it will fight you if you try to deliberately put it in distress by not eating enough to fuel your daily activities. Thankfully science has discovered that there are ways of figuring out what the body does in a day, how much fuel it needs, and how much output it generates.  The initial calculation I provided to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) gives you a fairly accurate answer (given you have no health problems affecting the endocrine system) of how may calories (body fuel) you need to consume to keep the body happy and running fairly smoothly. Then you need to figure out roughly how active you are, like do you sit on your butt, do you exercise 1-3 times a week or 3-5 times per week or are you a serious athlete with a demanding training/exercise schedule/regime. This is called the Harris Benedict Equation, which I also provided on the site. This determines (based on a rough estimate of your activity level) how many calories you need to consume to MAINTAIN your current weight. Once you know that, 500-800 calories less (preferably by a combination of daily exercise and 3-400 less calories eaten per day). Most people who exercise regularly will burn between 200-400 calories depending on the level of intensity (another post to come)

Frankly, a caloric deficit that is greater than 1000 calories per day really should be monitored by your doctor.  Slow and steady wins the race.  There is no magic pill or soup, or hat or suppository or sauna belt or abflab bum blasters that will get the body to lose body fat. Trust me, I've tried alot of different stuff, and it was all cacapoopoo.  Eat healthy, watch portions, exercise3-5 times per week, walk the dog, cut the grass, park further way from the entrance, have water as your primary drinky poo... and it will happen. Believe in yourself.

Thanks so much coachdee, you bring great motivation and what you've said really helped.. I understand it better.. thanks again

I read this thread before I posted my question in the main forum and couldnt do the sums correctly. So, on another site I worked out my BMR is 1477.4 on a sendentary lifestyle. Apart from walking I am not working out as i am recovering from illness which has restricted my mobility.

So am I right in thinking that in order for my metabolic rate to fuel my body I need to eat 1477.4 cals a day or 12,410.16 cals a week, and to loose weight I needs to cut 3500 cals from that weekly total from a combo of diet and excersise? This would be an intake of 1272.88 a cals a day for weight loss?

Apologies if i sound dumb. Ive never approached weightloss this way and I am just trying to understand the maths of it so I can try and make healthy adjustments.

Dee, your very motivating and I like it that you are promoting a HEALTHY lifestyle change not a faddy /  short term fix. Short fixes dont work ive tried them all and in doing so I fear I have shot my natural metabolism to bits.