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!)

You're not dumb.... or foolish... never think that of yourself. And you have not shot your metabolism to bits, you just need to be kind to her for abit, but always stay one step ahead of her.

Well I am not sure of your stats, but let me explain that your BMR or your Basal Metabolic Rate gives you what your body requires as fuel, at rest. Meaning sleeping all day long. It's fairly accurate. In this case, 1477 is that number. Now assuming you plan to wake up now and then and eat, and move around (as much as you can) and flick around the channels, answer the phone, etc.. you still need to figure in your activity level. So because you are considered Sedentary, you would take that 1477 and multiply that by 1.2 (harris benedict formula) and you get 1772. That means even though you are not at your peak at the moment and sitting around alot, you will need 1772 calories to MAINTAIN your current weight.

Now keep in mind, your just getting over something traumatic to the ol' bod. You want to get better right, and get back into the swing of things as soon as the body lets you. Meaning you want to exercise sensibly and eat sensibly. Don't worry about cutting calories right now.  You need energy to heal. So my advice would be until the doctor says you are okay to resume daily activities and light exercise again, try to keep your caloric intake around 1800 calories.  Trust me. Once you start feeling stronger, and you are moving around more, start by gradually, and mean gradually, like every second day, drop 75 cals from your nutrition plan but replace it with a 10 minute walk, and a little bit of resistance training.

I want to help you achieve your goals, so trust me when I say give it some time, don;t worry about fat loss for the near future, and when you start feeling better, e-mail me, let me know how you are doing and I can help you strike the right balance so that you achieve safe, effective long lasting fat loss and good health.  For free, I am not here trying to get business. I am here because I like to help out, and I need to maintain my success as well. Calorie Count helps me do that, along with all the wonderful people I have met so far.

Get well soon, keep smiling, and if you currently use a cane, poke someone in the butt for me and tell them "Coach Dee said you needed that!"

Hugs!

Great, great post!  Very helpful, but I had to re-do my calculations, the first run got me at 3637.2 calories per day.  I KNEW that had to be wrong!   Watch your decimals Rubi... 2nd try... 2240.  Now that makes sence. 

Coachdee... how often would you recommend revising this figure if you are preparing to loose in my case 100 pounds? 

Thanks.

Any time you really increase or decrease your activity level, and every 18-20lbs.

Hope this helps.

Coach Dee

Oh I am so full.  Thank you coach dee. I can't believe I am forcing myself to eat that final apple to keep up my calories. I am to busy trying to find enough good stuff to eat to feel deprived.

The diet industry has sure pulled a multibillion dollar joke on all us fatties.

Your advice is great and your presentation is a hoot.  Your more fun to read then the comics and a good science book combined.

Well Coach Dee you definately seem to be the woman to talk to. I have been reading all of your posts, today which have been great, inspiration, but of course amazing enough, I am still confused. I am 5'9 soon to be 30, and I weigh about 157 right now. I work out on average about 6 times a week, an hour weight lifting + 40 mins cardio 3 times a week, and about an 1-1/2 hours of cardio 3 times a week(or about 800-1000 cals). I want to about 17lbs. I am pretty good about my diet, but I wonder if I had been eating too little before. Recently I started eating more, between 1600-1900 calories daily. How many calories should I be eating to help me lose? Any advice would be sooooooooo greatly appreciated

Wow Dee.. my head is spinning off into orbit (information overload!!)

Great posts though, so informative! I'm sure you won't be surprised; however when I report that I'M CONFUSED! oi vey girl, too many numbers for this mathematically challenged girl to deal with! I hate to add to the never-ending questions thrown your way.. but I can't help it. I'M ASKING! ;)

Okay, here's the deal... I'm 32, 3-apples high.. lol, almost, actually I'm 4'11.5, and weigh 118 pounds. Most of my life I"ve been around the 100-105 mark and was very comfortable there, so this 15 lbs is getting me down. Now that I'm in my thirties and the 'ole metabolism is slowing down I'm realising it's time to get control of this weight thing before it becomes a real issue. So, here's what I've been doing:

I've always been healthy with my food, I eat very little white/processed wheat, no refined sugar but eat TONS of veggies and beans and the like. Sort of South Beachy I guess...
I tried calculating my BMI and got 1297.55 X 1.55 (moderate) = 2011 cals. Now, here's where I get confused...

I work out 6-7 days a week (just started 2 weeks ago), 25 min at intervals between 4 and 6 miles an hour on the treadmill and 20mins on the recline bike plus 15 mins strength training. Is this low, or moderate exercise? I read other posts and think, geez! I don't think I'll ever get up to a one hour run!!

Okay, so 2011 cals a day BMI... I eat around 1000 - 1200 calories a day, but find that I'm not really losing much. Why?! Some calculators say that to lose 2lbs a week I should be eating like 830 cals a day! That doesn't seem like much, although I am a smurf, right?

Okay.. time to end this epic post. Thanks SOOO much for your time my dear!!

Shauna

oops! not BMI.. BMR!

BMI, BMR .. woah, it's all dutch to me ;)

Wow... your posts were all very enlightening, coachdee. I'm sure I'm not only speaking for myself when I say, thank you!

However, I'm uncertain about how to proceed, as (from everywhere I've checked) my weight is still considered healthy for my age and height...

When I first resolved to start losing some fat I had gained around the midsection (I had only begun a few days ago), I started at 160 lbs: 20 pounds heavier than I was a year ago. As a 19 year old male standing at 70", that would place my BMR at 1823. My activity level over the last several months was sedentary (which I am stepping up to moderate, with a 6-day/week exercise routine), which puts me at roughly 2187 calories. After I analyzed my caloric intake for what I'd typically eat in a day over the last few months (when my work-load was heaviest for the scholastic year), I found that it was usually well below this, and on some days significantly above. As I read more, I'm not finding it very hard to believe that my body went into famine mode on more than one occasion-- its no wonder that I gained weight!

I would like to lose the fat I had gained, and at the same time build muscle mass, so I don't think it reasonable to use weight as an appropriate gauge of progress (please correct me if I'm wrong in any of this  :) ). Rather, from what I've read, it would be more appropriate to work on decreasing my BMI (23- still considered healthy, but not near the median where it should be) and my waist-hip ratio (currently 1.03- not where I'd like it to be...). However, cutting my caloric deficit by 500 would put me below 1800. How should I go about accomplishing this?

EDIT: Nevermind; I've done my own research and answered my own question.   :)   I've found that after my current level of activity is taken into account, I'm actually burning 2600 calories each day, so I should be eating no more than 2100, and no less than 1800.

ok...coachdee
i am at a little bit of a loss here.everyone here pointed me your way so here it goes...
i am 5'6'' maybe 5'5'' 1/2 and aroud 102-103 pounds and a ballet dancer (see picture)
i know exactly what your thinking anorexic....no i'm not, i usually have around 1600-2000 calories every day. i want to maintain my weight but sometimes i feel guilty because EVERYDAY i always have 2-3 brownies or cookies or cake. i'm just getting a lot of calories but not from the right stuff. I was wondering what types of foods u recomend and what i should do in general.
My day
breakfast- 8
school-8:15-10
ballet 10:30-1:00
lunch 1-1:30
ballet 2-2:45
ballet 4-6:00
dinner 6:30
snack 10:00
bed 11:30 or 12:00

hope you can help

Whoa, if this formula is right, my caloric deficit was like 1400 calories!!! this means i don't have to starve myself!!

Ok - I'm still trying to get a mental handle on this...

My daily caloric output is: 2400
I work out during the week: 300

So my total calorie need is: 2700

If I want to loose weight I should only cut 500-800 calories per day, yes?

This means I need to eat 1900 to 2200/day. Right?
Plus, I am balancing out my food percentages to: 35% Protein, 25% Fat and 40% Carbs.

Is this all good? I'm a 33 year old female, 5'6", 285lbs (I want to be 200). I've been overweight ALL my life - I don't remember being below 160lbs in junior high.

Thank you for your help!

Hi coachdee,

I know everyone's asking you about their caloric needs now, but I need help too!

I've never been much of an eater...sometimes I just can't find time to eat.  Using your formula, I figured out my BMR to be 1, 421.90

Weight: 132 lbs

Height: 5'2"

Age: 21

Before I started trying to become healthier I lived a pretty sedentary life, by only walking to classes everyday and walking to friends houses, and randomly going to the gym. So that should be 1706.28.  So since should I only be reducing my caloric intake to 1200, since that's the max for women?  Since I've started being healthier I've been doing an intensive cardio for 40 minutes 4 days a week, with strength training and 3 days a week of an hour of causal rollerblading. 

Does this mean it's safe for me to eat as little as 1200 calories?  It seems like everyone else has to eat more food, but I'm safe eating only a little like I'm used to.

Hey coachdee, mind if I ask a question, I just came across this post was wondering if maybe you could help me. I was doing weight watchers before I found CC now I am doing strictly calories, which is a whole lot easier, before I was taking in under 1200 on most days and was maintaining a weight of 150, could not budge past that, I am now trying to stay at 1200 or maybe a little over and am now down to 147, I do not get on the scale much because I feel it just discourages me, but have taken measurements and I am losing inches. Anyway back to my question, is this to few calories, does the eat at least 1200 calories a day apply to all women?I am 5" 147 pounds 33 years old. I put activity level as lightly active, I have a 3 year old and a 20 month old so I would not say I am sedetary, but I am a stay at home mom and we only have one car right now so our time is spent indoors, outside, or going on walks. I do try and exercise daily and strength train a couple times a week. What do you think? Just started logging my food on CC also and is 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat about the right ratio??? Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

Coachdee....Would it be a good measure of appropriate food intake to calculate the daily calorie intake for your goal weight, and then drop your calorie intake accordingly...would that get me to my goal weight eventually? It seems like it would work, but I am not sure. For instance, I would like to get to 105, and so I calculated everything on 105 at the lowest level of activity, even though I do more than that, but just to be on the safe side. My final result was a daily calorie intake need of 1582 calories. Did I do it right?

Thank you so much for this info.. One web site told me I should be eating 1200-1550 per day.  According to your calculations I need 2792 to maintain my weight, so should probably be eating about 2300.  this sounds like a lot!!  Today I ate about 1300. I've been working out daily for about a month and have seen no results. Usually burning between 500-800 per day.  Does this sound right?  It's hard to believe I need to eat 2300.  Thanks again!

guys can you help. I am a big cofused about this deficit thing. I did my calculations and my BMR is 1457.4. M exercise activiy consists of 2003. 925.

I was not here when coachdee posted so I am at a lose of figuring out what is what? and how much I really need to consume to lose pounds.

thanks.

Hey Rahana316

Girl, no more stressing about this!! You'll raise those cortisol levels...

Here is the scoop. Figuring out the deficit is relatively straightforward.  The BMR you gave is the amount of Calories you must consume to prevent your body from kicking into survival/starvation mode. You do not want that, because your body is one smart son-of-a-gun. It will not, and I mean WILL NOT, let go of one measley ounce of body fat no matter how much you pout, cry, scream etc... So here is the first step.  EAT. Eat at least 1450 calories per day.

Now if you are exercising, and I mean actually sweating, moving,  pulling, pushing, lifting, climbing, walking etc.... you need to figure out HONESTLY how many times per week you are doing it.

Let's say you are working out with some grit and doing it at least 3-5 times per week.  Now multiply that 1450 by 1.55 (Harris Benedict Formula) and you get the number of calories you would need to eat to MAINTAIN your current weight at your CURRENT ACTIVITY level.  IN this case 2447.5 calories per day. Because the activity is already figured in, drop that caloric intake by 500 calories (food). So, try to eat around 1800-1950 calories per day. Once you lose weight (15lb+), or if you change activity levels, you must recalculate again.

Now go eat....

Coachdee I also just ran across this thread and hope you can help. I am not sure what I am suppose to be adding or subtracting.

my age is 60

weigh 201

I am 5' and am not one that can exerxise much yet so sedentary is what I am now.

I have been varing my cal between 1400 and 1500 is this wrong?

Hope you can help

Janie

Hey there....

based on your numbers, and considering that as a post menopausal woman your metabolism is slowing down, I would think that 1550 to 1650 per day is a good start.  Remember to have water as your primary beverage, and try to start eating 5-6 smaller meals per day.

As for exercise, I would suggest taking a walk each day for 10 minutes to start, and then for the next  2 weeks move up to 15 minutes once a day 3 times per week, and then in week four take 2 15 minute walks per day, 3-4 times per week.  But only do what you can, these are just guidelines. Remember to also allow for that off day, that is the day that you can rest without counting calories, just don't go crazy with the food choices.

Be patient, take your time, and you will start to see a difference.

If at anytime you feel faint, dizzy, nausea or pain while exercising, you must stop and visit your doctor or clinic ASAP.

I also recommend regular visits with a dieticien and your family doctor to help monitor you while you do this.  It makes alot of sense.  You want to do this the right way.

*pat on the back*

Keep smiling and don't let this fat loss regime control your life.

You control your life. It is about choice!

hey, coachdee... Yeah, I planned to email you, but at the last second I got all paranoid about my email address and total strangers and... you know.  This probably belongs in the "Fitness" forum, but since this is your very own personal thread with sparkles and rainbows and unicorns and all...

So I'm training for a marathon right now (yay me!)... but that means I have one day a week for my "long run" where my calories burned are way out of proportion to the rest of my week (for example, I run 3-6 miles on "off" days, take my rest day, and run 12 miles the next day) sooo.... I guess my question is, if you know, WHEN should I be putting those thousand-plus extra calories in my body?  It seems strange to try to do it the day of the run (plus I think it would make me ill!), but it also feels pretty awkward trying to pack in 3000-4000 cals the day before.

Thanks in advance...