Why Calorie Deficits Aren't As Simple As They Seem...

What is a calorie deficit? The concept in general is very simple, yes… Let’s say you’re burning 2500 calories per day (we’ll get into BMR shortly). You’d simply need to consume less than 2500 calories to be in a deficit. An important concept to understand for any type or fat/weight loss client because the bottom line is if you are consuming more than you are burning, fat loss is going to be virtually impossible. Reverse that if you want to add muscle you need to be in a calorie surplus.

Calculating Your Calorie Deficit?

First, calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). We have a whole other article breaking this down so I’ll keep it short. Simply put it’s how much energy (calories) your body is using at rest. Some people don’t think about this but yes, you are burning calories all the time just for your body to function… not just during workouts (and its probably a lot more than you think). You can use a calculator online and find the relative realm of what your BMR is. Then, add the calories you burn during workouts and easy enough you have the total calories burned/day (or relatively). If you are in roughly a 500 calorie deficit that will be a steady (and healthy) deficit to lose weight and burn fat…

“Every Calorie is the Same”

Here’s where our opinion strays from the trend of ONLY focusing on a calorie deficit… There is this very enticing concept that you can basically eat whatever you want and you’ll lose weight if you’re in a deficit. True…to an extent. However, if I am in a deficit eating 2500 calories/day and I’m getting those from lean meat, vegetables, healthy carbs etc. Vs. 2500 calories of wings and pizza (my ideal diet)… it doesn’t take a genius to say who’s going to get better results.

One, the enticing sales point of just eat whatever in a deficit gives 0 attention to your health. Two, you will absolutely will not retain even close to the amount of muscle without SOMEWHAT paying attention to your macronutrients. The necessary evil to weight loss is you are going to lose some muscle mass- the diet is how you soften that blow as much as possible.

Make sure you’re getting the right amounts of protein, fats and carbs (not to mention micronutrients) and you can vastly limit the amount of muscle lost. Remember- weight loss and fat loss are very different things. It is unfortunately how the human body functions that every pound lost wont be pure fat… This also plays into my next point.

TOO HIGH OF A DEFICIT!!!!!!!!!!

Say it with me… THERE IS TOO HIGH OF A DEFICIT. In the fitness industry (myself included) there tends to be a mindset of doing more of something always leads to better results. More cardio, more reps, more weight, more dieting etc. This is a VERY slippery slope when it comes to calorie deficits and we see it ALL. THE. TIME.

Obviously, everyone wants to get to their goals as fast and efficiently as possible… they think okay if I’m losing 2lbs a week in a 500 calorie deficit what if I’m in a 1500 calorie deficit? Very short term- you’ll lose a ton of water and be pleased with the scale, then what happens? That scale either stalls completely or even starts to creep back up.

Why does this happen? When your body hits a high level of calorie deficit over a long period of time it will literally move into a starvation mode (your metabolism begins to crash). You just essentially told your body that you are running out of food (think of your body like a caveman because biologically well…it is). So, what does it do for survival? Begins to store more fat for when there is nothing left so you well…don’t die. This is literally what you are doing to yourself in a massive deficit.

We have this happen to clients on a regular basis. Once we finally breakthrough to them to add in another 4-500 calories and their metabolism speeds back up all of a sudden that scale begins to drop again. Even better, when your bodies metabolism is sped up you can handle more calories and continue to burn fat without that massive deficit (aka more food!!).

Another factor of eating more calories is the energy you have for your actual workouts. 10/10 times I’d rather have a client eat some more calories (in this case especially in the form of carbohydrates) and actually have enough fuel to get in a good workout. If you’re in that starvation mode and burn out 15-20 minutes into the workout… it’s more of a self destructive plan than sustainable. Make the workouts a top tier priority over obsessing about a massive deficit- you’ll be on a much more sustainable path to results.

How to control your deficit…

When it comes to calorie deficits you MUST think of the long run in terms of progress… a fast but healthy goal is 2lbs a week… anymore than that you’re on a fast track to crashing your metabolism and either plateau or begin to backslide on the scale. It’s no secret that we are honest with our clients. Ask any of them and they will tell you. If we have someone come in and say they want to lose 40lbs in 2 months we tell them we love their ambition, but they need to be realistic with themselves (and realistic with simple biology).

There are HUGE pros to the slow and steady method here. Any diet program, supplement, medicine that allows you to lose an exorbitant amount of weight in a short period of time will not work in the long run. There are endless lists of crash diets and fads that we’ve seen clients attempt… long term the results of these are negative. The most successful weight loss clients we have committed to it over months and months or even years…and their results have stayed off to this day. Fast results=fast backslide. Long term results=lifelong results.