Just like anything else that has to do with numbers, there is a simple equation to weight loss. The calories that you take in must be less than the calories that you burn through exercise and other daily activities and bodily functions. If you stick to this rule alongside your regular diet and exercise plan, you will be successful in your quest to lose weight.
What is a calorie deficit?
A calorie deficit is the difference between the amount of calories that you take in through your diet and the amount of calories that you burn through regular exercise and daily activities.
For example, if you eat two thousand calories per day, but you burn three thousand calories every day, then you have a calorie deficit of one thousand.
The calorie deficit is vital because the size of the calorie deficit determines the amount of weight that you lose every week. When you create a calorie deficit, your body is forced to use the energy that it has stored, which will result in significant weight loss.
How to calculate a calorie deficit
The general rule of thumb is that you need to burn a minimum of three thousand five hundred calories more than the calories that you consume to lose one pound.
Burning more than three thousand calories is an impossible feat for one day. Therefore, the calorie deficit needs to be spread out over a greater period of time, such as a week.
If you want to lose one pound per week, then you need to create a calories deficit of at least three thousand five hundred over the course of a week.
Because there are seven days in a week, you will need to divide three thousand five hundred by seven in order to get the five hundred per day calorie deficit.
The calorie deficit that you need to create each day if you want to lose a single pound each and every week is five hundred per day. Therefore, you need to focus on burning five hundred calories or more than you eat everyday if you plan to lose a pound per week.
For example, if you eat two thousand calories per day, you need to burn two thousand five hundred. By sticking to the calorie deficit, you will lose the weight that you want in no time at all.
Exercising will help you achieve a calorie deficit
The number of calories that you burn each day is vital to the success of your weight loss program. If you are attempting to burn five hundred or more calories each and every day, you may need to pick up the pace.
If you combine a heart-pounding cardio routine with interval training and strength training, you will get a weekly workout that is sure to kick calorie burning into overdrive.
Several activities that you can do throughout your day are ideal for burning the calories that you need to achieve you daily calorie deficit and effectively burn calories to lose weight.
For example, a game of basketball can burn more than five hundred calories and riding a bicycle at a leisurely pace can burn almost three hundred calories. So many exercises and activities are available to help you reach your calorie deficit and successfully lose weight.
Using a calorie deficit for losing weight is basically the original way of dieting and is the premise behind many successful diets like Weight Watchers. Essentially, you’re ensuring that you eat less than your body needs to perform its functions, or using a combination of eating less and exercising to create the calorie deficit.
The only problem with calorie deficit diets is that they don’t address underlying insulin resistance issues and they don’t ensure that you eat in a healthful way. 1200 calories a day of junk food is not only not healthy, but will not give you the same weight loss as 1200 calories a day of lean protein, vegetables and fruits.
Your body needs nutrition as well as lower calorie intake, and you need to minimize the calories that come from white flour and sugar products in order to be really successful. Calorie deficit dieting is a great mathematical way to approach weight loss, as long as you can eat healthy, too.